The Influence of JSR-170 on the Content Management Industry - Research Proposal Example

SAE Institute in collaboration with the of Middlesex Research Proposal The influence and effects of JSR-170 on the Content Management Industry Overview, Specification, Benefits and Outlook of an emerging standard for Content Repositories in contrast to conventional Database Abstraction Layers and Web Services Unit Name: Learning Agreement - Research Proposal Unit Number: MA 302 Date Submitted: January 12, 2006 Award Name: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Multimedia Arts Year: 2005 / 2006 Name: Pascal Schrafl City: Zurich Country: Switzerland Advisor: Liliane Burkhard Word Count: 2,251 1 Introduction Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is defined by the Enterprise Content Management Association (AIIM) as "the technologies used to capture, manage, store, deliver and preserve information to support business processes" (Enterprise Content Management Association, 2005). Enterprise Content Management includes Web Content Management, Document Management, Content Syndication, Digital or Media Asset Management, Records Management and Workflow / Business Process Management. As a result of its goal to integrate information from different sources the definition of ECM covers a wide scope. For example business departments turning content into assets, that thus becomes a monetary value for the enterprise. The ECM market is rapidly growing. Regan (2005) quotes a Gartner study that estimates the value of ECM software at $2.5 billion by end of 2006 while Forrester are predicting 19% growth per annum to reach a value of $4 billion by 2008. The ECM market is predicted to rapidly grow in the next few years and will in all likelihood outstrip the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market (Dschner et al, 2005). Status Quo The content is currently locked in proprietary repositories or databases that only allow access with custom APIs. Attempting to have an application that can access information from different repositories is expensive since the application has to implement all the different combinations of repository APIs. As a consequence information that should be integrated remains isolated. This leads to vendor lock-in because the costs of changing a CM-vendor are high. The need for content access standards is obvious yet the content management industry has struggled to solve this problem. "[T]he ECM pure-play and infrastructure vendors are currently pushing their proprietary content repositories, hoping to grab as much market share as possible from rivals" (McNabb and Moore, 2005). Developing custom applications and services on top of a single vendor's proprietary API is an enterprise investment risk. Over time it is possible to lose the investment when the vendor goes out of business. That risk can be mitigated (but not entirely eliminated) through open standards, methodologies or documentation. The Java Specification Requests (JSRs) are documents within the Java Community Process (JCP) for defining new standards for the Java language. JSR-170, whose final version was released on June 17 2005, is expected to solve the above mentioned problem. It offers a standard, vendor-independent API to access data from a content repository and allows the required data flexibility that is needed for ECM to support additional business processes or applications. The concept of JSR-170 is explained in one sentence: "[JSR-170] specifies a standard API to access content repositories in Java 2 independently of implementation" (Nscheler, 2005) A proposed standard can only emerge to a standard if it is widely accepted and supported by the vendors and requested by clients of content management systems. The obvious problem is that while the standard is new not all vendors will have it implemented. This is akin to solving the proverbial problem of what comes first the chicken or the egg. With the standard not implemented the critical mass of customers demanding the implementation of the standard will not be easily achieved. The clients must first be aware of the new standard and then demand their content management infrastructure vendors to adopt the standard (e.g. JSR-170 or a similar standard yet to emerge) to hasten the day when organizations will not be tied to proprietary content repositories. 3 Description of the Project It looks like the JSR-170 standard might be the all-in-one solution suitable for every purpose. However, a number of questions still remain unanswered. Why did other companies criticise the standard What problems does JSR-170 solve and which problems still remain unsolved Why would David Nscheler go on to develop a second standard (JSR-283) that is expected to be even better than JSR-170 How could the problem be solved with conventional Database Abstraction Layers (DBALs) and Web Services Why go through standard developed process which is prone to error when one can rely on established technologies such as DBALs or Web Services What are the reasons for not using the established well known and widely supported Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) standard for accessing the data in the different repositories 3.1 Problem Formulation This research project should give an elaborate overview of the different standards and analyze the acceptance of the JSR-170 standard in the content management vendor and client-sectors in Switzerland. Eventually the survey will be spread to other countries (e.g. Germany and/or Austria), if the feedback is too small in Switzerland. 