Content infrastructure software maker Interwoven , Thursday says the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has selected its XML-centric solutions to underpin its new online portal Mass.Gov.
The deal is part of the first phase the state’s initiative to embrace “one-stop shopping” for government services without a lot hassle.
The plan is to allow some 160 state agencies to easily contribute content to the portal with the help of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Interwoven’ Content Infrastructure platform and San Francisco-based Epicentric‘s Foundation Server.
“The new Mass.Gov portal will provide services according to the needs of citizens and businesses, not according to government structure,” says Mass.Gov director Robert E. Nevins. “To achieve this, the Commonwealth needed a content infrastructure that would allow employees at all of these agencies to easily add content to the Website without significant training. With Interwoven”s Content Infrastructure, each agency can maintain control of their own content.”
Epicentric Foundation Server mixes existing portal technology, silo portals and disparate Web sites into a framework for centralized management. The server establishes a system for Enterprise Portal Management (EPM) – a model that significantly reduces the cost of developing, deploying and managing Web initiatives across the global enterprise.
Interwoven usually targets big Web sites because they are exponentially more complicated. Clients include Cisco, AT&T, Nortel, Federal Express, and Gap, Inc. Its principal product is TeamSite, which combines the functions of content management, version control, work flow, and application development in an open, standards-based platform that allows large numbers of contributors across an enterprise to add Web content in a well-managed manner.
“The Massachusetts portal will allow citizens to perform many tasks online that currently require a visit to a state office. Therefore, up-to-date information is critical,” says Interwoven CTO Jack Jia. “Interwoven”s Content Infrastructure allows for the decentralization of content creation while reducing the IT bottleneck.”
Of the 160 state agencies that will ultimately use Interwoven”s Content Infrastructure, several are primed to use it immediately. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, for example, plans to update critical emergency information and issue advisories in real time giving the public up-to-the-minute information when necessary. The Department of Public Health says it intends to provide timely public health alerts enabling the public to stay informed about public health issues at their convenience.