Open Text Livelink Document and Knowledge · PDF fileOpen Text Livelink Document and Knowledge...

Gartner© 2003 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved.Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to bereliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretationsthereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

DPRO-90218Karen M. Shegda

Product Report28 July 2003

Open Text Livelink Document and Knowledge Management Suite

Summary

Livelink is a Web-based document management and knowledge management solution for intranets,extranets and corporate portals. It provides a platform for internal and business-to-business (B2B)collaboration.

Note

Open Text made a number of acquisitions in late 2002 and early 2003, including Centrinity, Eloquent andportal product vendor Corechange. The Centrinity technology will be used to enhance the capabilities ofLivelink MeetingZone around voice and data conferencing, while the Eloquent acquisition adds rich mediarecord and playback capabilities to MeetingZone and a new line of business application called Livelink forSales Readiness. In addition, Open Text has added new modules to the Livelink suite. It replaced theTransit Central Web-publishing tool with its own application, Livelink for Content Management.

Table of Contents

Overview

Architecture

Migration Issues

Analysis

Pricing

Competitors

Strengths

Limitations

Recommended Gartner Research

Insight

List Of Tables

Table 1: Overview: Open Text Livelink

Table 2: Features and Functions: Open Text Livelink


© 2003 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved.DPRO-9021828 July 2003 2

Corporate Headquarters

Open Text Corp.

185 Columbia Street West

Waterloo, ON N2L 5Z5, Canada

Tel: +1 519 888 7111

Fax: +1 519 888 0677

Internet: www.opentext.com

Overview

Open Text Corp.’s Livelink is a Web-based collaborative document and knowledge management solutionfor intranets, extranets and corporate portal environments, and it provides a platform for business-to-business collaboration. Open Text’s focus on collaboration and its recent acquisition of Corechange,position Livelink as a Smart Enterprise Suite (SES) market. SMEs aggregate the functionality offeredtoday by portals, team collaboration support and content management software products.

Livelink’s core functionality consists of services for team collaboration, business process automation,document and knowledge management, information retrieval and group scheduling/calendaring. Optionalmodules are organized by functional categories as follows:

• Classification and Records Management:

• Livelink Records Management

• Livelink Classifications

• Digital Asset and Collections Management

• Livelink Activator for BASIS

• Livelink Cataloged Library

• Dynamic Collaboration

• Livelink eLink

• Livelink MeetingZone

• Livelink virtualteams

• Information Retrieval

• Livelink Activator for Lotus Notes

• Livelink Brokered Search

• Livelink Prospectors

• Livelink Spider

• Livelink Recommender



• Integration and Customization

• Livelink Activator for Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)

• Livelink Activator for SAP R/3

• Livelink Archive for SAP R/3

• Livelink Doorways

• Livelink SDK

• Productivity Tools

• Livelink Explorer, Standard and Professional

• Livelink OnTime

• Livelink eForms Management

• Livelink WebDAV

• Livelink Wireless

• Livelink UNITE

• Livelink eSign

• Publishing and Content Management

• Livelink for Content Management

• System Administration

• Livelink Directory Services

• Livelink Remote Cache

• Livelink Secure Connect

In addition, Open Text offers packaged business applications: Livelink for Learning Management, Livelinkfor Skills Management, Livelink for Program Management and Livelink for Regulated Documents, Livelinkfor Sales Readiness and Livelink for AEC.

Architecture

Livelink was designed with a modular, three-tier architecture consisting of an access tier, which facilitatesend-user access; a server tier for its core application services and a data tier that includes the Livelinkdata repository and other enterprise data sources. End users access Livelink functions through standardWeb browsers. In addition, Livelink supports access from popular desktop applications as well as fromcustom applications built with the Livelink SDK. For example, WebDAV-compliant applications can serveas Livelink clients. The server tier consists of customizable personal, project and enterprise workspaces;Livelink services; and Livelink modules, that is, integrated applications for specific business requirements.A Livelink repository includes a relational database for storing metadata about the documents as well asworkflow information; NT or Unix file systems for storing the actual documents; and the Livelink Index,which is created through the Open Text search engine. Documents can be stored as binary large objects(BLOBs) in the database or in their native format in the file systems. The data tier also handles integration



with messaging systems and directories via Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), NT Domainand Windows Active Directory synchronization/authentication.

Migration Issues

Open Text typically supports previous releases (applies to major versions) of its software for a period ofup to 12 months after the current version’s release. Customers that subscribe to Open Text’s softwaremaintenance get the new releases at no additional charge. Open Text offers a professional serviceprogram to assist users in migrating their existing Livelink implementations to the most current version.


Product Type Collaboration, document management and knowledge management suite

Current Version Livelink 9.1

Date Announced February 1996 (Livelink Intranet); December 1996 (Livelink Intranet Suite 7);

September 1997 (Livelink Intranet Suite 7.2); April 1998 (Livelink Intranet 8); April

1999 (Livelink Intranet 8.1); June 1999 (Livelink 8.1.3); December 1999 (Livelink

8.1.5); February 2000 (myLivelink); October 2000 (Livelink 9.0); February 2002

(Livelink 9.1)

Number Installed 6 million users in over 5,000 customer installations; for its entire product line, Open

Text has 15 million seats in more than 10,000 corporate customers.

Architecture Three-tier, Web-based

Server Hardware

Platforms Supported

HP Precision Architecture Reduced Instruction Set Computer (PA-RISC) Sun

Scalable Processor Architecture (SPARC) or Intel PCs

Server Operating

Systems Supported

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 with Service Pack 6 (SP6a), Windows 2000

Server with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows 2000 Advanced Server with SP2 or

Windows 2000 Data Center Server with SP2; Sun Solaris 2.7, 2.8 or 2.9; HP-UX

11.0

Web Server Support Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0 or 5.0 (on Windows 2000), iPlanet Web

Server Enterprise Edition 4.1 with SP8 or Sun ONE Web Server Enterprise Edition

6.0 with SP1, BEA WebLogic Enterprise/Express 7.0

Client Hardware

Platforms

Intel PCs, Macintosh, Sun or HP systems, or any browser-enabled device

Client Operating

Systems (OS)

Supported

• Workstation OS: Windows 98, Windows NT Workstation with SP6, Windows 2000

Professional Edition; Windows XP; Macintosh OS 8.5, Macintosh OS 9.0, Macintosh

OS X; Sun Solaris 2.6; HP-UX 10.20

• Web Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 with

SP2, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 with SP2, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with

SP1; Netscape Communicator 4.79 or Netscape Communicator 7.0.