3.2 Description of the Nature of the Project The nature of this written research project contains three different approaches: - A survey of available literature and evaluation of the different standards and technologies. - Develop and conduct a survey to gather views of industry players. - Analyse and evaluate survey results - Compile an expert interview with David Nscheler, the specification lead of JSR-170 4 Research Aims This bachelor thesis shall answer the following questions: Shall ECM-vendors embrace the new JSR-170 standard and implement it as fast as possible Shall ECM-clients demand JSR-170 standard compatibility from their ECM-vendors What are the advantages and disadvantages of the new JSR-170 standard Why should a new standard be embraced Why not stick with the old already tested and established DBALs or technologies like Web Services 4.1 Task Definition The following tasks are planned for the accomplishment of this research project: 1. Description and comparison of the different standards and technologies 2. Survey on the reception of the standard by the content management vendors and clients 3. Interview with David Nscheler the specification lead of JSR-170 and JSR-283 For a detailed time schedule containing specific dates and milestones please consult section9 of this research proposal. 4.2 Relevance of the Project for the Industry Forrester Research (McNab and Moore, 2005) predict that JSR-170 will have a large impact in the ECM-industry. The introduction of the standard might be as important and as drastic as the introduction of the SQL-standard or the JDBC-standard. On this account the emerging standard JSR-170 should be carefully watched by ECM-vendors and be understood by ECM-clients to jump on the bandwagon when the time has come. 5 Private Motives My motive for this research is to enlarge my knowledge in the content management area since it seems to be the next big innovation. I would like to be up-to-date with the newest technologies and establish expertise in this nascent field of research. The JSR-170 Standard holds the potential to be a technology that will radically change the market with the same impact as the SQL-Standard. Only time will tell whether the JSR-170 Standard will fulfil these high expectations. Should the standard be widely adopted there will be a requirement for experts and therefore I would like to position myself to be one of the leading experts in this field. 5.1 Rationale to deal with the chosen Subject The desire to choose a genuine research topic has driven me to evaluate several possible topics before settling on this one. The JSR-170 is a new standard and therefore research is still needed to clarify some of its aspects and the JSR-170 experts group are warmly receptive of such efforts. I was able to establish contact with David Nscheler the specification lead of the JSR-170 standard who was very excited by my proposal of researching on the standard. 5.2 Learning Target 5.2.1 Personal Learning Target My personal learning objective is to know the emerging standard, its application and how it functions in contrast to other technologies like DBALs or Web Services. I would like to advise customers on how to take advantage of this standard for their own benefit. I should be able, in an expert manner, to justify my recommendations to the customer. 5.2.2 Economical Benefits and Learning Target As I run my own company, I would like to apply my findings in further developing my product portfolio. It is conceivable that my company may eventually help Open Source developers who are willing to adapt their CMS to the new standard and thereby open a whole new market for their software. My company has always supported the Open Source concept and will gladly support efforts to improve the spread of Open Source Software by implementing new standards. 6 Research 6.1 Research Methods The appropriate research methods for the specified tasks are a scientific evaluation, a survey that will be statistically analyzed and interpreted and an expert interview for which the questions must be formulated. 