Documentum
Case Write-up: Documentum, Inc.
I. Situation
Howard Shao and John Newton founded Documentum in 1990. Their vision was to develop a new class of software database for automating the management of structured and unstructured documents across enterprises. Traditional databases only managed structured information that could be neatly stored in rows and columns. Such examples include but are not limited to inventory levels, financial statement and manufacturing data. These traditional databases were limited in their ability to store unstructured documents such as compound documents, graphics, electronic mail, scanned images, multi-media, training manuals, marketing collateral, and regulatory submissions. After listening to repeated complaints from customers at Ingress about the problems with unstructured data, Shao and Newton began to pioneer solutions. Initially, they worked to compile documents from different departments using relational databases. In the process of finding the solution for the unstructured data issue they founded Documentum, calling their service enterprise document management. The system’s primarily focus is the capture, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of digital files for enterprise use. Early in Documentum’s life, they managed to land contracts with big enterprises like Boeing in Aircraft Maintenance Documentation and with Syntex in Pharmaceutical NDA. As Shao described during his presentation to the Boeing tech writers: “The new Documentum systems would assemble a manual at the push of a button as fast as a printer could print”, a software with structured and unstructured data that would be simple to use. The contracts with Boeing and Syntex were not particularly profitable but did permit Shao and Newton to test their technology and gain some worldwide known references that could vouch for the successful implementation the start-up company had executed. Shao, Newton and even Rob Adams (initial venture capitalist from Xerox Technology
I. Situation
Howard Shao and John Newton founded Documentum in 1990. Their vision was to develop a new class of software database for automating the management of structured and unstructured documents across enterprises. Traditional databases only managed structured information that could be neatly stored in rows and columns. Such examples include but are not limited to inventory levels, financial statement and manufacturing data. These traditional databases were limited in their ability to store unstructured documents such as compound documents, graphics, electronic mail, scanned images, multi-media, training manuals, marketing collateral, and regulatory submissions. After listening to repeated complaints from customers at Ingress about the problems with unstructured data, Shao and Newton began to pioneer solutions. Initially, they worked to compile documents from different departments using relational databases. In the process of finding the solution for the unstructured data issue they founded Documentum, calling their service enterprise document management. The system’s primarily focus is the capture, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of digital files for enterprise use. Early in Documentum’s life, they managed to land contracts with big enterprises like Boeing in Aircraft Maintenance Documentation and with Syntex in Pharmaceutical NDA. As Shao described during his presentation to the Boeing tech writers: “The new Documentum systems would assemble a manual at the push of a button as fast as a printer could print”, a software with structured and unstructured data that would be simple to use. The contracts with Boeing and Syntex were not particularly profitable but did permit Shao and Newton to test their technology and gain some worldwide known references that could vouch for the successful implementation the start-up company had executed. Shao, Newton and even Rob Adams (initial venture capitalist from Xerox Technology