Databases

Supported

Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server 7.0 with SP2

Standard/Enterprise Editions or Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard/Enterprise

Editions; Oracle 8i Release 3 Standard/Enterprise Editions (version 8.1.7) or Oracle

9i Release 2 Standard/Enterprise Editions; Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise 12.0

or 12.5

Communications

Protocols Supported

TCP/IP




System

Administration

Livelink provides Web-based administration features, including password expiration,

user settings (for setting password, colors, discussions options), user domain

support and personalized user profiles, the capability of setting a maximum number

of versions that can be indexed in Enterprise Index and the capability of granting

any user System Administrator privileges. The Livelink Administrator can restore

documents that have been deleted accidentally. Administrators can also configure

the menu style for the Livelink Web interface. Menu styles are provided as drop-

down lists in HTML and in Java. Livelink Directory Services enables system

administrators to synchronize users and groups with an external LDAP directory or

with Microsoft Active Directory or NT LAN Manager domains.

System Security Supports secure HTTP servers, such as Netscape Commerce Server and Rivest-

Shamir-Adelman (RSA) Security. Livelink supports Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for

communications security and encrypts user authentication information for security in

wide-area intranet deployments. Livelink supports role-based access control with

nine levels of security privileges based on user login and group association. In

addition, through synchronization and authentication with LDAP, NT Domain or

Windows Active Directory, it leverages existing account security.

Native Language

Support

English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese. Livelink can store content in

multiple languages. Multilingual content is converted into Unicode for indexing.

User Interface The user interface is built in HTML with some Java applet components, including a

tree-view navigation panel called Livelink Atlas. An alternative, Windows Explorer-

like interface is available as an option.

Application Development and Application Integration

General Open Text offers a variety of means for integrating Livelink with other applications,

including its Livelink Application Programming Interface (LAPI), its Activators and

Livelink Doorways. Livelink can be integrated with PeopleSoft using ODOC

Workflow.

Livelink Software

Development Kit

(SDK)

An object-oriented development environment for customizing Livelink and extending

its functionality, as well as for creating new collaborative applications. It also

facilitates integration with imaging subsystems, messaging directories, Enterprise

Resource Planning (ERP), Product Data Management (PDM) and e-commerce

systems. Livelink SDK consists of two components—the Livelink Builder and the

Livelink Application Programming Interface (LAPI).

• Livelink Builder (Windows only) lets developers tailor standard Livelink application

interfaces to any business requirement. It includes modifiable HTML templates;

OScript, a Java-like scripting language; an object browser; and a scripting editor

and debugger.

• LAPI is a comprehensive set of APIs for integrating Livelink with third-party

software applications. LAPI contains about 150 functions. The LAPI exposes many

server functions, allowing integrations to be developed using Java 2 Platform,

Enterprise Edition (J2EE), Microsoft.NET, Web Services, C++, Visual Basic and

Java. It also supports encrypted transmissions (using Livelink Secure Connect)

between an LAPI client and the Livelink server.

Livelink Activators Based on extensions to the Livelink SDK, Livelink Activators provide the ability to

integrate with other systems, such as SAP R/3.




• Livelink Activator for SAP R/3 enables development of integrated solutions for

SAP’s R/3 ERP applications. Gives Livelink application developers a set of

language extensions for connecting to the SAP R/3 Business Application

Programming Interfaces (BAPIs) and Remote Function Calls (RFCs) from within the

Livelink application environment. It enables Livelink users to view SAP transactional

data as a Livelink object. Because it is a development toolkit, Livelink Activator for

SAP R/3 is not SAP Archive Link or Document API certified. Open Text, however,

provides another module, Livelink Archive for SAP R/3, which is SAP ArchiveLink

certified.

Livelink Activator for

CORBA

Development Kit

The Livelink Activator for Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA)

Development Kit extends Livelink functionality through CORBA services. With this

Activator, a CORBA object will act as if it were a local Livelink object regardless of

the language it was created in, the platform on which it operates and its physical

location.

Livelink Doorways Through Livelink Doorways, Livelink users can browse, search and copy content

stored in external repositories, such as Microsoft Windows file systems (file shares

that can be mounted as Windows drives), Server Message Block (SMB) file system,

Unix Network File System (NFS), Oracle Internet File System (iFS), Documentum

4i, FileNet Content Services or Hummingbird DOCS Open/DOCS Fusion systems,

as well as other Livelink repositories. Livelink Doorways works with Livelink 9.1.0

SP2 or later on all supported platforms; however, the Livelink Doorways server must

be installed on a computer running a Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system

(Server, Advanced Server or Datacenter Server).

Optional Modules

Livelink Spider Livelink Spider is Web crawler software that monitors Web sites (private and public)

and newsgroups, locates documents and automatically builds a full-text index of

those documents. Spider handles HTML and Standard Generalized Markup

Language (SGML) documents and supports over 40 office file formats and Adobe’s

Portable Document Format (PDF). It obeys the Robot Exclusion Protocol for sites

that do not want to be indexed or that wish to limit a Spider’s ability to index the

content. Reporting capabilities provided with Livelink Spider include page-level

analysis of each Web site, graphical depictions (for example, pie charts) showing

link quality and type, and summary reports for sites with common domain suffixes.

Data gathered by Livelink Spider is fed into Livelink Data Flow for full-text searching,

HTML conversion, upload into the Livelink Library or other manipulation. Livelink

users can search indexes of data crawled by Livelink Spider from the Livelink

search bar and advanced search page. Livelink Spider 9.1.2 works with Livelink 9.1

and higher and with Livelink Prospectors 4.0. The server components of Livelink

Spider run on the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server (with SP6a) or Windows 2000

operating systems as well as on Sun SPARC/Solaris 2.7.




Livelink Prospectors Livelink Prospectors are knowledge retrieval agents that perform real-time searches

of knowledge sources, both within and outside of Livelink and retrieve relevant

information. Prospectors return a summary of the information content and a link to

the original source. Users can configure personal or team prospectors. When used

in conjunction with Livelink Notification, Livelink Prospectors can be configured to

notify users via e-mail or pager with the search results. Livelink Prospectors 4.0

works with Livelink 9.1 SP3.

Livelink

Recommender

Livelink Recommender extends Livelink’s capabilities by automatically

recommending content to users and allowing them to explicitly rate content to

identify knowledge and topical expertise. It works by examining the conceptually

relevant concepts from the documents a user reads and uploads, and then

identifying (through inference and link analysis) similar content that might interest

the user. It adds a Recommendations page to a user’s Personal menu. Livelink

Recommender 1.0 works with Livelink 9.1.0 SP3 and is dependent on the Livelink

Common Utilities module, a Livelink module that allows the Livelink Recommender

module to display some of its interface elements. This module is being made core

functionality for Livelink 9.2 and is free for Livelink 9.1 SP3 customers.

Livelink OnTime A Web-based module that provides enterprise scheduling/calendaring capabilities.

