Disclaimer: This entry is not complete and will be probably be finished later, since some information needs to be checked. The goal is to have a short summary of the documentation I found.
The IBM FileNet P8 Platform is a platform providing enterprise content management. Documentation can be found on the IBM website at this place. A FileNet P8 System Overview can be found there. The source of most of the information for this entry comes from this document.
- content management
- business objects
- Lifecycles
- Properties
- Events and subscription
- classification
- entry templates
- publishing
- content storage
- content caching
- import and export
- search
- versioning
- process management
- extern application integration
- form management
- record Management (Email management)
- system management
- application development and deployment
- scalability
- high availability
- disaster recovery
- accessability
- security
- internationalization (i18n)
FileNet uses XML and Java2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE), as well as mainly the following protocols: Lightweight Direct Access Protocol (LDAP), Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP), and SOAP.
Content Management
Business Objects
Lifecycles
Properties
Events and subscription
The platform provides an event framework so as to push to subscribers the given event of the system.
Classification
The FileNet platform provides the infrastructure for different kind of classification of the resources. This classification can either be performed manually but also automatically using specific tools.
Entry Templates
Entry templates provides means of creating objects in a more uniform manner.
Publishing
The platform also provides means of publishing the content stored.
Content Storage
Content Caching
Import and Export
Search
Versioning
The FileNet application provides the tools to perform a versioning of the resource stored in the system.
Process Management
Extern Application Integration
The platform can be integrated in other existing applications such as: Microsoft Office and SAP R/3 and Sharepoint.
Form Management
The documentation of FileNet says that the application provides powerful form creation and management tools.
Record Management (Email management)
System management
Application Development and Deployment
Scalability
One interesting aspect of the FileNet P8 Platform is that it seems to be designed considering scalability issues and techniques. It provides for diverse components horizontal scalability solutions (like computer farms) or vertically (i.e multiple instances of an application can be run in parallel.
Accessability
Accessability is an issuse for enterprise software in order to make sure that every one can use the software. The software is tested according to the Section 508 Compliance based on Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards, published by the U.S. Access Board on December 21, 2000, at 36 CFR Part 1194.. This includes for example key traversal and access.
Architecture
The preceding picture shows the architecture of FileNet, it is taken from the document cited earlier. In addition to this overall picture it should be noted that FileNet provides both a Java and .Net API, although the java API seems to be the one providing the most functionality.
Content Engine
The content engine is the component taking care of the management of the content. It provides all the necessary functionalities, for example secure access, caching, indexing (also full text), search, classification, versioning, life cycles....
The access is either provides through a Java or .Net API or using the Content Engine Web Services. A particular mode when using Java is to use the EJB Means of transport.
Process Engine
The process engine provides a number of components.
- Process Analyzer (which is a OLAP component)
- Process Simulator to test scenarios
- Business Process Framework
Application Engine
Workspace XT - The Graphical Interface
Rendition Engine
Rendition Engine can be used to convert documents to various formats, for example the usual Office formats (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) as well as to PDF or HTML. Multiple Rendition Engines can also be used in order to scale the document conversion process.
Administrative Components
The platform provides a number of adminstrative components: the dashboard, the system usage reporter, the system monitor
