Recent growth in customer demand for document management integration on the Linux desktop platform has given birth to a new open source project that is bringing traditional Windows-based commercial document management solutions to Linux.
This new framework allows almost any ODMA-based document management system to integrate natively on Linux desktops. Document management systems (DMS) today are Microsoft Windows-centric on the desktop. Many of these systems are also Windows-based on the server-based components. Yet, so many customers have users that only require limited desktop functionality such as e-mail, calendering and scheduling with word processing and spreadsheet capabilities, coupled with access to traditional main frame and mid-frame applications, that the cost of a full MS Windows licence and MS Office Professional licence to achieve this becomes an outrageous costing component.
Today`s Linux desktop offerings, and in particular, the Novell SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 (SLED), provides new capabilities and user experiences that already surpasses Microsoft Windows Vista that is only expected to ship early in 2007, or so they say.
The framework that NetCB has created will allow any document management system to operate on the Linux desktop. Through a universal integration layer embedded in the core of the desktop, access to multiple document management systems will be possible on file system level and application layer.
The framework will also allow connectivity to multiple document management systems at the same time, eliminating the complexities experienced today on the MS Windows desktop.
Finalisation of the framework code is expected by 1 August 2006 when it will be released as an open source project under the GPL licence. Document management connectors will licensed by NetCB Solutions. The first five document management systems that will be supported before 2007 will be GroupWise Document Management, Documentum, Interwoven, Domino Document Manager and Live Link.
More information will be made available on participation on these projects within 30 days.
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