Interwoven bows out of content component management

In an exchange with me yesterday, ECM/WCM vendor Interwoven confirmed that it no longer provides an XML-based content component management capability. (We had invited them to participate in our vendor product reviews for the forthcoming Content Component Management Report.)

This came as a bit of a surprise, because Interwoven has had some history of focus in this area. Its "TeamXML" product (released in 2001 after an acquisition) and related integration with Arbortext Editor and XyEnterprise's XML Professional Publisher (XPP) could provide some level of XML content support, content component management, content re-use, and multi-channel publishing. However, TeamXML quietly faded away. I have been pursuing clarification on whether this functionality still existed somehow, because The Rockley Group has numerous clients who license Interwoven and want to be able to use it for more than Web Content Management.

It seems TeamXML never accompanied the major TeamSite upgrade to version 6.0 some time back. Yesterday's final response on the subject came via e-mail from Interwoven, "Team XML is no longer a product offering, thus we don't have a significant amount to share with this report."

Like other CMS Watch analysts, I don't provide advice to vendors, but I find it a little surprising given EMC's recent move more deeply into the content component management field with its acquisition of X-Hive.

Update, 05, September
Interwoven writes to clarify that its customers "have not been asking for XML-based document management," but that its WCM tools use XML to manage website components and navigation.

Other ECM & Cloud File Sharing posts

ECM Standards in Perspective

In real life I don't see ECM standards proving particularly meaningful, and you should see them as a relative benefit rather than absolute must-have.