Documentum – EMC World 2013 – Momentum – Early Predictions

On May 6th through May 9th, EMC World and the smaller component for Documentum/IIG (Momentum) will kick off in Las Vegas again at the Venetian.  TSG has attended all the U.S. Momentum’s since the 1996 inaugural event in Miami.  Once the agenda is published, we like to post our predictions on what attendees will see compared to previous events. 

Momentum 2012 Recap

One of our more popular posts include our EMC World 2012 Recap.   Also see our predictions post from last year.  We think we correctly predicted that the key buzz words would be D2, Cloud, Mobile.  We were pleasantly surprised by D2 4.0 regarding the amount of effort Documentum put into it after licensing the software from C6.  2012 brought the following changes:

• D2 replaced the effort for a Webtop replacement named in 2011 as the Unified Client Interface.  Webtop will continue to exist but will not be enhanced.  CenterStage and DAM continue to be a question/concern with D2.
• Box.net integration was dropped (obviously Syncplicity purchase a big reason here)
• Cisco – demoed in 2011 in trying to get collaboration, solution dropped in 2012

Momentum 2013 Thoughts

The complete Momentum agenda can be found here as well as the time slots here.

Some relevant points  around certain keywords/buzzwords contained in the descriptions.

• D2 – Mentioned in 9 of 92 presentations
• XCP – Mentioned in 16 of 92 presentations
• Mobile – Mentioned in 8 of 92 presentations
• Cloud – Mentioned in 9 of 92 presentations
• Solution – Mentioned in 25 of 92 presentations
• SharePoint (Buzzword from 2010) – Mentioned in 3 of 92 presentations
• Case Management (Buzzword from 2011) – Mentioned in 2 of 92 presentations

Solution is the Buzzword for Momentum 2013

In glancing through the topics, we see a clear trend to more business solutions rather than solely software products.  Some other telling statistics – of the 92 presentations, 31 include a specific industry focus and include:

• 8 Life Sciences Presentations
• 4 Healthcare
• 7 Energy and Engineering
• 6 Financial Services
• 6 Public Sector

13 of the 92 presentations are co-presented with clients .  The focus on a particular industry with an industry solution (and example client) is a good way to push the industry forward with consulting/software solutions.

Documentum  Solutions – becoming a consulting firm

As we have mentioned previously on this blog, IIG/Documentum has been struggling with growth compared to overall EMC and particularly VMWare as posted on the AIIM site back in February.  Over the last 10 years, we have seen IIG pivoting, similar to IBM in the 1990s, to move to more services combined with software products in a search for more revenue.  It many ways, as a division still looking for growth in a mature and commodity ECM market, IIG needs to increase revenues without substantially increasing costs for non-revenue generating items.  Some indications include:

• Purchase of Trinity at the end of the 2012.  Brings expertise in energy/utility in the form of clients and consultants.
• D2 – as  we mentioned last year, D2 was an acquired/licensed product from C6 and gave Documentum the ability to unveil a new product for sale (new revenue) without substantial R&D effort.  Multiple “solutions” around life sciences and other combination of D2 that will require consulting resources.  (See D2 Review)
• Partner Programs – we anticipate that partner programs will continue to evolve as IIG moves from a pure software company to one that competes with partners for consulting revenue. A solution focus including pre-buying consulting services will continue to drive Documentum Consulting or SST partners.  See our thoughts on Documentum Consultanting – Understanding the Basics.
• EMC World/Momentum – Genius lab – IIG Services Group  – “Free” one on one consulting – can schedule up to an hour.   This is a great consulting sales tool.  Free consulting is what all consulting firms do for clients to understand needs and drive demand (and sell consulting services).

Summary – TSG EMC World Predictions

In no particular order, we would predict:

• The word ‘solution’ will be mentioned a ton in the keynote.  Related phrases may be “purchasing options” and “providing experts”.  Essentially, lots of buzzwords that don’t come out and say “we are selling you consulting along with software”.
• Less software discussion – D2, XCP 2.0 are the major components but Documentum will be looking to use them to engage in business discussions and solutions.  Less about D7 and Syncplicity and other technical plays.
• Still Talk on Big Data/Cloud/New User but struggling to find relevant examples of clients.  More technology than the tie to solutions.
• Major Announcement – every year was see one – sometimes they are big (buying Syncplicity), other times they quickly fade (Box.Net, Cisco).  We would anticipate that IIG will probably include buying somebody – probably another services company aligned with Documentum and a particular niche that could sell services promptly like Trinity was for Utilities and Energy.  Some guesses: maybe Beach Street for Public Sector, or one of the xCP providers for Financial Services.   Other niches (Life Sciences/ Health Services) are harder to guess.  Might be pure-play mobile client to bulk up that side of the services equation.
• Major Partnership – Similar to Cisco/Box.net – typically some major integration announced that fades over the year.

Hope to see many of the readers there.  Give us your thoughts or predictions below and we will see how it plays out.