Enables project calendars to be added to Livelink. It provides real-time scheduling

and allows users to access other users’ calendars to assess their free or busy time

slots. With Livelink OnTime, users can invite an entire Livelink group to an

appointment. Other features include e-mail notification of schedule changes, remote

user support, resource scheduling and calendar printouts. It also provides the

capability of attaching Livelink objects to an appointment object and supports

appointment notification via e-mail. In addition, it can be synchronized with other

application devices so that data can be shared between a Livelink OnTime calendar

and Palmtop computers and personal information managers (enabled via Starfish’s

TrueSync engine). It requires Windows NT 4.0. Server or Windows 2000 Server and

works with Livelink version 9.0.0.1 through 9.1 SP2 on all supported platforms.

Livelink eLink Livelink eLink enables Livelink to integrate with any desktop e-mail application.

Users can participate in Livelink discussions directly from their e-mail application

and receive e-mail notification of Livelink events. Livelink eLink lets users subscribe

and unsubscribe to eLink discussions. Livelink eLink does require an e-mail server.

Open Text recommends mail servers with the Sendmail program installed and

virtual hosting enabled. Mail clients must support the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

(SMTP) and RFC 822 messaging standards. It also requires that Livelink

Notification be activated. Livelink eLink works with Livelink 9.1.0 with SP2 and

higher running on any supported server platform.

Livelink Directory

Services

Enables synchronization and authentication with a central directory service; that is,

the LDAP, Windows NT Domain registries and Windows 2000 Active Directory, and

it provides single logon access. With Livelink Directory Services, users transparently

log on to a Livelink system without having to enter a separate user ID and password

for Livelink. Access is based on user credentials stored in the directory service.




Livelink Cataloged

Library

Integrates Livelink with the BASIS Techlib library system. BASIS Techlib automates

the cataloging, circulation and access control of digital content. With Livelink

Cataloged Library, users can locate library collections and cataloged content from

within Livelink. BASIS Techlib’s bibliographic repositories can now take advantage

of Livelink’s collaborative capabilities. It requires BASIS Techlib version 9.1 running

on Unix, Windows NT/2000 or VMS Alpha servers and Livelink version 9. 1.0 or

higher on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server and Windows 2000 only.

Livelink Brokered

Search

This module enables users to search multiple Livelink repositories, as well as

permissioned and nonpermissioned external sources, through a single query. Data

sources include Open Text’s Livelink and BASIS repositories, Microsoft Exchange

Public Folders (via Microsoft Site Server), public and private search sites and any

Livelink-maintained search index (for example, Lotus Notes databases, extensible

markup language (XML) data and Livelink online help). Through XML, the Livelink

Brokered Search interface can be embedded in any Web page. The Livelink

Brokered Search interface can be exposed within the Livelink and the Livelink

UNITE interfaces. Livelink Brokered Search version 1.7 requires the Livelink UNITE

9.1.5 server, which runs on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server with SP6a, Windows

2000 Server/Advanced Server/Datacenter Server, Sun Solaris 2.7/2.8, or HP UX 11.

It is compatible with Livelink 9.0.0 through Livelink 9.1.0 SP3.

Livelink for Content

Management

Livelink for Content Management is an application developed by Open Text to

support Web content management. It addresses the content life cycle from creation

through delivery. Livelink for Content Management manages a variety of content

types, including PDF files, images, video, audio and cascading stylesheets. It

provides a templating system based on XML and Extensible Style

LanguageTransformation (XSLT). Templates can include both static and dynamic

content. It supports three content states: Working, Staging and Published.

Livelink Remote

Cache

Targeted for remote sites with limited network bandwidth, Livelink Remote Cache

reduces network traffic and improves access speed by caching documents, HTML

renditions and graphical content at the remote site. Livelink Remote Cache 3.0

works with Livelink 9.1.0.2 or later on all supported operating systems.

Livelink eForms

Management

Livelink eForms Management provides electronic (XML, HTML and PDF) forms

capabilities for Livelink. It enables Livelink users to create, manage and track

electronic forms and to integrate them into business processes through Livelink

Workflow. It uses Livelink’s folder structure for eForms repositories. It includes an

XML-based eForms Designer tool to simplify the forms-creation process. Paper-

based forms can be incorporated into Livelink eForms Management by adding

TELEform for Livelink. Livelink eForms Management works with Livelink 9.1 SP3.

The Form Designer client runs on Windows 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000 Professional

SP2/SP3 and XP Home and Professional SP1. The Form Server runs on Microsoft

Windows 2000 Server SP2, Windows NT 4.0 Server SP6a and Sun Solaris 2.8 (with

Oracle databases only). It supports the Tomcat 4.0.4 servlet engine as well as

iPlanet Directory Server 5.0, Microsoft Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange 5.5

SP3 (Windows NT 4.0 only) and Novell eDirectory 8.5.1/8.6.2 directory servers.





Lotus Notes

Livelink Activator for Lotus Notes lets Livelink users access information stored within

a Notes database. It works with Livelink 9.1 SP3 on Windows NT 4.0 Server

(SP5/SP6a) or Windows 2000 Server only. Lotus software supported by Livelink

Activator for Lotus Notes includes Lotus Domino version 4.5 and R5, Lotus Notes

version 4.5 and R5 and Lotus Notes Client Version 4.5 and R5.


BASIS

An optional module for Livelink, Livelink Activator for BASIS establishes a

workspace in Livelink to manage large collections of specialized content such as

technical research, publications or digital archives. Using Livelink projects,

workflows, discussions, task lists and enterprisewide file distribution for

collaboration, research teams produce technical reports which, when released, may

be transferred to BASIS for long-term access.

Livelink Explorer Livelink Explorer enables users to access Livelink functionality from within their

Microsoft Windows desktop environment. Livelink Explorer integrates with desktop

applications, such as Microsoft Word (2000 and XP); Microsoft Excel (2000 and

XP); Microsoft Outlook (98, 2000 and XP); Microsoft PowerPoint (2000 and XP) and

the Lotus Notes e-mail client. It is offered in Standard and Professional packages. In

the Standard version, Livelink repositories appear as hierarchies of folders in

Windows Explorer or as Outlook folders in Microsoft Outlook. When Livelink

Explorer is used with Lotus Notes e-mail, users can import or export messages to or

from Livelink. The Standard version also allows mobile users to mark documents in

Livelink for offline use. Livelink Explorer Professional enables users to connect

directly to Livelink from Microsoft Word and Excel. Functions permitted include

document check out and check in, as well as the capability of editing or adding

documents. Livelink Explorer 4.1.3 works with Livelink 9.0.0 SP2 or higher. The

Livelink Explorer server-side module must be installed on each Livelink server.

