Open Text : Why upgrade from Webtop to Documentum D2?

There is such a thing as 'too much of a good thing.' It's a predicament many OpenText™ Documentum™ customers find themselves in with their existing implementations of the Webtop interface. Some have been using this workhorse product for 10-15 years, customizing and adding functionality along the way to meet changing user and business needs.

OpenText Documentum D2 is the next generation interface for accessing and interacting with content stored on a Documentum server. Organizations focused on user productivity and future needs are turning to it as the answer to meet the needs of both casual and power users.

Here are 10 reasons why you should upgrade:

1. Roadmap

The published roadmaps for Webtop and D2 clearly show that there is much more on the D2 horizon.

We know that Webtop is critically important to many organizations and are committed to keeping it current (such as running on Kubernetes Containers) and covered on Standard Support.But there's a difference between keeping a product stable and up-to-date and continually add innovative new features.

D2 has a robust roadmap with a substantial engineering effort behind it, particularly on D2 SmartView which we're continually expanding on so that users can do more using SmartView.

2. Configuration vs coding

It often takes significant effort for administrators to maintain existing instances of Webtop, especially if it's been modified through years of custom coding to adapt to new use cases.

D2 includes a configuration layer with an agile configuration tool for building content management apps. This configuration layer is a rules engine that governs the policies and behaviors of documents and controls interaction between content and users. It uses a familiar, spreadsheet-like UI which runs in web browsers and allows business users to set policies without relying on custom development.

3. Validate and deploy quickly

With Webtop, implementing any new document control requirement involves a customization process of design, development, testing and validation.

D2 puts deployment of new content management functionality into the hands of the business and enables it to respond quickly to new requirements. Business analysts can work with users to configure the application, and changes to the configuration are immediately applied to the environment. Formally testing and validating a change is significantly reduced or even eliminated.

4. Collaboration

Webtop allows internal sharing and collaboration but is limited when it comes to ad-hoc external sharing with third parties or partners.

D2 includes deep integration with OpenText Core Share, allowing users to securely share encrypted, audited content externally. External collaborators don't need a Core Share license and at any time you bring the content back into D2 and make it unavailable to the external user.

Sharing content can either be automated based on pre-defined rules or initiated manually through the D2 interface.

D2 also allows collaboration through Microsoft Office solutions - like co-authoring with O365 before bringing it back to D2 to maintain governance and compliance.

5. User experience

Webtop was built to be a 'do it all' interface, which can make it overly complex for casual users who only want to find and view content.

D2 offers a modern, personalized user experience. Administrators can adapt applications to unique user and business function needs while adhering to a centralized set of rules that ensure consistency across the organization.

D2 provides direct access to mission-critical content and employs progressive disclosure - meaning users only see content relevant to the current stage of a task, lessening overload and confusion.

6. Mobile

Webtop has no mobile option and doesn't scale to smaller screen formats.

D2 scales dynamically between screen sizes. Even if you adjust your web browser to a smaller size, the tiles re-arrange, and you can still see the information you need.

D2 comes with a free iOS and Android app, featuring the same look and navigation as SmartView and functionality including remote wipe, Touch ID and offline content.

Users can securely view, create and edit content, and save new versions into D2. They can also action tasks, as well as start, stop and approve workflows directly from their mobile device.

Webtop doesn't allow other apps to retrieve content and surface it in their UI.

With D2, widgets allow Documentum content to be surfaced in Microsoft Office, SharePoint and Teams, Extended ECM for Documentum and Appworks, enabling people to work in their preferred applications. Documentum works transparently in the background, providing governance oversight.

8. Custom search screens

Search functionality that requires custom coding in Webtop is solved OOTB with D2. For example:

• Query form search can be configured easily and is fully supported by OpenText.
• Better facets: D2 offers facets at the folder level without performing a search. It provides facets for workflows as per the screenshot, it provides facets for tasks and facets can be nested

9. Apply lifecycles during document creation

The ability to apply lifecycles during document creation is a common customization for many Webtop customers.

D2 enables lifecycle management through a simple configuration that also includes lifecycle batch processing.

10. Controlling PDF documents

PDF is a universally accepted, secure format for sharing documents with virtually anyone, anywhere, using any application. Watermarking is a common requirement - and a necessity in many highly regulated industries - that required custom code in Webtop.

D2 comes standard with many PDF processing capabilities, including watermarking and the ability to add headers and footers. You can also insert content such as cover pages, signature pages, and automatically add PDF pages anywhere in the document.

OpenText provides a full range of services to help your organization successfully transition from Webtop to D2. Let our experts work with you to assess your current environment and provide recommendations for a successful upgrade.