It has been awhile since I've considered using KnowledgeTree on the office intranet. I eventually decided that I needed to focus more on our content management system (we are now using Drupal) and consider implementing a document management system (DMS) at a later date. A recent Linux.com article on KnowledgeTree reminded me about the DMS that I almost forgot about.

These days, effective document management means accessibility from anywhere on the planet, electronic storage, reliable backup, and instant document modification updates. KnowledgeTree offers all that and more. It's available in several editions, including an open source community version (which we reviewed last year) that businesses can tailor to their individual needs.

You can install KnowledgeTree in-house on your company's server or use it as an online, hosted service. With it, you can create, edit, and store documents from Linux, Mac, and Windows computer. KnowledgeTreeLive, the hosted version, can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and a supported browser -- Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer.

I always promised myself that I would take a second look at KnowledgeTree sometime down the road. Unfortunately, at least for for KnowledgeTree, the regional office I'm under has started a move toward Microsoft's SharePoint. As I've written in the past, SharePoint is confusing system to describe and even Microsoft has a tough time explaining their product to potential customers. I initially thought SharePoint would be more of a CMS, Portal, and wiki but each time I've looked at SharePoint I'm realizing that it's greater strength may be in document management.

"Microsoft SharePoint 2007 users are finding effective collaboration requires the ability for any office worker to scan paper documents and add them to Microsoft SharePoint 2007 repositories. Taking this approach with document imaging software enables the people closest to the actual work processes to decide at what point paper-based information gets added to Microsoft SharePoint.

To address this need, eCopy™ developed the eCopy Connector for Microsoft SharePoint, document imaging software that lets any office professional scan documents directly into a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services repository from a multifunction printer (MFP) or network-attached scanner."

Complete Story

Recently, I read some good posts regarding content management systems (CMS) on a few blogs I visit almost daily.  The posts have had me thinking and reflecting in general about CMS.  However, I won't talk too much about them so you get a chance to go on and read the articles yourself.  The first post comes from OpenSourceCommunity.org and the second post from Gadgetopia.

Stoyan at OSC asks the question, "What do you think makes a good CMS?"   In the post he discusses which tasks he would like to perform in the CMS as well as what he would like to see with regards to the back-end, front-end, documentation, features, and security.  Hopefully, we'll be seeing a few more people comment on his post with what they think makes a good CMS.  We've had similar discussions here at CMSReport.com...so l am anxious to see more discussion elsewhere about CMS on a different site with a slightly different audience.

Gadgetopia's Deane Barker takes an opposite approach by not talking about what makes a good CMS, but instead focusing on what he sees CMS lack and what needs to be worked on.  Specifically, Barker discusses how file and image handling in content management really needs to be improved in CMS.

Here’s something that frustrates me in a lot of content management systems: file handling. Specifically, the inability to tightly bind a file to one or more content objects, and ensure that it lives and dies solely within the scope of those objects.