Livelink UNITE Livelink UNITE provides users with a unified, personalized interface to one or more

Livelink systems. It enables a single, central view of multiple Livelink systems as

well as integration of Livelink and any third-party Web site or portals, including the

SAP Enterprise Portal, through the UNITE Anywhere Java applet. It requires the

Livelink UNITE and Atlas module to be installed on each Livelink server. Livelink

UNITE Server runs on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server (SP6a), Windows 2000

Server/Advanced Server/Datacenter Server, Solaris 2.7/2.8 (64-bit), or HP UX 11,

and can be installed on a different computer and operating system than the Livelink

server. It is compatible with Livelink 9.0.0 through Livelink 9.1.0 SP3. Web browsers

supported are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

Livelink Secure

Connect

Provides data encryption capabilities on communications between Livelink and

optional or custom client applications built with the Livelink API. It supports the SSL

protocol version 3.0. Also supports proprietary or third-party certificates, such as

those from Entrust or VeriSign. Livelink Secure Connect runs on Microsoft Windows

98 Second Edition, Windows 2000 Professional and Windows NT 4.0

Workstation/Server with SP6; Sun SPARC/Solaris 2.7 or 2.8 client workstations; or

HP-UX 10.20 client workstations. Livelink Secure Connect 9.1 works with Livelink 9.

0 and higher.




Livelink eSign The Livelink eSign module adds electronic signature capabilities to Livelink. With it,

users can initiate special workflows to manage processes that require the

application of signatures to PDF documents. Signing privileges are managed by

Signing Administrators who identify authorized users. Signed documents can be

watermarked and secured to prevent further modifications even after downloading

from Livelink. Automated conversion to PDF can be configured as part of an eSign

signing workflow using any conversion engine that uses watched folders such as

Acrobat Distiller or AdLib eXpress. Livelink eSign 1.1 works with Livelink 9.1.0 SP2

on Microsoft Windows NT/2000 and Sun SPARC/Solaris platforms.

Livelink MeetingZone Enables real-time collaboration through virtual, Web-based meetings. Allows both

internal, Livelink users, as well as external, non-Livelink users to participate in

meetings. Livelink MeetingZone allows attendees to access the Livelink enterprise

knowledge to view and revise project-related items while a meeting is in session.

They can also view applications shared by the presenter; conduct group chats; have

private conversations; use the whiteboard tool; and create and view agenda items,

notes, tasks and Web links. At the conclusion of the meeting, all of this information,

including a meeting summary, is captured in Livelink automatically. Livelink

MeetingZone is available for use with Livelink, not as a stand-alone tool. Livelink

MeetingZone server runs on Windows NT 4.0 Server, Windows 2000 Server or

Windows 2000 Data Center Server, Sun SPARC Solaris 8 and HP UX-11. It

requires Sun JRE 1.3.1 and the tools.jar file from the Sun JDK 1.2.2 on the host

computer. It works with Livelink 9.1 SP2 and later on all supported platforms.

Livelink Archive for

SAP R/3

Livelink Archive for SAP R/3 uses SAP’s ArchiveLink interface to enable the Livelink

repository to be used as an archive for SAP R/3 business documents. Data types

supported include R/3 reports, Tag Image File Format (TIFF) files and outgoing

documents originating in SAP R/3. It is certified by SAP and works with SAP R/3

version 4.5B and later. Livelink Archive for SAP R/3 requires Windows NT or

Windows 2000 server, but works with Livelink 9.0.0.1 or higher on all supported

operating systems.

Livelink WebDAV With this module, Livelink supports the Web-based Distributed Authoring and

Versioning (WebDAV) protocol. It enables WebDAV-compliant desktop applications

(for example, Adobe applications, Microsoft Web Folders and Microsoft Office

applications) to be used as Livelink clients. Users can browse the Livelink repository

and add, delete or check-in/check-out documents directly from WebDAV-compliant

applications. Using Microsoft Web Folders, users can drag-and-drop documents

and folders between Livelink and the desktop as well as create folders in Livelink.

Third-party software vendors or application developers can also use the WebDAV

protocol to provide functionality that integrates with the Livelink repository.




Livelink Records

Management

The Livelink Records Management module adds records management functionality

to Livelink. It enables records management attributes to be added to a Livelink

object, including documents, compound documents and folders. Users can apply

retention and disposition rules to objects stored in Livelink, perform disposition

searches against Livelink objects to retrieve those that are ready for archiving or

other disposition and place holds on objects scheduled for destruction. Livelink

Records Management also enables enterprises to manage the life cycle of physical

objects, such as CD-ROMs and videocassettes, It is installed on the Livelink server

and all user and administration functions are available through Livelink’s Web

browser interface. Livelink Records Management 2.5 works with Livelink 9.1 SP3. In

addition, Livelink Records Management 2.5 requires that the Livelink Classifications

2.5 module be installed. Livelink Records Management 2.5 is certified with the U.S.

Department of Defense (DOD) 5015.2 standard, including the chapter 4 certification

for Classified Records.

Livelink virtualteams Livelink virtualteams is a fully integrated team environment built on Livelink. It

combines a methodology for virtual teamwork with collaboration technology. Livelink

virtualteams enables people to work together across time zones and geographic

and organizational boundaries. Livelink virtualteams 1.1 works with Livelink 9.1 SP3

on all platforms. It supports all Web browsers supported by the selected version of

Livelink.

Livelink Wireless Livelink Wireless provides a wireless gateway to the Livelink repository. It enables

users to interact with Livelink from a variety of wireless devices, including PalmOS

devices, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and iMode mobile phones, Pocket

PCs, and RIM BlackBerry pagers. Livelink Wireless runs on Microsoft Windows NT

4.0 and Windows 2000 and Sun SPARC/Solaris 2.7 (and higher) servers. It works

with Livelink versions 9.0.0.1, 9.0.0 and 8.1.5 (SP1)


Content Creation/Capture

Document Import Livelink provides for document upload using a standard Web browser. Using

Livelink Explorer or Livelink WebDAV, documents can be imported via drag and

drop:

• From Windows Explorer on a PC to a window for insertion into a compound

document, folder, workspace or other container object

• From the Library to the desktop to copy to the client workstation

• Between folders

• To a Project window

• To the Workspace for quick access

• Between Livelink instances using Livelink Explorer or Livelink WebDAV.

Documents and other objects can also be imported using XML. Simple text

documents can also be composed within the Livelink Web interface, using the

Livelink Text Editor.

Open Text Global Services offers a bulk document upload utility to facilitate

migration of documents to Livelink from legacy systems.





Document Imaging Paper documents can be captured and stored in the Livelink repository via Open

Text’s ODOC suite of products or third-party products, such as products from Kofax,

Captiva and Cardiff.

Information Retrieval Services

General Supports full-text searching of objects across an intranet, extranet and the World

Wide Web. Works with any HTTP server and has a configurable user interface

(ability to save multiple search form templates). Supports content-based and

metadata (both system and custom metadata) searching. Allows queries to be

refined as well as saved and executed. Allows result sets to be saved as snapshots.

