SeeUnity has recently completed a case study featuring Briggs and Morgan.  The case study details how this prominent Midwest law firm is using Microsoft SharePoint integration products, built by SeeUnity, to add portal collaboration functionality to their Open Text eDOCS enterprise content management investment.  The SeeUnity-authored SharePoint integration case study profiling Briggs and Morgan, P.A. can be downloaded here.

With the availability and popularity of SharePoint 2010, one issue seems to be on the minds of many customers, partners, and industry analysts – support for records management. As a provider of SharePoint Integration products for ECM platforms, it’s a relevant issue for us. Here’s some thoughts and observations of SharePoint 2010, records management, and how it might impact your plan for ECM and SharePoint integration.

1. No DOD certification. While it’s true SP 2007 was DoD certified, as of the writing of this article SharePoint 2010 is not DoD certified. In fact, DoD certification for 2007 lapsed in the spring of this year. In SPRM’s interview with Adam Harmetz, Lead Program Manager for the SharePoint Document and Records Management engineering team at Microsoft, it was stated that there they aren’t pursuing, but leaving in the means for partners to develop extensions and add-ons that are. That laissez-faire approach to DoD makes sense for a partner-savvy company like Microsoft, but it may come as no consolation to companies with rigid standards for compliance.
2. In Place Records Management. SharePoint opts to declare records in place – versus archiving them to a specific destination. That can make great sense for organizations looking to conserve maximum file space. That being said, it might not be the best fit for organizations who stress having a separate, remote archive – which is often the case for ECM customers.
3. Stronger tools for Records Managers. RM admins are going to like the new features that will help them setup and maintain the folder hierarchies. Compliance details are now available to view for documents – a big plus for RM admins and users alike.
4. RM features don’t have a 1 to 1 fit with what you’re using now. These new features are a powerful addition, but organizations are not going to find every feature available that they may be used to dealing with using their existing ECM platform. The disparity may be significant or negligible, based on the ECM platform and how extensively RM is being used.
5. The value of existing records management configuration. Records management isn’t an event; it’s a process. Recreating records management policies from the ground up can be a painstaking process. It also invites the opportunity for a policy oversight or other human error that can expose the organization for risk.
6. Adding another RM layer may make things worse.  Records management may already be a “Tylenol-inducer” for companies carrying multiple ECM platforms and LOB systems. Particularly for larger organizations that have inherited multiple platforms via mergers and acquisitions, this can be a painful process of aligning records management. Does adding SharePoint 2010 Records Management help, or hinder, your front-line records managers. Assess and strategize on a case by case basis.

Based on these observations, companies who are re-evaluating their SharePoint integration strategy in light of these RM features in SharePoint 2010, might want to consider the following practices.

Integrating records management into SharePoint from a native ECM system. If you’ve got strong retention and records management standards, and an ECM system that supports them – there’s no sense in abandoning that system. A strong content integration product will allow you to expose consumer-level access to viewing and setting retention. Basically the ECM interface is recreated in SharePoint, including retention and records management access. Power-users and RM admins will still want to use the native interface, but rank and file users can live in SharePoint, while benefiting from back-end retention from the ECM platform.
Another alternative is to recreate SharePoint retention policies and holds on SharePoint driven content, while retaining ECM-driven records management over content stored in the ECM repository. Again, any integration provider worth its annual maintenance will allow you a single view of content, so the user experience should be seamless and transparent.

Another option is archiving SharePoint content to the ECM system once it qualifies as a record. Strong integration products will allow companies to provide either manual archiving – or create event-driven automated archiving. Another plus is that combined with an integrated user interface, the archiving process can be automated and transparent. Users can go about their business of working with content, while RM admins can orchestrate detailed archiving policies.