6.2 Structure of the Report Project The final report project will have the following format: 1. Title 2. Research Questions 3. Description and Analysis of the different Standards 4. Survey 5. Expert Interview 6. Conclusions and Recommendations 7. References 8. Appendices 6.3 Methodology The following steps will be undertaken during this bachelor thesis: 1. Study of the theoretical basics of ECM-technologies, its aims and standards: - Literature research and study - Find competing technologies and standards for content repositories and ECM-solutions 2. Discussion and evaluation of the different standards and technologies and how they influence the ECM-industry: - Definition of the different competing technologies and standards - Evaluation and critical scrutiny of these standards and technologies 3. Survey: - Develop the questions for the survey - Find the appropriate target group for the survey - Conduct a test run of the survey and analyze the results - Conduct the actual survey and monitor the results - Analyze and interpret the results 4. Expert Interview: - Develop the questions for the expert interview - Conduct the expert interview - Evaluate the expert interview and continue the discussion concerning unanswered questions 6.4 Literature As the JSR-170 Standard is very new there is no printed literature available that covers the topic. Therefore I will use the internet resources and digitally published white papers or standard specifications to cover the topic of JSR-170. Other relevant established concepts and topics will be covered by printed and published literature. The following list of literature is not exhaustive and may be modified without prior notification. Your list here Your list here 6.5 Final Product The final product will consist of a written bachelor thesis of about 12,000 words. This research paper will not contain any implementation of the various examined standards. 7 Target Audience The target audience are IT-decision makers who need to face the challenge of evaluating a content management system for their enterprise and need to make a decision about demanding the support of the JSR-170 Standard of their ECM-vendor. The second target audience are students who would like to conduct any further research activities as proposed in 10.1 of this document. 8 Presentation The presentation of this bachelor thesis will consist of a brief explanation of the JSR-170 standard and a report of the results of the technology evaluation and the survey. The end of the report will be used for an open discussion concerning the covered topics. 9 Timescale Timescale will be advised soon. The deadline for this bachelor thesis is December 5, 2006. 10 Outlook The next standard based on the JSR-170 standard is already being developed by the JSR-283 experts group. As part of a contemplated masters degree study the impact of the JSR-170 and/or JSR-283 standards could be evaluated and compared with other possible standards such as JSR-168 and JSR-127. By 2008 it would be interesting to analyze the market share of each standard and see whether the technically superior standard has won the battle of acceptance or whether a technically inferior standard was accepted by virtue of a larger support in the marketplace. 10.1 Further Research Activities The following further research activities may be conducted after the completion of this bachelor thesis: Research the acceptance of the standard in 2 years Influence and acceptance of the following JSR-283 standard How many companies will have embraced the new standard and how it has influenced the content management industry Did new business models and business sectors emerge as product of the wider implementation of the standard (e.g. a content repository market) 11 Appraisal This research project will consist of a written study and a presentation of the results. The emphasis is represented by the following formula: Study: 80% Presentation: 20% 12 Advisor The advisor for my research project is Liliane Burkhard, Head Instructor Bachelor of Arts (honours) at the SAE Institute, Zurich. References Dschner, H., Grenzebach, E., Jarzania, S., Pelkmann, T. and Schml, R. (2005). 'Macher & Mrkte: Das Jahrbuch fr Enterprise Content Management 2006.' p.15. H&T Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, Mnchen, 2005. McNabb, K. and Moore, C.(2005) 'JSR 170: The road to universal content access.' Trends, Forrester Research, 2005. p.1,[Online]. Available at: http://www.forrester.com/Research/Document/Excerpt/0,7211,37318,00.html [Accessed January 15, 2006] Nscheler, D.(2005) JSRs: 'Java Specification Requests JSR 170: Content Repository for Java Technology API, June 2005'. [Online]. Available at: http://www.jcp.org/en/jsr/detail id=170. [Accessed January 15, 2006] Regan, K. (2005). 'Web Content Management Tools Help Close the Deal' [Online]. Available at: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/7YbqlUTSXyfDWk/Web-Content-Management-Tools-Help-Close-the-Deal.xhtml. [Accessed January 16, 2006] The Enterprise ContentManagement Association (2006). 'About enterprise content management (ecm).' [Online]. Available at: URL http://www.aiim.org/about-ecm.asp. [retrieved January 15, 2006] 13 List of Abbreviations CMS: Content Management System CM: Content Management WCMS: Web Content Management System ECMS: Enterprise Content Management System OSS: Open Source Software ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning CRM: Customer Relationship Management JDBC: Java Database Connection DBAL: Database Abstraction Layer Read More