EMC: Rapid app development and cloud computing key to future of CM

EMC held its annual EMC World conference this week in Olrando, Fla. At the keynote, Mark Lewis, who is President of EMC's Content Management and Archiving (CMA) Division, said the key to cost-effective information management would be the ability to deploy applications quickly that enable organizations to use information as needed.

Lewis says that cloud computing will play a role in this by providing a staging area for companies to implement new applications in a rapid manner. There was panel on cloud computing at this week's MIT CIO conference [1] in Cambridge, Mass. and one of the roles discussed was a staging area--a place where you could deploy disposable applications or experiments, then take them down when you are done.

One such way was the networks bought space on Rackspace [2] the day before the election, so that viewers could follow information online about the election results. According to Emil Sayegh, GM at The Rackspace Cloud, they used the equivalent of 30 servers the next day, but by the end of the week, the need was gone. It's a perfect example of how a content owner can build an application or online space with the resources they need for that particular day, and then take it down when a special event is over.

Another example came from Rear Admiral Elizabeth Hight, who is Rear Admiral, Vice Director at the Defense Information systems Agency the IT department of the DoD. She described a cloud system where her department provides a staging area with a variety of services that lets people on the ground build the applications they need rapidly then take them down when the need is over.

Lewis says that this type of flexibility requires us to rethink content management systems. "Streamlining and automating business processes is a sure way to save money. Providing ways to develop and deploy process-centric applications faster and at a lower cost multiplies the potential savings. But creating a flexible, adaptive information environment requires moving beyond the typical content management platform to focus on a composition platform that accelerates application development," said Lewis

Lewis and EMC could be on to something. Moving forward companies are going to need to provide flexible and rapid development environments to respond to single-use or unique situations and content management systems need to move beyond monolithic systems with long implementation periods. By providing a set of services and a development framework, EMC could be looking at the future of content management.

For more information:
- see the EMC press release [3]

Related Articles:
Is moving ECM to the cloud a realistic goal? [4]
Not all cloud vendors are created equally [5]
Decho provides cloud connectivity [6]
Microsoft unveils new cloud computing platform [7]
EMC Atmos takes to the clouds [8]