There’s a wealth of choices available, and the introduction of Records Management on SharePoint 2010 adds some great new options. It’s important for companies who are using Enterprise Content Management platforms (like Documentum, eRoom, eDOCS, LiveLink, HP TRIM, Vignette, FileNet, or WorkSite) alongside SharePoint to realize: you can own your own content management roadmap. Content integration reinvigorates the concept of best of breed, where you can literally pick-and-choose functionality from various software assets, so that your using the best tools for the job. Optimizing a hybrid platform for features like searching and distribution can save money; optimizing to preserve records management standards can be even more critical to how your organization does business.

A search for Gartner’s take on content integration reveals that among analysts, it’s been recognized a growing trend and can provide an effective strategy for organizations looking to manage multiple content sources. Even with the addition of new features to SharePoint, many analysts, including Forrester, are touting the benefits of content integration as part of a broader SharePoint strategy. Part of the reason for this approach is that with the vast number and types of content management platforms, line of business systems, and, frankly, the types and location of information sources - the ability for a single product to properly house and leverage this information is looking slimmer and slimmer. After a long cycle of application consolidation in the market, the introduction of lower-cost applications, customers are taking a step back and asking themselves – do single vendor solutions work? Are my vendor solutions working? The answer in inconsistent at best.

Concerta Consulting and SeeUnity are delivering a webinar next Tuesday, June 29th, at 10:30 AM MDT. Providing important content integration insights, this webinar will include an introduction to understanding SharePoint integration, a high-level live software demonstration, and a recent real-world case study with one of Canada’s largest oil and gas producers.

Participants will be able to engage the presenters and ask questions about the demo and the case study. Seats are limited; to attend the live event register at GoToWebinar.

SeeUnity now has a Facebook page. Find us on Facebook for access to news, announcements and discussions. It will also be a great way for customers and partners to engage the SeeUnity team with questions and suggestions.

Thanks to Simon, Terry, the Concerta team, and Talisman Energy for the great case study. We covered a lot of material in the 60 minute session. We discussed the benefits of SharePoint integration, the adoption of SharePoint 2010, and reviewed the SeeUnity framework for content integration. Ryan Bond delivered a crisp demo under a tight time window, and Concerta covered the two-phase implementation of technology at Talisman Energy, including SharePoint integration of their content management system, and a secure archiving model that enables remote workers to submit critical documents into their central content repository.

Read original press release here.

SeeUnity’s Business Connectivity Services Connector Leverages SharePoint 2010 Integration for Enhanced Search Capabilities

DENVER, COLORADO (PRBuzz) June 16, 2010 — SeeUnity, the market-leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration products, is pleased to announce the immediate availability of its Business Connectivity Services (BCS) Connector for Microsoft SharePoint 2010. The BCS connector is one of a series of out of the box modules that can be used to integrate SharePoint 2010 with Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platforms. Specifically, the BCS connector will enable users to more effectively search external ECM repositories, from SharePoint, as well as the newly available FAST for SharePoint.”We’ve been conducting extensive development around SharePoint 2010,” says Brant Henne, Marketing Director at SeeUnity. “There are a number of enhancements and improvements to SharePoint with the 2010 release, including BCS - which we are using to enhance searching external repositories. We’re excited to be offering BCS support on day one, and we’re confident SharePoint 2010 customers will find it an important addition to their content integration strategy.”

Important Features

Consistent with SeeUnity’s commitment to ease of deployment, the BCS connector is an out of the box extension to SeeUnity’s Enterprise Integration for SharePoint product. The BCS connector is designed to enable SharePoint to both index and query one or many external ECM platforms and other external repositories BCS support translates to improved search flexibility and performance in several areas, including:

• More efficient indexing of metadata and content
• Incremental “smart-crawling” that detects changes to content, metadata and security
• Granular filtering controls
• Improved security options, including both crawl time security descriptors and query time security trimming

SeeUnity’s BCS Connector has been designed to enhance SharePoint 2010 integration to ECM platforms. The BCS Connector is compatible with Microsoft Search Server 2010, Microsoft Search Server 2010 Express, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites Standard, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites Enterprise, Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, and Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint Internet Sites.

