It depends on who's perspective you want to take when you compare Sharepoint with Documentum. Every person has a unique take on the Web 2.0, its marketing and hype, but the bottom line is that it is cheaper than proprietary software and can be an open source application that eclipses both MS and EMC. When I think of Sharepoint, I think of projects and ease of use. When I think of Documentum, I think of content lifecycle management.
Resource Delivery Director: wants one solution, centralized with easy configuration. This person is usually religious on a programming language so depending which one .net or Java, this will be part of the decision. This person has pressure to deliver applications balancing this against resource expense.
Architect: wants scale, performance, and integration, plus local developers. This could be a problem for Sharepoint as good developers work for partners, they are not mature enough to contract on their own. Also, good luck out sourcing to India for Sharepoint folks. That will happen, but not yet. Integration and CMIS are also considerations. What apps are integrated, ease of webservice integration, identity management, workflow, etc.
Chief Bean Counter: wants a good ROI story. If a CIO has a preferred technology, she will find/procure a research study which is a proponent of it.
Users: want something that looks different than what they have, but they want everything they had. Do you put a new skin on an old application, or do you buy a whole new app?
Elephant in the Room: Open Source is coming, so EMC and MS are really on the same side here. Alfresco is not going away, neither are the other players. Google might trump everyone once it can’t grow everywhere else, why not tackle the source?
I have witnessed the demo difference between the two platforms and Sharepoint wins hands down. Partners selling these two products are the front line in this discussion. Partners who sell both are selling one short and hedging their bets. Find a partner who sells either EMC or MS and get their pitches, then write the matrix and gap analysis. Also, throw a third party in there for balance.
The main issues you have to matrix are business requirements and the key stake holders. Also, who’s a member of the steering committee.
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