Are you saying I should learn SharePoint?
I've been getting this question from some of my readers and my honest answer is "You should retain your expertise in Documentum, but you should learn something else too."
Why? Because every day (and I mean "day" rather literally) a Documentum customer tells me that they no longer see Documentum as the answer to all ECM problems.
Want proof? Pfizer recently "retired" a Documentum-based application. What was the replacement created in? SharePoint.
Why? It was cheaper, easier, and most importantly, it provided the users with the same functionalities. Will this be happening more and more? Who knows, but consider the practicality AND the business of it. Keep in mind that EMC and Microsoft have embraced in a bit of a snuggle.
Graham Cheney, an architect for a large Solutions Provider in the UK writes this:
I am currently working with a number of customers who are feeling let down by the document/content/knowledge management project they undertook 2-3 years ago and are now looking for something much lighter and far more integrated into the normal day-to-day activities. A lot of these people have been looking at SharePoint as a way of filling the gap between the file system which is anarchy and the document management system which is owned by the process zealots.
Perhaps the (EMC/Microsoft collaboration) will help enterprises build a bridge that will keep the process zealots happy.
What does EMC get out of this deal? The ability to retain a few more customers.
What does Microsoft get out of this deal? The acceptance of SharePoint by the process zealots (because they can carry on using Documentum). They also get EMC saying how great Documentum is on SQL Server.
Looks to me like Microsoft got the better deal.
There are also pretty good reasons for doing business with Microsoft if you're a solutions provider. Don Dodge, of the Microsoft Emerging Business team says this:
Microsoft partners get $8 of revenue for every $1 to Microsoft. We are talking hundreds of billions of dollars. That is billions with a "B". System Integrators (SIs) large and small do a big business integrating Microsoft products with custom applications and legacy systems. Software companies (ISVs) also do a good business selling applications on top of Microsoft platforms, or applications that add functionality to other Microsoft products.
He adds that despite Microsoft's size, they are very approachable and I have actually found this to be true. (And I've introduced myself as a mere recruiter and blogger!)
Finally, I am still hearing companies say that they have "a lot of interest in Documentum" AND Documetum is beginning to become an ENTERPRISE application at many of my client sites.
Still, COLLABORATION and COLLABORATIVE TECHNOLOGIES seem to be where most of the interest is. If EMC and Microsoft are doing it, maybe you (we) should too.