Also provides Quick find for simple searches. Table-of-contents-type searches can

be performed with the Folder Browser window. Search results are restricted by the

user’s access permissions. Sophisticated SQL queries can be run against the

knowledge base using Livelink LiveReports. Documents can be searched by object

type (for example, alias, generation, workflow, maps, queries and compound

documents). Searches can also be done by location (for example, “from here”

searches within projects, workspaces, library and report folders). Search results

include an analysis of themes discovered in the result set. For example, a ranking of

the Authors who wrote the most documents returned by their search, the locations

within Livelink that these documents exist, date ranges when the documents were

added to the repository and clusters of common terms found in the documents

returned by the search. These themes can be used to refine a search to narrow the

results. Livelink also lets users personalize the information (metadata) displayed on

search result pages.

Search Capabilities

Supported

Searching is a fully integrated service in Livelink. Supported search capabilities

include:

• Boolean

• Proximity—for example, within 5 to 25 words of a given term

• Range

• Advanced similarity

• Phrase searching

• Stemming

• Thesaurus (including a customizable, multilingual XML thesaurus)

• Soundex—search for words that sound similar to a term

• Wildcard searches

• Content/metadata-only Searching

• Summary hit highlighting

• Result themes (for example, authors, dates, locations, topics)

• “Find similar” function

• Natural Language Querying

• Ability to search within or across multiple indexes using search “slices”





Also provides incremental indexing and intelligent abstracts, whereby automatically

generated summaries of documents can be viewed from the search list, and search

term hits are highlighted within the summaries. Supports searching within

XML/SGML documents natively according to the elements defined in their document

type definitions (DTDs). Provides relevancy ranking. Supports simultaneous

searching of multiple indices with a unified presentation and merged search results.

Livelink enables multiple search engines to be configured on multiple hosts to

search a single index.

Agent Capabilities Livelink Notification is a fully embedded service within the Livelink server. Livelink

Notification monitors the Livelink system for information that users need and pushes

it to them via standard electronic mail readers. Livelink Notification can be

configured to send notification e-mails to any address, including addresses that

users monitor via pagers, voice mail, fax and cellular phones.

Advanced Retrieval

Capabilities

Livelink’s search and retrieval services can also be extended through the use of

intelligent agents and options like Livelink Prospectors, Livelink Recommender,

Livelink Spider, Livelink LiveReports and Livelink Brokered Search.

Livelink Library

General This is the central repository for storing and managing documents and objects. The

repository can contain compound documents, folders, queries, snapshots, reports,

news channels, discussions, tasks, task lists, polls, forms, aliases, workflow maps,

Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) and additional objects associated with optional

modules. Users can set system and custom metadata values for Livelink objects

when adding them to the repository. After a document and its metadata have been

added to Livelink, any user with the necessary permissions can then edit the

metadata at any time.

Indexing Livelink provides dynamic full-text indexing of content in the Livelink repository, as

well as full-text indexing of document collections on private or public Web sites,

Lotus Notes databases and documents in file system directories. Objects are

indexed as they are entered into the Knowledge Library. Livelink supports native

indexing of XML documents.

Backup/Recovery

Capabilities

Open Text supports full and incremental backup of Livelink indexes. Livelink

supports an object type called Backup Manager, which can be created by the

system administrator. It serves as a container for one or more Backup processes

and defines the system location of backup files as well as the type of backup to be

performed and when.

Organization Files (documents) are organized into containers, such as folders, compound

documents and workspaces (personal, enterprise and project workspaces).

Supports a nested folder/container structure that can be several levels deep (for

example, documents within compound documents, documents within folders,

folders within folders). Documents are defined by categories and data type

according to the user organization’s definitions. Custom attributes can be assigned

to document categories. Within Project Workspaces, a Project Outline feature

depicts nested projects and the objects within those projects.





Classification Livelink Classifications, enables manual association of Livelink objects to one or

more taxonomies. This module allows information to be manually, automatically or

semiautomatically (recommended) classified in Livelink. A Classification tab is

added to Livelink objects and administrators define the object types for which it is

enabled. The classifications can be defined as an exact rule (for example, XML

document with region “Case Number” where case number = “1234” must get a

given classification) or more generally using traditional pattern matching techniques

and exemplar documents. If a classification is defined as being Assisted, then the

person in control of the taxonomy will be notified that a document has been given a

recommended classification, which the person may choose to accept or deny.

Livelink Classifications 2.5 works with Livelink 9.1 SP3 and with Livelink Records

Management 2.5.

Navigation Users navigate through the Knowledge Library via drop-down lists, through the

folder hierarchy or via Livelink Explorer’s treeview/listview library structure. Livelink

Atlas, a new core module, adds a Windows Explorer-like navigation panel to the

Livelink interface. The Classifications module allows users to browse and search

content by conceptual themes or other custom taxonomies.

Access Control Supports role-based access control with up to nine levels of access permission for

each object; for example, documents, folders, workflow maps, tasks, discussions,

reports and channels. Access permissions (controls) include See, See Contents,

Modify, Edit Attributes, Add Items (for container objects), Delete Versions, Delete,

Reserve and Edit Permissions. A new document or folder inherits its parent’s

permissions by default. Permissions are assigned to user and user groups.

Document Viewing Files are stored and managed in their native format. Livelink uses viewing

technology from Stellent, Inc., enabling support for over 200 different file formats,

including XML, SGML, HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, Microsoft Word and Word

Perfect. Livelink Library automatically converts over 100 different file formats to

HTML for online viewing. It supports automatic launching of originating applications

to view documents in native form or to edit the document.

Annotations/Markup Open Text leverages the solutions from a third-party partner, Cimmetry Systems, for

annotation and markup capabilities. Cimmetry’s ViewLink and AutoVue Professional

provide a Web-based view and markup environment that is tightly integrated with

Livelink. They support over 200 document formats, including computer-aided design

(CAD) drawings. The markup files are linked, managed and stored within the

Livelink repository and administered through standard Livelink controls.

Renditions A core service in Livelink, Livelink Renditions, enables alternative formats

(renditions) to be attached to a document version. Renditions can be the same

content as the original document, but in a different file format or a different

language. Multiple renditions can be attached to a single document. Livelink can be

configured so that a rendition (for example, a PDF or alternate language rendition)

is displayed as the default view. Livelink Renditions works with custom-developed or

third-party conversion engines, such as Acrobat Distiller or AdLib express, to

generate the renditions.

Document

Manipulation

Users can “move to,” “copy to,” “make alias,” “set permissions” and “make

generation.”





Library Services • Supports check-in/check-out and versioning. In Livelink, the Check-in and Check-

out functions are integrated with the Unreserve and Reserve functions respectively.