How to Obtain

For more information or to obtain access to SeeUnity’s BCS Connector, or other SeeUnity products, including products designed specifically to provide or enhance SharePoint 2010 integration, please contact sales@seeunity.com.

About SeeUnity

SeeUnity is a leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration solutions. Our products enable short and long-term content coexistence strategies that increase the value of your Microsoft SharePoint and ECM investments. For more information about SeeUnity, visit www.seeunity.com.

SeeUnity and the SeeUnity logo are trademarks of SeeUnity, Inc. SharePoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Read Original Press Release Here

Clarity Earns Certification to Resell Enterprise Content Integration Products by SeeUnity

DENVER, COLORADO (PRBuzz) MAY 19, 2010 — SeeUnity, the market-leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration products, is pleased to announce a partnership with Clarity Information Solutions, a technology services firm providing Enterprise Content Management solutions and Systems Integration services for public sector organizations throughout the UK.

“We’re very pleased to be working directly with Clarity,” says Brant Henne, Marketing Director for SeeUnity. “Clarity has a deep background in providing a wide range of content management solutions and integration services. Clarity isn’t tied to any particular proprietary technology. We believe our repository agnostic approach to integrating enterprise content with SharePoint is well-suited to Clarity’s independent role as a content management solutions provider.”

“Our customers trust us to bring them solutions to information management problems,” says Paul Leary, Operations Director at Clarity. “SeeUnity products are a perfect fit to satisfy a growing need for integration between SharePoint and a number of content management platforms. We’re also pleased with the ease of deployment, the depth and elegance of the integration, and modular way in which our customers can add features as they see fit.”

As a SeeUnity Enterprise Partner, Clarity is one of a handful of preferred partners selected to resell and provide services for SeeUnity products in the UK. Clarity has completed technical certification.
For more information on how to benefit from integrating SharePoint and Enterprise Content Management systems, including SharePoint 2010 migration, please contact sales@seeunity.com.

More Information
SeeUnity is a leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration solutions. Our products enable short and long-term content coexistence strategies that increase the value of your Microsoft SharePoint and ECM investments. For more information about SeeUnity, visit www.seeunity.com. For more information about Clarity, visit www.clarity-ltd.co.uk. SeeUnity and the SeeUnity logo are trademarks of SeeUnity, Inc. SharePoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft. Clarity is a trademark of Clarity Information Solutions, ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
Brant Henne
Marketing Director
970.744.5011

Read Original Press Release Here

KnowHow Consulting Designated as SeeUnity Certified Reseller of Content Integration and Migration Solutions for SharePoint

DENVER, COLORADO – MAY, 10, 2010

SeeUnity, the market-leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration products, is pleased to announce a partnership with KnowHow Consulting, a leading services bureau of information management specialists based in Woking, Surrey.

“We’re enthusiastic about this partnership,” says Brant Henne, Marketing Director for SeeUnity. “KnowHow Consulting has the expertise and reach to deliver our products to enterprise-class customers in the UK. Our organizations share a strong common background in both Microsoft SharePoint and Open Text platforms.”

“KnowHow Consulting has the background to deliver the full value of SeeUnity’s content integration products,” says Tony Foy, Managing Director at KnowHow Consulting. “Many of our customers are well positioned to use integration to get a larger return from their SharePoint and Enterprise Content Management investments.”

As a SeeUnity Enterprise Partner, KnowHow is one of a handful of preferred partners selected to resell and provide support and services for SeeUnity products in the United Kingdom. KnowHow Consulting has completed technical certification.

For more information on how to benefit from integrating SharePoint and Enterprise Content Management systems, including SharePoint 2010 migration, please contact sales@seeunity.com.

