English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

The next ECM platform on the list is IBM’s FileNet P8.

There are three main sections to FileNet’s platform: the Content Manager, Business Process Manager and Records Manager. The Content Manager covers any and all documents in the enterprise with full lifecycle management. IBM’s Lotus Quickr has been integrated into FileNet’s Content Manager to allow for quick and easy communication and collaboration. The Content Manager provides easy conversions between most universal formats. This platform provides a single repository for any and all enterprise content that features a fully functional search. FileNet’s Business Process Manager provides workflow analysis for the enterprise. This section provides the company with business-oriented simulations and activity monitoring. It is able to integrate with Content Manager to analyze and record management over the repository. The BPM automatically responds to certain events or demands and deals with special exceptions. FileNet’s Records Manager is a standalone (no user input) compliance enforcer. It is able to scan all records-based activities to enforce all policies. This manager completes this task all while being completely secure, from first access to the disposal of any records.

Ok, after all of that (or what I attempted to write) I will say that IBM’s FileNet site and descriptions are just about as technically written as they can get. It provided only features and functions and very little insight about each without clicking a bunch of links. So, I have not completed my research for IBM quite yet. However, I do think that they provide a good number of features (ones that I understood) that the main and secondary audience will really like. If it works correctly, the Business Process Manager look like a great way to save a lot of time and money by allowing the platform to analyze documents and events. The Records Manager seems like a great way to make sure all content follows all legal and fiscal requirements. The Content Manager seems fairly similar to the other two document management platforms. This is a platform that would really only be used by the primary and secondary audiences. It seems too complex for any other audiences and has many features that these audiences wouldn’t really use.

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/content-management/filenet-p8-platform/