IBM’s Cinnamon Sweetens Content Management


IBM said it is using
XML to make Web and digital content easier to find in repositories.


To do this, engineers in the systems vendor’s Silicon Valley Labs said this
week they are sprinkling its content management software with Project
Cinnamon, a homegrown technology that simplifies the management of XML
content by automating the modeling of data and document reception.


According to a company statement, IBM will add Cinnamon to the next version
of DB2 Content Manager, which is currently in beta and will be rolled out
before year’s end to give business users a more synchronized view of
business data.


Cinnamon features a new XML Schema mapping tool for the administration level
that allows DB2 to export items from one content management system to another. Unveiled
as a research project last June, Cinnamon is an extension of
earlier work, code-named Clio, to support XML in DB2.


IBM’s advancement in the multibillion dollar space for shepherding content
is another indication that software makers are finding ways to make their
products valuable commodities in an industry beset by complex record-keeping
regulations.


The prospect of being able to call up files no matter what repository they
sit in has information managers — and the vendors who cater to
them — buzzing.


Using this fact and its increased XML support to its advantage, IBM is
making it easier for distributed applications to be exchanged with enterprise
content management systems. Specifically, IBM is using Web services
to make it easier for developers to program and
integrate applications in DB2 Content Manager.


This could be an important move in a sea of maneuvers from competitors EMC,

its Documentum division and other market leaders, such as Interwoven and
FileNet. FileNet recently unveiled its XML Web Services product to provide
rich content and business process management functionality for ECM
applications.


The software publishes WSDL descriptions and support for Web
services operations from a variety of clients, including J2EE and Microsoft
.NET.


In the meantime, IBM products, such as WebSphere Process Choreographer and
WebSphere/Rational graphical application development tools, offer content
management and collaboration services as key components of IBM’s information
management stack.


In addition to new XML capabilities, IBM is also looking to develop a
content access interface and Java-based content
repository based on JSR170 standards. The company will use the Java Content
Repository API to provide standard access to content repositories.

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