Durga Apoorv Durga

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Microsoft and the CMIS standard - What it means for you

11-Aug-2010

Tags: Document Management (ECM), Evaluating SharePoint, Portals and Content Integration, Industry Standards, Marketplace at Large, Documentum, ECM Suite, FileNet P8 Platform, SharePoint 2010

Microsoft has released support for the recently ratified CMIS  (Content Management Interoperability Services) standard -- joining the ranks of many other vendors that now support CMIS in some form. This support comes in the form of a connector in SharePoint 2010 administration toolkit.

In a new Advisory Briefing for our SharePoint and ECM subscribers, we evaluate how the CMIS  connector targets different use cases where SharePoint needs to inter-operate or co-exist with other applications.

We also explore the pitfalls. To quote:

    "As a high-level specification, however, CMIS may not provide the performance or breadth of functionality that users seek with respect to SharePoint integration."

While SharePoint's CMIS support is clearly welcome, it's not a silver bullet, and integration between systems remains complex and costly.  Meanwhile, many ECM vendors have developed deeper and more sophisticated (albeit non-standard) integration methods. In a forthcoming Advisory Briefing, we'll critique the various different ways that major ECM vendors integrate with SharePoint.

Just remember that when a system has a "SharePoint Connector" -- be it CMIS-based or not -- this doesn't mean that your all your needs will be met. 

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