• Documents can be reserved—locked to prevent others from inserting new

versions—or checked out—reserved and copied to the client workstation, a

workflow or a project.

• Users always work with the most current version of a document. The system

administrator can set a revisable version limit. Versions can be copied and locked to

prevent deletion.

• Supports aliases and generations so that the same document or object can be

used in more than one place. An alias is a dynamic object reference to the most

recent work object. An alias behaves exactly like the object to which it points. A

generation is a static object reference to a specific revision of a document,

compound document or other versioned object.

Compound

Document

Management/Compo

nent Management

Users can create compound documents to store and manage multiple documents in

a sequential order. Livelink can manage the components of some types of content.

For example, tagged text (HTML, Extensible Stylesheet Language [XSL], XML) may

contain references to external objects (images, templates, script files and others), all

of which can be maintained and secured through Livelink’s content management

interface. Select elements of this content can then be repurposed, versioned and

permissioned,

E-Mail Integration Through the optional Livelink eLink module, Livelink can be integrated with any

desktop e-mail application. Through the Livelink Explorer plug-in, Livelink can be

integrated with Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes.

When integrated with Microsoft Outlook, Livelink folders appear as Outlook folders,

allowing users to drag-and-drop or use rules to move or copy messages into the

Livelink repository. Livelink Explorer enables Lotus Notes e-mail users to

export/import messages to/from Livelink.

Enterprise Report

Management

Capabilities provided through Open Text’s third-party partners.

Reporting Tools Audit trails let users track the event history of all object types in the Livelink

repository. Users can view a listing of who has viewed the object, who has modified

it, and who has checked it out. LiveReports are SQL queries that provide reporting

on all Livelink data, including reports indicating task status by user or listing all

documents created during a specified time frame. LiveReports include flexible

display options, such as pie or bar charts.

Business Process Automation Services

General Livelink’s Business Process Automation services provide workflow facilities for

creating, modifying, managing and deploying business process workflows. Livelink

Workflows can include an XML Interchange step that enables work packet data to

be exported as XML to an external system.





Process Design A graphical Java-based Workflow Designer lets Livelink users design workflows by

dragging and dropping steps and participants. They can also attach documents or

other objects to workflows, create subworkflows, define conditional loopbacks, set

milestones, set attributes and specify project details, such as deliverables and due

dates. Workflow steps can be assigned to a single User, Group, or Role or to

multiple Users, Groups, or Roles. Users can define a proxy performer who can

perform their workflow assignments when they are absent for extended periods.

Livelink Workflow also provides a visual map of the workflow showing status. Color-

coded displays indicate Workflow Late, Milestone Late, Step Late, OK and

Complete. In Livelink, Status Screen gives users the option of displaying “Not

Archived,” “Archived” or “Executing Only” workflows. The Workflow Status can be

indexed and searched.

Routing Capabilities Provides serial and parallel routing, rendezvous and looping capabilities. Supports

conditional branching with true/false statements. Supports multiple start/end points.

Forms Integration Livelink Forms, PDF or HTML-based, are tightly integrated with the workflow

capabilities for automating business processes that rely on forms data.

Electronic Signatures Electronic signatures are supported with the Livelink eSign module. Livelink users

can initiate special workflows to manage processes that require the application of

signatures to documents by authorized users following review. Enhanced audit trails

capture the details of each signing event, including each signatory’s full name,

corporate position, the meaning associated with their signing (for example,

Approval), and the time and date. The same signing information can be applied to a

rendition of the original document that is more widely distributed. Electronic

signatures are visible when the document is printed.

E-Mail Notification Supports e-mail notification and provides built-in support for SMTP. E-mail

notification in digest format is fully integrated with Livelink Notification. The optional

Livelink eLink module provides e-mail notification in per-event format. Livelink

supports Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI) and SMTP for e-

mail notification, as well as Telephony Application Programming Interface

(TAPI)/Speech Application Programming Interface (SAPI)/Internet Message Access

Protocol (IMAP).

Team Collaboration Services

General The project management and collaboration services can be used for ad hoc

collaborative and structured projects where anyone with permission can create a

project. Projects can be set up (via a wizard) quickly without having to involve

programming. Each project has its own project workspace. It supports the creation

of projects within projects, threaded discussions and project-specific news channels

for broadcasting news to the project team. Livelink v9.1 added an inline text editor,

integrated with a spell checker that enables project members to add notes and other

information to the project directly from the Livelink user interface.

Project Pages Supports “one-click” creation of project home pages. Project home pages support

frames and Java “pop-ups” for flexible navigation.





Project Participants Participants can span hierarchical, organizational and geographical boundaries.

Allows permissions and responsibilities to be set based on project roles (for

example, Coordinator, Member and Guest). One or more Project Coordinators can

have administrative responsibility. Users can enhance their default system profiles

to include personalized information (for example, birthday, contact information, Web

site links, interests, photo and additional contact information).

Project Management A Project Outline tool allows the project and its subprojects, and all objects that they

contain, to be displayed in an outline view. Tasks support setting priorities (for

example, high, medium and low), assigning due dates, grouping of tasks and

associating one or more tasks with a milestone. Through Livelink Workflow,

common project activities can be automated. Workflow step assignments and ad

hoc tasks are routed to each user’s Personal Workspace. Task status can be

tracked and monitored. A project team can have a collection of saved queries and

reports for quick access to relevant information.

Task List Tasks and task lists define the project member responsibilities for team initiatives.

Milestones can be added to the Task List workspace. A Task Group Container can

be created to group related tasks together.

Threaded

Discussions

The Project Workspace supports multithreaded discussions, which can be created

dynamically. Team members can post comments, messages and responses, as

well as attach documents, files or objects to the discussions. Discussions can be

displayed in a report or nested view, by time period, by read or unread, or by fully

threaded or topics only. The optional Livelink eLink module allows team members to

participate in Livelink discussions via their e-mail client.

Polls Livelink supports a poll object that enables surveys to be conducted among Livelink

users. A Poll can contain multiple questions, and it can be attached to a task or a

news item. Permissions can be applied to polls.

Workflow Ad hoc project workflows automate business processes for the project team,

supporting anything from an engineering change notice to a document approval.

Analysis

With Livelink, Open Text targets global corporations with mission-critical business applications and theneed for document-centric collaboration and knowledge management. Vertical markets targeted includethe financial services, high-tech manufacturing, pharmaceutical/life sciences, government andconstruction (via a U.K. partner, Causeway Technologies). Livelink can be used for such applications asnew product development, collaborative commerce, e-learning and brand management. Open Textreports that its average Livelink implementation is 1,100 users, but some installations have over 100,000users. According to Open Text, Livelink is designed to be an out-of-the-box solution for rapid deployment.Livelink, along with its components, is based on open standards, such as HTML, HTTP, XML, WebDAVand CORBA, ensuring that it fits into the existing corporate infrastructure and leverages an organization’sother technology investments.

