Out of the Box MOSS ECM Solution Still a lot of Work

They are not the first to provide out-of-the box starter solutions for SharePoint, but BlueThread Inc and K2 have certainly put together an ECM bundle that has the full deal. Mind you, you have to buy their software and put it all together to make it work.

BlueThread SmartDesk GUI

It all starts with BlueThread's SmartDesk end-user ECM application. This application is completely built on the Microsoft stack -- specifically with SharePoint.

SmartDesk
SmartDesk is a User Interface designed to help set up and deploy specific ECM solutions such as: Accounts Payable, Contract Management, Insurance Claims Processing and more. This interface replaces the requirement to custom code these types of solutions on the SharePoint platform. Take the SmartDesk and throw in the K2 blackpearl workflow and BPM software and you've got a complete package.

K2 blackpearl for Business Processes

Blackpearl is K2's flagship product. Again, all built on the Microsoft technology stack, users can easily design and develop business process applications using tools they already know and love such as SharePoint, Visio and Visual Studio.

The Science of K2
K2 provides the ability to develop workflow and business processes using the tools we are already familiar with. You can create forms, workflow rules, reports and more with this product -- and it's not limited to working with SharePoint.

Putting it All Together - Somehow

It's not obvious how these two products integrate and fit within SharePoint to build an easy to deploy out of the box ECM solution. The fact that it's all GUI driven -- we think -- is fine, but there still seems to be a lot of work to do. Their claim is that this bundle, coupled with SharePoint is better and cheaper than another enterprise content management system. It's an interesting claim considering many ECM vendors offer customized solutions with their products as well. With all the conversations going on these days about how SharePoint is not necessarily being the best option developing applications, maybe this bundle will help you more easily fulfill a particular type of solution. You will have to take a closer look for yourself.