Open Text introduces unified Livelink ECM Platform

Issued by Global Research Partners for Enterprise Content & Wireless

Johannesburg, 21 Apr 2005

Lava Systems Africa, an affinity partner of Canadian-based Open Text, today announced the latter`s Livelink ECM Platform, a secure, integrated framework that combines a shared content repository with user, content, and process services in a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

The Livelink ECM Platform marks the completion of Open Text`s integration of Livelink with the content archive from IXOS Software, which Open Text acquired last year. This integration within the service-oriented architecture announced late last year allows Open Text to offer a shared platform for multiple solutions, universal access to enterprise content, a common user experience, and simplified maintenance and administration.

With the platform as a foundation, customers can more quickly and easily deploy a comprehensive range of Open Text ECM solutions, as their needs evolve. These solutions include collaboration, document and content management, compliance, e-mail and records management, ERP integration, and archiving and storage management. This also applies to solutions Open Text offers to meet the specific needs of industries such as government, pharmaceuticals, financial services and energy.

"With the Livelink ECM Platform, we can give customers a unified infrastructure and the flexibility to add ECM solutions when they`re ready, as their needs evolve," commented Hartmut Schaper, Senior Vice-President of Research and Development at Open Text. "With a shared repository and services, customers can start with one departmental ECM solution today, add another tomorrow, and ultimately deploy a comprehensive ECM strategy company-wide when the time is right, all the while leveraging and building upon the company`s initial investment."

Announced in November, Open Text`s services-oriented architecture provides a layer of software `services` that link corporate applications to repositories of information, no matter where it resides, providing the ultimate in flexibility with existing repositories. The services architecture is being built entirely in Java and includes native support for SOAP-based Web services. The services include:

* Collaboration services to support person-to-person interaction.
* Content services to provide a single point of access to all content.
* Business process services to automate processes around content.
* A user directory service for a single point of user management and single sign-on for applications.

For further information, please contact Ray Dalgano, Lava Systems Africa: telephone (011) 675 3704, fax (011) 675 1021, e-mail rayd@lavasystems.co.za.

Open Text

Open Text is the market leader in providing enterprise content management (ECM) solutions that bring together people, processes and information in global organisations. Since launching the world`s first Internet search engine and the first Web-based enterprise collaboration and knowledge management software, Open Text continued its leadership in providing global enterprises with innovative and effective solutions. Throughout its history Open Text has matched its tradition of innovation with a track record of financial strength and growth. Today, the Canadian-based company supports 15 million end-users across deployments in 31 countries and 12 languages worldwide and includes among its client base government departments in Australia, Canada and Japan; the UK Metropolitan Police; British telecommunications, UNHCR and the USA Department of Defence.

Open Text`s flagship product, Livelink seamlessly combines collaboration with content management, helping organisations transform information into knowledge in order to provide the foundation for innovation, compliance and accelerated growth. Open Text acquired Germany`s Ixos Software AG in February this year to become the largest ECM software vendor in Europe and the largest pure-play ECM software vendor in the world, according to Bradley West, an analyst with Southwest Securities Inc.

Lava Systems

The Lava Systems Africa (Pty) Ltd team originated in the late 1990s with the objective of becoming a premier supplier of enterprise systems based around knowledge management, document management, records management, image management, collaboration and workflow solutions. The emerging demands that were identified included government process re-engineering, supply chain co-ordination, customer relationship management, e-government and B2B processing. In support of these business aims the technology platforms chosen had to enjoy a proven global track record and adhere to open Internet architecture standards and developments.

Lava Systems Africa is a South African-based BEE company dedicated to the sales, marketing, support and consultancy founded upon the Livelink product suite from Open Text, a product that the staff have been involved with since 1998. The Lava Systems Africa user base embraces customers from both the private and public sector, and includes organisations such as Bateman Projects Limited, Alexander Forbes, the Gauteng Provincial Government and the National Social Security Fund of Uganda.

Editorial contacts