We're often asked why there are so few ECM open source options, when at the same time the Web CMS marketplace supports so many open source alternatives? In the Web CMS world, there are easily 20+ open source CMS options. We cover 10 of the most significant in our Web Content Management research. Conversely, there are really only 4 ECM options globally available today. For the record those are Nuxeo, KnowledgeTree, Alfresco, and InfoGrid.

ECM platforms are by their nature highly complex systems that revolve around enterprise processes (sometimes working in tandem with business process management software), as well as typically interface with a wide range of other technologies from imaging through rendering to archiving. A high percentage of ECM deployments integrate with legacy business applications such as CRM or ERP solutions. That's very different from most Web CMS deployments -- which are usually more standalone in nature.

Part of the historic challenge for open source ECM has been an allergic reaction to integrating with Microsoft Windows and Office.  Fortunately, that's changing a bit. 

But the real story here may lie in business models.  Commercial -style open source seems to be a better fit for ECM rather than the more common (in the Web CMS world) community-driven open source options. Commercial style open source such as Alfresco may not charge you up front licensing fees, but they do provide centralized support and development services (for a potentially hefty fee) -- in the same manner as their fully commercial/proprietary rivals. It's a model that ECM buyers who are inclined toward open source are comfortable with and for some enterprises, it is a model that can work well.

Many ECM buyers look warily at the CMS world where open source projects have a tendency to come in and out of fashion. Today, they see Joomla, Drupal, and a few others in fashion, but also a fairly large graveyard full of currently unfashionable community driven frameworks. Some of those might be revived at some future point, but many are for all intents and purposes dead. So, for ECM buyers, the commercial models of the likes of Nuxeo and Alfresco can act as a form of insurance for buyers. The buyer feels safe that their acquired software, (as long as they pay the maintenance fees) will be supported and developed in the long term. Clearly it is not a 100% guarantee, but it is something.

I think in time more open source ECM solutions will become available.  We know for sure that a number of fully commercial vendors have investigated the possibility of open sourcing their solutions, and at some point one of them will take the jump and others may well follow. But what is holding them back at the moment is the tiny revenue streams that open source ECM vendors can boast, in comparison to their more proprietary rivals. For no matter how you do the math -- be it seat numbers or revenue -- open source still represents a tiny portion of the ECM market, and despite all the negativity about the economy, multi-million dollar ECM deals still get signed on a regular basis. And as long as that remains the case, there is little real incentive for proprietary vendors to walk away from that money and sell maintenance-only contracts.

I, for one, would like to see a few more open source ECM vendors. Right now, as subscribers to our ECM Suites research know, the four open source ECM players are very regional in their customer bases and don't often compete head-to-head for the same business. There is enough business out there and ample opportunity for enterprising folk to rethink and reinvent the ECM paradigm. And true competition among the open source efforts would undoubtedly bring even more positive product enhancements and value to you the buyer.