Livelink provides the foundation for business-to-business collaboration and information access. Itincorporates XML to manage the exchange of Livelink content with third-party applications, supportsindexing and searching of XML documents and provides interoperability with portal platforms to enable a



single point of access to both Livelink collaborative functionality and to other business-to-businessapplications.

Open Text is positioned as a smart enterprise suite vendor, ranking as a Visionary in Gartner’s SmartEnterprise Suite Magic Quadrant. Smart enterprise suites aggregate the functionality offered today byportals, team collaboration support and content management software products. Livelink can be used asthe underlying content repository for enterprise information portals. Through Livelink UNITE, Open Textsupports integration into various portal frameworks, including iViews for the SAP Enterprise Portal. Inaddition, Open Text acquired portal vendor, Corechange. With this acquisition, Open Text has closed thegap in its portal functions and improved its position among vendors of smart enterprise suites. Open Texthad a portal-like user interface, myLivelink, but it was weak compared to true portal products.

Open Text has also built integration with wireless technology into its overall vision. Livelink also providesintegration with back-office processes and applications. For example, Livelink provides an XML-basedworkflow bridge to communicate with non-Livelink applications, such as Supply Chain Management(SCM), ERP and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

Open Text provides Livelink users with interfaces—called Workspaces—that are tailored to specificbusiness roles. Livelink has three Workspaces—a Personal Workspace, the private work environment;Project Workspaces, collaborative environments for project teams and an Enterprise Workspace, theenterprise knowledge map—designed to emulate the structure and context within which users typicallywork.

Livelink brings a rich set of project management and collaboration/group scheduling capabilities totraditional document management. It provides some of the best features from the document managementand the groupware worlds within an integrated application.

Livelink users with sufficient permissions can create categories and attributes without requiring theservices of a system administrator. A template design form simplifies the process of creating categorytemplates. In addition, Livelink supports multivalued attributes, where attributes can be assigned morethan one value for an object. Categories and attributes can be versioned and are searchable throughLivelink Search and LiveReports.

Pricing

Open Text uses a Named User pricing model in which the Livelink license price is based exclusively onthe number of named users in the system. There is no charge for additional servers or CPUs(processors). Prices for add-on modules and line-of-business applications are calculated independentlyon a per-named user basis as well.

The per-user price for Livelink software decreases as the number of users increases. This means that theprice of a module varies with the number of users. Livelink is priced between US$100 per user (for 10,000users) and $1,000 per user (for 100 users) for a base system. For a 500-user configuration, the baseprice is $480 per user; for 1,000 users it would be $340 per user, while for +10,000 users, the cost isapproximately $160 per user. The base price does not include the optional modules deployed,maintenance or implementation/deployment costs. Annual maintenance costs for the first year are 20percent of the total software cost.

GSA Pricing

Open Text Livelink is listed on the U.S. Government’s GSA pricing schedule through a partner, BurkeConsortium.



Competitors

While Open Text is extending its market reach to offer a Smart Enterprise Suite that combinescollaboration, portals and content management, Livelink has a document-centric foundation and thuscontinues to compete with integrated document management (IDM) products, such as FileNet’s ContentManager, Documentum 5 platform, Hummingbird DM 5 and iManage WorkSite Suite. FileNet andDocumentum’s products require considerable development and customization, while Livelink is an out-of-the-box solution. Documentum and FileNet both provide Web content management solutions, andDocumentum has augmented its product family with project team support and collaboration capabilities(eRoom) as well as with records management functionality.

As Open Text continues to augment Livelink’s core capabilities and drive it further into a collaborationsuite, it also faces competition from a number of vendors outside the realm of traditional documentmanagement. For example, Intraspect and SiteScape are potential competitors in Web-based teamsupport/collaboration services. The offerings from these vendors provide document-based and project-centric collaboration for internal teams and for enabling enterprises and their suppliers, partners andcustomers to work together more efficiently. Likewise, Open Text is encountering competition frompowerhouse vendors such as SAP, IBM/Lotus and Oracle who are also building out Smart EnterpriseSuites. IBM and SAP are the most advanced in their offerings, reflecting the scale of investment and thebreadth of their offerings. Oracle has so far focused attention on the e-mail and messaging functions of itsOracle Collaboration Suite, and it lacks significant content management functionality.

The most direct competitors to Open Text, in terms of product features/functionality and applications focusremain iManage, Documentum and Hummingbird.

iManage

With the WorkSite suite, iManage provides integrated software that enables enterprises to optimize theirvalue chains by enabling members to collaborate and exchange information. The iManage WorkSite suiteis a content management and collaboration suite available for Microsoft Windows and for Javaenvironments. It provides modular application services for document management, collaboration andworkflow, as well as a portal application. The applications have a single code base and share a commonrepository. Documents, project workspaces, tasks, events and discussions are all stored in the samerepository. In recent months, iManage has expanded its product suite with enhancements and newcapabilities, such as report management capabilities and an e-mail management solution. In October2002, iManage announced version 3.0 of its WorkSite MP offering and a new Java-based workflowsolution, WorkRoute MP Pro. In February 2003, iManage announced a partnership with Interwoven,whereby Interwoven will resell iManage’s WorkSite MP offering as its collaborative documentmanagement solution.

Documentum

To further extend the broad enterprise content management capabilities delivered with Documentum 5and to build out its product portfolio to move toward an SES, Documentum made two strategicacquisitions in the fall of 2002: collaboration vendor, eRoom, and records management vendor, TrueArc(formerly Provenance Systems). Documentum’s release acquisition of eRoom and the release ofDocumentum eRoom Enterprise puts it even more directly in competition with Open Text. It enablesDocumentum to address the ad hoc, work-in-process segment of the content life cycle in addition to thestructured management and approval process. Documentum’s Team Manager and the eRoom productsuite have been rationalized as part of the integration process and are now known as DocumentumeRoom Enterprise. Documentum also continues to sell eRoom as a stand-alone offering.



Documentum eRoom Enterprise, which represents the initial integration of the eRoom and Documentumproduct lines, integrates with the Documentum 5 platform, enabling organizations to collaborativelycreate, share, manage, deliver, reuse and archive the content and best practices supporting businessoperations. Documentum eRoom Enterprise is an out-of-box solution that includes both real-timecollaboration features, such as chat, e-mail and an integration with WebEx, along with team collaborationcapabilities, such as shared workspace, task management, project templates, role support and integrationwith Microsoft Project. For current eRoom customers, a starter pack is available that includes theDocumentum Content Server, Repository and seat package. For current Documentum customers, aneRoom Starter Pack is available that includes an eRoom Server and seat package.

