Oracle WebCenter Content











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Oracle
WebCenter Content

by Brady Hicks

Services. All Rights Reserved.

Docid: 00011157

Publication Date: 2011

Report Type: PRODUCT

Preview

Oracle’s WebCenter Content software is an ECM (enterprise content management)
platform for handling multiple types of unstructured content and driving user
productivity. This application includes core software products such as Document
Management, Capture and Imaging, Forms Recognition, Digital Asset Management,
Records Management, and Support for On-Premises and Cloud. This report looks at Oracle’s WebCenter Content portfolio in greater detail.

Report Contents:

Description

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Oracle’s WebCenter Content platform (formerly Universal Content Management) is designed to offer "complete" ECM (enterprise content management). WebCenter Content offers
strategic content infrastructure for managing content as a strategic asset,
integrating that content into enterprise apps and business processes, and
exposing it within desktop tools, on mobile devices, and within business apps
and processes. Specific management is available for:

  • Documents, images, rich media files, and records.
  • End-to-end content
    lifecycles, from creation to archiving.
  • Contextual enterprise
    applications.

Oracle Company Profile

The product is based
on Oracle’s 2006 acquisition of Stellent.


Vendor

Oracle

Headquarters

500 Oracle Parkway

Redwood Shores, CA 94065 US

Tel: (650) 506-1500

Web: http://www.oracle.com/

Type of Vendor: Application, development, and database software provider

Founded: 1977

Service Areas: Global

Stock Symbol: ORCL (NYSE)

Features

Table 1 looks at some of WebCenter Content’s other features and capabilities.

Table 1. WebCenter Content Elements
Element Description
Digital Asset Management
  • Video conversions
  • Third-party video transcoders
Enterprise Capture, Forms Recognition, and Imaging
  • Enterprise capture client features
  • Enterprise capture server features
  • Document attachments support
Hybrid ECM Services
  • Integration with Oracle Document Cloud Services
  • Documents Cloud Service Commit Driver
    for WebCenter Enterprise Capture
User Experience
  • Document annotations
  • Enhanced desktop integration
  • Mobile device support
  • Modern portal content user interface
  • Trash support
Other Elements
Other elements for helping extend digital asset management; enterprise capture, forms
recognition, and imaging; hybrid ECM services, and, ultimately; the “user
experience.
"
  • Modern user interface with annotations support
  • Reusable UI framework for improved business portal application integration
  • Extended desktop integrations
  • Native mobile apps for smartphones and tablets
  • Unified content repository for content-management activities
  • Additional rendition capabilities and support for video digital assets
  • Enhanced attachment support for Enterprise Capture
  • Hybrid ECM integration with Oracle Documents Cloud Service

Core Products

The WebCenter Content collection includes five
software-based offerings, as detailed in
Table 2.

Table 2. WebCenter Content
Application Benefit
Document Management
  • One Repository – Connectors to popular applications, file
    systems, and databases unify content into a single repository.
  • Integrated Management – Manage content directly from within
    Microsoft Office, Windows Explorer, or a Web browser.
  • Digital Content Management and Search – Automatically
    digitize paper-based assets to locate content by searching full text or
    metadata.
Capture and Imaging
  • Built-In Capture – Surface imaging and workflow capabilities
    via menus and hotkeys within existing applications.
  • Optical Character Recognition – Classify documents and
    extract data using optical character recognition.
  • Application Adapter – Automate business processes.
Forms Recognition
  • Intelligent Extraction – Analyze, recognize, and categorize
    document types, from highly structured application forms to unstructured
    invoices.
  • Learning-Based Automation – Automate as It learns from each
    document to identify and categorize content.
  • Pre-Packaged AP Solution – Forms recognition comes ready to
    process invoices as part of Oracle WebCenter Content’s financials
    automation solution. Includes auto learning, line-item table extraction,
    and associate data searching.
Digital Asset Management
  • Real-Time Collaboration – Collaborate with teams using
    intuitive features such as check-in / checkout, version control,
    workflow engine, and one-click Web publishing.
  • Rich Media Support – Automatically formats image size, shape,
    resolution, and aspect ratio. Pinpoint specific video scenes using the
    storyboard.
  • Media Auto-Configuration – Multiple renditions, including
    thumbnails, Web versions, and print versions, are automatically created
    and compressed at the time of media check-in.
Records Management
  • Complete Record Keeping – Control the creation, declaration,
    classification, retention, and disposition of content across the
    enterprise from a single application.
  • Extended Governance – Manage and enforce file plans,
    centralize legal holds, perform disposition processing and discovery,
    and provide audit trails and disposition certificates.
Support for On-Premises and Cloud
  • Choice of Deployment – Deploy on-premise or migrate assets to
    the cloud for anytime, anywhere collaboration.
  • Single Source of Record – Seamless asset management between
    Oracle WebCenter Content (on premise) and Oracle Content and Experience
    (cloud-based).
  • AI-Powered Content Recommendations – Use Oracle Content and
    Experience for AI-powered content tagging, authoring, and recommendation
    features.

