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Get the NewsletterOpen Text Starts Vocalizing Vignette Plans
Open Text (news, site) has finally revealed a bit more information about what the giant plans to do with its multiple WCM offsprings. More specifically, where the recently adopted Vignette child may be placed in Open Text’s Enterprise CMS and Web CMS families.
No Migrations, Not That Much Overlap
“Our plan is not to eliminate products, but to offer solutions that help our customers effectively fulfill their unique, organizational needs,” said John Shackleton, president and CEO of Open Text. Meaning that OTEX plans to continue investing in both the Open Text Web Solutions (formerly known as RedDot) and Vignette despite the latest, not so bright financial results.
Yes, yes. We know. The product architectures and technologies are quite different. And it is still not clear yet how this WCM/ECM quilting exercise (Open Text should really patent this phrase) will go on. At this time, however, there are no planned migrations of customers from one platform to another. Open Text is “not going to force anyone in either customer base,” according to Scott Bowen, Sr. VP at Open Text.
In Bowen’s opinion, there’s much more complement than there’s overlap with Open Text Web Solutions and Vignette. Open Text’s goal is to expand the value proposition around the ECM category, where Bowen says they see “tremendous opportunity for growth.”
And to do that the company is willing to write big (as in US$ billion big) checks to R&D in the next 5 years. As a matter of fact, the statement was made that nobody in the industry will be writing bigger checks from the R&D and innovation perspectives. Some of the money should go to another recently acquired company, Vizible, towards further development of its social syndication widgets and other technology.
From Multiple Technologies to a Singular WCM Offering
Saying that Vignette adds the right technologies to the portfolio at the right time, Open Text plans to leverage Vignette Content Management (VCM) as the foundation of Open Text’s Web business solutions, aiming to cover all possible content management implementation use cases from basic to sophisticated deployments, while utilizing both RedDot’s and Vignette’s “historic strengths,” adds Bowen.
Within the next 24 months, Open Text is looking to launch a “singular WCM product offering” that will combine key strengths of Web Solutions and Vignette.
Speaking of rebranding, Bowen noted that (from the corporate perspective) the Vignette brand doesn’t exist anymore. However, from the product perspective, it is still being used to differentiate the lineage, as it takes a certain amount of time to transition to a unified Open Text ECM brand.
Other Product Highlights
- The release of the long-anticipated Vignette Content Management version 8.0 (VCM v8) is still on track for H2 2009.
- The recently released Web Solutions 10.0 will be followed by Web Solutions 10.1 in H1 2010.
- Vignette Social Media Solutions (Community Applications and Community Services) will be the basis of a new Social Marketplace offering as part of Open Text Social Media.
- Vignette Collaboration will continue to be enhanced as part of the underlying Vignette Social Media technology stack.
- Vignette’s Transactional Content Management product line (think SAP and Oracle integrations, B2B and eCommerce) should see the light of day at some point.
We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. For now, we look forward to Open Text’s new product roadmap to be announced at its annual Content World 2009 Conference in October.
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This article sounds to me like pure publicity. Which is fair enough because that is how you make your money here I guess.
There is nothing new here in this article which hasn't been said before.
Raising some solid questions and getting some proper answers is what I was looking for. So we (developers, clients, partners) did that ourselves.
http://www.reddotcmsblog.com/is-the-reddot-cms-dead-no-its-not-but-whats-next-open-text
Now I am looking forward to see if you will delete this post or how far free speech goes with CMSWire.
Markus
Dear Markus,
Happily published your comment :)
We don't do "publicity" at CMSWire and are not paid by anyone to write anything (unless explicitly stated as in the paid-for ad fashion). I am sorry you confuse us with the OTEX PR agency.
I would disagree that there's nothing new here. At the same time, there's as much new here as there was released by the original sources + Yes, I actually picked up the phone to verify that info.
There's more "new" here than anywhere else ;) Minus the speculations and looking into the CMS crystal ball, which I see a lot of in the blogosphere (including the unofficial RedDot blog) -- we try to avoid doing that.
I suggest you look into our previous coverage on these topics (search box, top right corner) to get more background on how and what we cover.
Your post is full of great questions and insights. Kudos to you.
However, what Open Text said in the Q4 2009 earnings call is not what they said several weeks later, when they concluded there will be no migrations and the two products will continue to be supported and further developed separately (at least for the foreseeable 2010 future), following which there will be a combined, "singular solution." I thought that was slightly novel -- and thanks for quoting me on that ;)
I have similar questions to the ones you posted on your blog. You have a great insider insight. But the reality is, none of us will have any "proper answers" until Open Text figures out what exactly it want to do with Vignette and Open Text Web Solutions (formerly known as RedDot).
I don't see that happening earlier than October TBH.
In any case, it is too early to draw any conclusions. There's nothing controversial about your post -- just the expected questions any RedDot system integrator would ask, but it is a pleasure to hear from you. Keep it coming :)
Best,
Irina
Hi Irina,
Thanks for the commentary. I think we all look forward to seeing what comes of the OpentText/Vignette software merger. In the article you mentioned that RedDot CMS/Web Solutions Management Server 10.1 is estimated to be out in H1 2010. The last indicative release date i've seen up until now is for a Q4 2009 (approx November) release and wasn't aware of a change to that schedule. Can you offer any insight as to where the updated H1 release came from (i couldn't track it down in the links above)?
Thanks again,
- Morgan
Hi Morgan,
That release schedule for Web Solutions came directly from Open Text.
Cheers,
Irina
Nice read, I agree and disagree/question on many levels.
Allowed myself to reply at the known blog.