More Information

SeeUnity is a leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration solutions. Our products enable short and long-term content coexistence strategies that increase the value of your Microsoft SharePoint and ECM investments. For more information about SeeUnity, visit www.seeunity.com. For more information about KnowHow Consulting, visit www.KnowHowconsulting.co.uk. SeeUnity and the SeeUnity logo are trademarks of SeeUnity, Inc. SharePoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
Brant Henne
Marketing Director

970.744.5011

Read Original Press Release Here

Attevo Becomes Certified Reseller for Enterprise Content Integration Products by SeeUnity

DENVER, COLORADO (PRBuzz) May 11, 2010 — SeeUnity, the market-leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration products, is pleased to announce a partnership with Attevo, a global business and technology firm.

“We’re looking forward to this partnership,” says Brant Henne, Marketing Director for SeeUnity. “Attevo has a broad array of expertise in both traditional content management platforms, as well as SharePoint. As a software consulting firm with experience with multiple enterprise content management platforms, Attevo is particularly well-suited to deploy SeeUnity technology, which has a repository agnostic approach to SharePoint integration. Attevo also has a global presence, allowing them to bring SeeUnity solutions to new markets.”

As a SeeUnity Enterprise Partner, Attevo is one of a handful of preferred partners selected to resell and provide services for SeeUnity products. Attevo has completed technical certification, and is currently in the process of deploying SeeUnity solutions in a live customer environment.

To learn how to benefit from integrating SharePoint and enterprise content management systems, including SharePoint 2010 migration, please contact sales@seeunity.com.

More Information

SeeUnity is a leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration solutions. Our products enable short and long-term content coexistence strategies that increase the value of your Microsoft SharePoint and ECM investments. For more information about SeeUnity, visit www.seeunity.com. For more information about Attevo, visit www.attevo.com.

SeeUnity and the SeeUnity logo are trademarks of SeeUnity, Inc. SharePoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft. Attevo is a trademark of Attevo, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
Brant Henne
Marketing Director, SeeUnity
Phone: 970.744.5011
info@seeunity.com

SeeUnity Web Part Express for IBM FileNet delivers a FREE, out of the box solution for accessing FileNet documents directly via SharePoint

DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 17, 2010
Read Original Press Release Here

SeeUnity, the market-leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration products, is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Web Part Express for FileNet. This new offering enables information workers to easily find, browse, and view FileNet content – directly through a SharePoint interface.

“Web Part Express for FileNet solves two major challenges for companies trying to manage SharePoint alongside a traditional FileNet environment” says Brant Henne, Marketing Director for SeeUnity. “First, it allows organizations to reduce the reliance on any ECM user clients, allowing users to spend more time on a single, SharePoint interface. Second, all products from our Express product line eliminate the cost and complexity of extensive services engagements. This lightweight, free solution enables customers to easily solve some basic integration challenges.”

Leveraging Core Integration Services, the same .NET-based platform that powers all SeeUnity technology, Web Part Express delivers integration in minutes. With a targeted set of basic features, Web Part Express is also cost-optimized for organizations looking for reliable integration without unnecessary license and support costs.

Web Part Express can satisfy a number of business demands, including:

• Provide a single view into enterprise content
• Increase the role that SharePoint can play, and the benefits it can deliver
• Make content more visible and accessible – particularly for remote users
• Reduce the support demands on IT

How to Obtain Web Part Express

For more information or to obtain access to Web Part Express, please visit http://www.seeunity.com/products/webpart.express.filenet.asp.

More Information

SeeUnity is a leading provider of Enterprise Content Integration and Migration solutions. Our products enable short and long-term content coexistence strategies that increase the value of your Microsoft SharePoint and ECM investments. For more information about SeeUnity, visit www.seeunity.com.

SeeUnity and the SeeUnity logo are trademarks of SeeUnity, Inc. SharePoint is a registered trademark of Microsoft. IBM FileNet is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
Brant Henne
Marketing Director
970.744.5011
brant.henne@seeunity.com