Document Management

WebCenter Content – Document Management allows organizations to capture,
secure, share, and distribute digital and paper-based documents and reports, and
can help streamline collaboration and automate tasks. It also provides guidance
and auditing features to cut down on the risks associated with regulatory and
legal compliance. Key support is extended for:

  • Managing unstructured content.
  • Accessing intuitive content contribution capabilities from within desktop
    applications.
  • Reducing compliance risks.
  • Minimizing printing and shipping costs.
  • Accessing a unified content repository for a range of content management
    services, including search, security, workflow, revision control, and content
    conversion.
  • Leveraging existing IT infrastructure.

Capture and Imaging

The Capture and Imaging component offers end-to-end management for document
images within enterprise business processes. The software brings together
intelligent document extraction; content and business process management
infrastructure; and standards-based integration with Oracle’s business
applications. It is built on Oracle’s Fusion Middleware infrastructure, and
offers a single system to manage multiple business processes. This software
offers functions to help:

  • Automate document-driven processes across the Enterprise.
  • Access a pre-packaged, virtually touchless invoice processing solution.
  • Conduct “image enabling” for business applications using:
    • Classification – Identifies any type of document, based on
      minimal learn sets that are configured on the system.
    • Extraction – Performs detailed,
      accurate data extraction on documents, down to the “line items.
    • Verification & Matching – “Fuzzy
      searching capability to resolve issues when extracted data that does not exactly
      match existing application system data, or when words are truncated or
      misspelled.

Figure 1 illustrates the image enabling process.

Figure 1. Image Enabling Process, from (1) Classification to
(2) Extraction to (3) Verification & Matching

Figure 1. Image Enabling Process, from (1) Classification to (2) Extraction to (3) Verification & Matching

Source: Oracle

Forms Recognition

WebCenter Content’s Forms Recognition offers features for intelligent
extraction, learning-based automation, and automated data-extraction and
searches.

Digital Asset Management

WebCenter Content Digital Asset Management allows organizations to store,
view, and use digital assets and rich media to more easily use digital assets;
make content, collateral, and individual asset items available instantly in the
appropriate formats for use on Web sites, in print materials, and within other
programs; protect and control rich and configurable access control; and automate
routine tasks – such as the process of creating multiple renditions – to manage
and use rich media assets. The software helps:

  • Catalog assets for secure and real-time access.
  • More easily mange rich media files.
  • Provide a foundation for key business applications.

Records Management

The Records Management component is designed to improve the management and
accessibility of critical content, including for disposing of it once its
usefulness has expired. WebCenter Content Records Management allows
organizations to define, manage, and execute records and retention policies for
enterprise content from a single application, as well as helping control the
creation, declaration, classification, retention, and destruction of content and
business records. Primary benefits include ease of use and access, content
declaration and classification, and streamlined audit and review. It offers
features to:

  • Apply consistent records and retention management.
  • Enforce records management and retention in virtually any application.
  • Retain management and eDiscovery capabilities.

Support for On-Premises and Cloud

Among the many WebCenter Content options is its extensive support for
on-premise and cloud-based deployments. This includes rollout migration support,
a single source of record for more seamless asset management, and automated AI
(artificial intelligence)-powered content recommendations.

Applications

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Oracle’s WebCenter Content is designed for
large-sized enterprises, organizations, government agencies, and academic
institutions, especially those in need of extensive document management, capture and
imaging, content
publishing, digital asset management, or records management.

Environment

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The minimum recommended specifications for WebCenter
Content are detailed in Table 3.

Table 3. WebCenter Content Minimum Specifications
Support Type

OS

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Oracle Enterprise Linux 7
  • SUSE Enterprise Linux 11
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012
  • IBM AIX 7.1
  • App-based support for Android and iOS

Database

  • Oracle Database 12.1.0.1+
  • IBM DB2 10.5
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2012
Browser
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 11
  • Mozilla Firefox 31+
  • Google Chrome 43+
  • Apple Safari 8

Figure 2 shows how files stored by the WebCenter Content service are
displayed via its mobile app.

Figure 2. WebCenter Content Mobile App

Figure 2. WebCenter Content Mobile App

Source: Oracle

Support

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Oracle offers product support in the form of data
sheets, whitepapers, blogs, and other forms of documentation; training services;
Web-based, e-mail, and telephone; and support services. Training Services
include “Training from Oracle University” and “Learning Path.” Support Services
are detailed in Table 4.

Table 4. Support Services Options
Premiere Support Advanced Customer Support
  • 24×7 Technical Assistance
  • Proactive” Support Resources
  • Product Updates
  • 24×7 Technical Assistance
  • “Proactive” Support Resources
  • Product Updates
  • Mission-critical support services

Pricing

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Oracle no longer publishes pricing for WebCenter Content software. The company’s
sales staff should be contacted for all deployment cost-related inquiries, by
calling (800) 633-0738.

Competitors

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WebCenter Content competes with more than a dozen ECM vendors. Top rivals
include IBM, Open Text, Microsoft, and Hyland Software.

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About the Author

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Brady Hicks is an
editor with Faulkner Information Services. He writes about computer and
networking hardware, software, communications networks and equipment, and the
Internet.

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