Hummingbird

Hummingbird Enterprise is the umbrella name for its information management suite of products thatincludes portal, document management, business intelligence, records management, imaging, search,workflow and collaboration solutions. Individual products comprising the Hummingbird Enterprise suite areHummingbird Portal, Hummingbird DM, Hummingbird BI, Hummingbird ETL, Hummingbird KM,Hummingbird RM, Hummingbird Imaging, Hummingbird Web Publishing, Hummingbird DM Workflow andHummingbird Collaboration. Hummingbird began shipping Hummingbird DM version 5.0 in June 2002.The release of Hummingbird DM simplifies the product brand, providing one server-based application witha single, zero footprint client that offers the features of both PowerDOCS and CyberDOCS. It is a step inthe right direction and positions Hummingbird well for the future. Compared to many of its IDMcompetitors, Hummingbird has a strong focus on records management. iManage relies on third-partypartnerships. While all of Hummingbird’s leading IDM competitors support Unix server environments inaddition to Windows NT and have moved to support J2EE, Hummingbird DM is currently a Microsoft-centric offering. Hummingbird intends to support J2EE across the entire Hummingbird Enterprise suite,including Hummingbird DM, in the future. In addition, support for Web Services is an important part ofHummingbird’s ongoing technology strategy. Workflow capabilities are currently limited. Hummingbird DMWorkFlow is designed to enable business users to route documents through a review and approval lifecycle and is specific to Hummingbird DM.

Strengths

An Off-the-Shelf Application

While many competing products are really application development environments or middleware thatrequire considerable customization, Livelink is an off-the-shelf application that can be easily deployed andused without customization. Although Livelink was designed for use virtually out of the box, its use ofobject technology and its support for standards like Java and ActiveX, PDF and HTML make it a highlyextensible solution. Through the optional Livelink Activators modules, users can integrate their legacysystems and applications, such as Lotus Notes or SAP R/3, with Livelink’s collaborative capabilities.

Web-Centric Architecture

While many of its traditional document management competitors have added thin-client access to theirserver-based repositories, Livelink was designed completely for the Internet and Web infrastructure. Nospecial client software is required, since all client access and full functionality, including administrationand workflow design, is accomplished through a standard Web browser. Also, Livelink solves anorganization’s administrative challenges and cross-platform interoperability issues by providing fullfunctionality through a Web browser.

Distributed, Scalable and Open Architecture



Livelink is built on a scalable architecture. Livelink services are configured on a single server; additionalservers can be added as needed to scale a Livelink implementation throughout the enterprise. In addition,servers can be configured as logical clusters of multiple servers acting as a single logical server. It evensupports multiple servers running different operating systems (for example, Unix and NT) in the sameimplementation.

Based on an XML backplane, the Open Text Open Interchange Architecture is designed to integrate withEnterprise Information Portal platforms, interface with back-office processes, support the management ofdocument components, deliver dynamic and personalized content and extend virtual team collaboration.Content integration is made available through this XML-based Open Interchange Architecture.

XML Support

Livelink brings extensive support for XML to the table to facilitate enterprise application integration. XMLdocuments are indexed natively so that users can search on specific elements of an XML document.Livelink Workflows can include an XML Interchange step that enables work packet data to be exported asXML to an external system. Livelink also now includes an XML Parser and XSLT engine so that XML filesand XML DTDs can be added, ensuring that XML files are properly rendered in the browser. Livelink v 9.1added support for importing objects using XML.

Collaborative Features

With Livelink, users have the ability to manage multiple object types, not just documents. For example, itsupports the management and tracking of text, workflows, tasks, discussion threads, newsfeeds, projects,images and others. In addition, Livelink provides rich project management and collaboration/groupscheduling capabilities lacking in more traditional document management offerings. With Livelink’ssupport for threaded discussions, project team members can post comments, messages and responses,as well as attach documents, files or objects to the discussions. Since there is often an inter-relationshipbetween Livelink objects (for example, tasks may attach relevant documents or vise versa), the content inthe system becomes interconnected. With the Livelink MeetingZone module, Open Text adds Web-based,real-time meeting capabilities, including “whiteboarding,” group chat and application sharing, to Livelink. Inaddition, Open Text markets Livelink virtualteams, an integrated team environment built on the Livelinkfoundation. Livelink virtualteams also embeds a virtual team methodology.

Limitations

Many Features Are Optional

Livelink is built with a modular architecture that allows for the addition or removal of plug-in-play modulesfor specific functionality. This can be both a drawback and a strength. With the modular approach,enterprises gain the flexibility of being able to choose the modules appropriate to their specific needs, butthis flexibility comes at a price. Many of the features that extend Livelink’s functionality beyond coredocument management and workflow are options, which must be purchased in addition to the baseproduct. Open Text defends its approach by stating that most of the optional modules are optionalbecause they deliver specific features. For example, Livelink Explorer provides a Windows Explorer viewof the Livelink system. Since this is an Active-X control, it would be an irrelevant feature for customerswho have standardized on non-Microsoft operating systems or the Netscape Navigator Web Browser. Inaddition, Open Text is undergoing a repackaging effort whereby specific sets of modules will be bundledwith core Livelink into a series of Livelink-based applications, focused on specific business problems.

Minimal Web Content Management Capabilities



Open Text has extended its capabilities with the addition of Livelink for Content Management, whichprovides basic Web content management capabilities. An application developed by Open Text, Livelinkfor Content Management focuses on content creation primarily. It lacks some of the sophisticatedmultichannel content delivery capabilities found in competing products. For example, Open Text relies onthird-party partners to provide content syndication capabilities.

Recommended Gartner Research

The Smart Enterprise Suite Magic Quadrant for 2003, M-19-3949

The 2002 Integrated Document Management Magic Quadrant, M-16-9036

Magic Quadrant: Team Collaboration Support, M-16-7340

Insight

Livelink is an integrated suite of modules for finding, sharing, managing and collaborating on contentacross geographic and organizational boundaries. It is suitable for ad hoc and virtual project teams thatneed readily deployable functionality out of the box. Organizations can quickly roll Livelink out to usersthroughout the enterprise. Its rich project management and collaborative features extend the reach ofdocument management. Open Text has continually enhanced Livelink’s functionality and increased itsrelevance as a collaboration and knowledge management platform through the addition of optionalmodules and enhanced base features. Consider Livelink if you require a tool that supports both intra- andinterenterprise collaboration, via a secure extranet application. Its added support for real-timecollaboration via the MeetingZone module will appeal to geographically dispersed and budget-consciousorganizations.

Open Text Livelink Document and Knowledge · PDF fileOpen Text Livelink Document and Knowledge...

Documents

Transcript of Open Text Livelink Document and Knowledge · PDF fileOpen Text Livelink Document and Knowledge...