Database Heavyweights IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft are looking to usher in the next wave of data management with support for XML and, in the case of IBM and Microsoft, by offering new CM (content management) servers that run on their databases.
Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM plans to release in the second quarter of this year the next version of its CM software, Content Manager 8.0, according to a company representative. The new version includes workflow capabilities, enhanced text indexing and searching, and increased performance and scalability.
"What the database companies are offering is good indexing, search, and retrieval; but typically they don"t have workflow to route documents around," said Philip Russom, an independent industry analyst based in Waltham, Mass. He added that workflow capabilities in IBM"s Content Manager should help fill that void.
When taken with IBM"s database -- which is also slated for a midyear upgrade -- and its application server and portal, Content Manager provides a stack for accessing a variety of data types that can be viewed through the portal interface.
With SQL Server, the Windows operating systems, and its Content Management Server, Microsoft offers a similar stack.