In Focus: Oracle Joins the Content Integration FrayIn Focus: Oracle Joins the Content Integration Fray

Oracle has acquired Context Media, the Providence, R.I., content integration company. In doing so, Oracle follows in the path of IBM, FileNet, EMC, Day, Mobius, Interwoven and other software vendors that have recognized the need to integrate disparate content repositories. Context Media also specializes in rich media deployments, giving Oracle a play in a data-intensive market that has been tapped by both IBM and EMC.

Privately held Context Media is among the few remaining independents (along with WindFire Technology) in the tiny content integration field, which Forrester Research put at just $50 million last year. IBM claimed the biggest chunk of that market late last year when it acquired segment leader Venetica, which offered its VeniceBridge middleware as a productized alternative to what had been a custom integration market.

In recent years, "content integration" and "content virtualization" have become common terms for integration servers, modules or content buses that serve as middleware either between repositories or between repositories and applications or portals. The software typically includes out-of-the-box links to the most popular document and content management systems as well as a common API for building customized links to homegrown repositories. These links map the metadata scheme of multiple repositories to the middleware and then to the corporate standard repository, portal or integrated applications. Simple content integration systems offer one-way links, meaning you can search and retrieve content, but you can't edit, update and check back in to the source repositories. More sophisticated solutions, of the kind offered by Venetica and Context Media, offer two-way links, so you can revise and version content.

Until recently, integration middleware was a six-figure investment, with companies spending as much as $300,000 to integrate a handful of repositories. The larger the number of repositories in the enterprise, the more the investment made sense, because it spread the cost. According to Forrester, 78 percent of companies have more than one content repository, and 43 percent have six or more. Confirming that companies are more interested in working with what they have rather than ripping and replacing legacy repositories, integration modules have multiplied and matured in recent years. FileNet, EMC Documentum and Mobius have all refreshed their integration offerings recently. Together with the consolidation of independents, prices are headed lower as the software becomes an add-on to ECM suites.

Oracle wasn't available for comment, but it's probably looking at a wider play than just tying, say, FileNet or Documentum repositories into Oracle Portal or Collaboration Suite environments. For one thing, IBM has integrated Venetica's software into its Enterprise Information Integration suite, so Oracle may be looking to bolster its own EII suite. Context Media's rich-media prowess will also give Oracle offerings for broadcasters and Web and print publishers. CMP Media, for example, uses Context Media's software to integrate Web sites and aggregate content. IBM and EMC have both tapped big media with digital asset management technologies, and they're attractive customers because their massive content stores drive server, database, storage and related infrastructure sales.

Resources:

a. Read CRN's original story, "Oracle To Buy Assets Of Context Media":
http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml?articleId=166404156

b. Check out McDonald's implementation of Day Software for content integration in this recent feature:
http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=163100783

c. These real-world BPM, text mining and EII deployments demonstrate the value of uniting data and content. But which technologies are ready for your enterprise?
http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=56200344

d. Four content access options help users gain better intelligence, improve customer service and reuse valuable content, but most firms will need a combination of approaches.
http://www.transformmag.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=50900269