Documentum Tutorial

As of 2020, content is one of the primary aspects that organizations have focused on. Content management has become a difficult task as it is to update on a real-time basis. Every enterprise would like to create, store, and update the valuable content that adds value to the organization to make perfect decisions for its growth. The traditional content management techniques could reach the expectations of the organization. Hence, Documentum has come up with advancements in content management to help the organizations make precise decisions. In this Documentum tutorial, you will learn the basic concepts of Documentum, architecture, lifecycle, products, and its benefits.

What is Documentum?

Documentum is an Enterprise Content Management platform, owned by OpenText, that provides the flexibility to store valuable content in a safe and secure environment called a repository. Documentum has developed to clear the unorganized content problem in an enterprise using relational database technologies. Documentum is a software that allows storing files in the document management systems rather than using the file servers.

In traditional techniques, the organizations have used the file systems, paper-based documentation that uses more time. As an advancement, the Documentum is the latest tool that helps convert paper-based documents into application-based files. This advancement has brought a high pace in the content management part of an enterprise. Documentum allows the users to perform the functionalities like viewing, editing, updating the documents using the documentation system available. It also includes an add-on that will enable users to comment or add some small quotes of the text of the edits performed by the user. In simple terms, Documentum has been designed to deliver the functionalities like storing, maintaining, and organizing the immense amount of information in a single repository.

Documentum allows configuration via multiple channels that ensure to build a highly effective content strategy that can relate to the document management requirements. It helps the enterprise in making wise decisions that will eventually result in better growth of the organization. It provides a user enhanced interface that has some automated features with flexible and supportive content capabilities. 

Features of Documentum:

Documentum has been designed with multiple features that are flexible and unique from all the other content management systems. The primary functions of

Documentum are listed below:

• Centralized repository availability: Documentum includes a centralized repository that helps perform the operations like the reuse of content, approval of the content, reviewing the content, etc.
• Security: When compared with the file server system, Documentum enables more security. The file systems will allow the users to read, edit, delete, or make any modifications to the content. Documentum prevents such action by allowing the users a set of permissions. The permissions could be enabled based on the user and the profile or activity that they are intended to do.
• Controlled Life cycle: Documentum will follow or implement a life cycle to perform any action or operation on the document. The actions could be either approval, review or reuse, etc.
• Enhanced Auditing: To ensure the chain of command in Documentum, it supports all the legal requirements and the satisfactory outcome.
• Web-access, window-based: Documentum can be windows based and web-based as well. Windows-based documentation will allow the users to work on the documents in offline mode too. Web-based Documentum will enable the users to access and work on the papers over the internet or web.
• Regulatory compliance: Documentum systems follow the regulatory agreements, which are the set of rules to be followed by the organization. It is flexible to manage the
• content in compliance:It also includes the compliance control that requires controls or approvals via digital signatures.

The architecture of Documentum: 

Documentum architecture is based on three main components or stages that are listed below:

• Client application
• Documentum server
• File systems and RDBMS

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Let us understand each stage in Documentum architecture.

Client application: 

Documentum systems will usually follow the processor architecture of the client-server model. This layer allows the client to perform the functionalities or operations like create, edit, lookup the documents. The client layer interacts with the server layer, like the client-server model. It can interact with the content to get the tasks or operations done in a precise way.

Documentum Server:

Documentum Server in Documentum architecture has been specifically designed to perform the tasks of the documentation application. The main functionality of the Documentum server is to complete the tasks of creating or editing using the documentation application. It also helps in handling the read and write operations for the web or internet-based client applications. Like in the client-server model, the Documentum server uses HTTPS or HTTP protocols to maintain and manage the communications between the clients and servers.

File system and RDBMS:

RDBMS refers to relational database management systems that help in storing and managing large amounts of data efficiently. The Documentum performs the operations on the RDBMS. The RDBMS and the file systems are situated at the bottom of the Documentum. Architecture. They individually handle the requests that are provided by the content server layer.

Once done, it stores the data in the form of the tables.

Layers of Documentum:

As we know the architecture of Documentum, we also need to know about the different layers of Documentum. Documentum consists of four different layers. Let us have a quick review of every segment in detail.

1.Service Layer:

The content server in Documentum provides capabilities like managing the repository and implementing the core content using the Service layer. The central repository in Documentum stores the data and the related metadata. The document consists of content files that have the attributes. The metadata includes content and relationships that exist between the content and are present in the repository. 

The user uses the metadata to perform tasks like searching and retrieving the content needed by them. This layer also helps in adding an encryption method that allows the content to be encrypted to protect the data from unauthorized access.

2. Interface Layer:

The interface layer has primarily been used to establish the links and communication with the clients and content server along with the content repositories. The interface layer is otherwise called the data link layer. The interface layer includes the process of determining how data bundles are packed and transmitted via the network.

The interface layer in Documentum includes two main components called Documentum Foundation Classes and standard APIs. These components help in controlling and accessing all the functionalities in the system. All the Application Programming Interfaces in Documentum have collectively been called as DAPI Documentum Application Programming Interface.

3. Client Layer:

The client layer in Documentum includes the necessary application and the software, built on content management services. The applications help in accessing the Documentum repository, which is a centralized one. It additionally includes different administrator tools, user interfaces, and other integration tools.

4. Application Layer:

The Application Layer in Documentum is correctly used to integrate the content servers with enterprise applications. It helps in the collaboration of the application layer with the content management system. Some of the products have represented below:

• Documentum content services for portals
• Documentum content services for Lotus Notes mail
• Documentum content services for SAP
• Documentum content services for Siebel e-business application

The lifecycle of Documentum:

The lifecycle of Documentum represents the different stages that the document undergoes in its lifetime. It lets us explicitly understand the modifications and the processes in the document through its lifetime.

Documentum also provides the flexibility of adding a notification stating that the document will be approved by calling the custom codes and performing the required operations or tasks. It also includes automation of the process that has to be shown on the document. The maintenance and creation of the lifecycle is done by the Documentum developer studio. There will be only one lifecycle added to one document. Dm_policy is the attribute that allows storing of the lifecycle in the form of objects. The r_current_state and the r_policy_id are the other attributes used to store the documents and current state of the lifecycle document.

Documentum Web-Based Applications:

Documentum web-based applications are those that allow the users to perform the tasks via web or internet. Many different web-based applications provide access to the

Documentum repositories. Some of the web-based applications are listed below:

• My Documentum
• Documentum D2
• Documentum WebTop
• Documentum Administrator (DA)
• Documentum xCP

Documentum Microsoft Windows-Based Applications:

Documentum Windows-based application systems are those application systems that allow users to work in offline mode, providing access to the various repositories available.

The most commonly used Documentum Microsoft Windows-Based applications are listed below.

• Authoring Integration Services: Also known as AIS is a Documentum system that is compatible to work on both Macintosh and Windows systems.
• Documentum Desktop: Documentum Desktop is an application that allows integration into some third party to Microsoft products like Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Outlook.

Products of Documentum:

There are many products available in the market that are considered to be the products of Documentum. Some of them are represented below:

• Documentum D2
• Documentum xCP
• Captiva OEM
• Captiva IEC
• Xpression Documentum
• Xpression Enterprise Edition
• Documentum Platform
• Energy and Engineering Solutions

Documentum WebTop:

Documentum WebTop, also called Web Desktop, is an application that provides the users with an environment to perform the functionalities or tasks over the network. A WebTop includes many aspects or components like client applications, web applications, client-server applications and many more.

The Documentum WebTop allows the users to access the documents and work remotely similar to the Microsoft, Mac OS, Linux.Unix based systems. WebTop is a flexible and compatible interface that is used by most of the CMS systems.

Whether it being a small, medium or large enterprise, the workload will be based on the business organization. Some of the organizations would have much workload to manage and modify the documents like accessing, editing, deleting, reviewing the documents. Webtop provides enriched support that allows users to specify the roles and permissions to perform the assigned tasks based on their roles and responsibilities. WebTop also provides a feature of removing unnecessary things or tasks involved, which would lead to an improvement in productivity along with faster speed.

WebTop Documentum includes customization that helps in setting up the system as per the requirements by eliminating the dependencies on the other departments. It also provides access to the different available widgets.

Documentum Web Publisher:

Documentum Web Publisher is a web-based application available in Documentum that provides its extensive support by following an automated process of creation and publishing of the documents. Document Web Publisher uses a content server for storing the content and then processes the content to the repositories of Documentum to publish the content onto the site.

Document web publisher is a powerful application that has the capability of creating, designing, managing and maintaining the websites and portals on the web. No matter if it is a technical or non-technical user, this purely allows the users to create easily, edit and manage the content based on the business requirements. Web Publisher is proficient in making the users understand and access the websites which include multiple languages by adding some additional functionalities like lifecycles, navigation, site structure etc. In simpler terms, Web Publisher is an automated application that enhances the content and document management.

Documentum Digital Asset Management:

Documentum Digital Asset Manager (DAM), also known as Media Assets Management (MAM), Rich Asset management (RAM) is a powerful software that includes intellectual and administration abilities to a client. It enables the usage of complete sets of content management over the client’s digital assets.

Documentum Digital Asset Management includes multiple features and benefits listed below:

Active preview: Digital Asset Management provides the option of reading the document that consists of various pages within a web style preview or document preview.

File transformations: It can modify or transform the digital content into different formats as needed, which makes the content ready to be compatible with any type of platform.

Collections: Digital Asset Management helps in creating and managing the collections of the content. It will do it by making it available in all different forms so that the users can share, modify and download based on the requirement.

Thumbnail Display: Represents the view of files from any search results or folder in the form of a thumbnail or magnified preview.

Benefits of Documentum:

Documentum is a great tool that has come up with advancements and benefits to enhance the business by managing the data and documents in the right way. It’s essential to understand the benefits that add significance to the software. The most valuable benefits are listed below, which will give you a clear picture of Documentum and its usage in current times.

• Documentum provides security that uses a role-based format. This includes multiple users, and their permissions are assigned based on the roles to perform the functionalities or tasks related to the content or documents.
• Documentum is a platform that is capable of including some additional complementary products like imaging, file syncing and sharing, publishing etc.
• Documentum is a software that is flexible to work with web-based and windows based systems.
• Documentum helps the organizations in becoming more productive with ease to save a lot of time and efforts, building up robust connectivity with the users, clients and applications.
• Documentum uses standards that follow the policies of the organization, allowing users to access and specific documents being a highly configured search engine.
• Documentum provides an ecosystem that includes easy navigation with high flexibility and compatibility levels.
• Documentum helps the organizations in taking the right decision at the right time that benefits the organization’s growth.

Conclusion:

Documentum is the most robust and innovative data-driven software that helps business organizations in driving businesses efficiently. Now that you have an idea about the basic concepts about the features, architecture, and products of Documentum, you will need to learn more deeply to gain an in-depth knowledge of Documentum. I hope the information in the tutorial is helpful. Assuming that it has given a basic idea, I would like to inform you that learning and understanding Documentum is a plus in the current times. For any queries/questions related to the topic, we are here to help you resolve them.