The History and Future of FileNet

What is FileNet?

IBM FileNet Content Manager is a fully featured content management solution that helps create innovative business applications on any cloud network in order to govern all enterprise content.

FileNet has many products under its umbrella including BPM (Business Process Management) tools.

FileNet automatically extracts insights from unstructured content. It dissolves content silos, unlocking greater value that was inaccessible before its implementation.

FileNet leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in order to deliver deeper insights from unstructured content. It can be deployed natively on any cloud as long as it is fully integrated with the IBM Cloud.

FileNet is also characterized as an open, content-services architecture that is optimized for the design, configuration, deployment, and maintenance of enterprise content applications at any scale. This allows you to free up resources and time to work on strategic investments for your business.

In the beginning, FileNet bet on a bundle of then-emerging technologies. The central theme was to capture information from paper, store it on a disk, display it on large or high-resolution screens, and print on laser printers.

All of these capabilities were cutting-edge technologies in the 1980s. With its integrated scripting language, customers were able to automate large parts of their business processes. Dramatic improvements in productivity meant multi-million dollar FileNet systems could pay off in months, not years.

Core Benefits of FileNet

• Save time and enhance business applications. With FileNet, you can create innovative intelligent business applications with low-code developer tools and modern GraphQL APIs. This process will allow the rapid integration of hundreds of discrete micro services.
• Simplify and accelerate solution deployment. By leveraging its modern cloud-native solution, developing content applications quicker on any cloud becomes easier. FileNet’s flexible container platform simplifies and accelerates solution deployment and management.
• Increase visibility and maximize productivity. Using an innovative AI business context engine, FileNet can extract insights from content like unstructured documents and videos, among other file types, to boost operational visibility and maximize the productivity of your workers.

What’s New with FileNet

• Low-code developer tools and GraphQL APIs. Help business users and developers to efficiently deliver business applications by using a complete portfolio of content services for document management and intelligent information extraction.
• AI business context engine. Leverage modern AI tools designed for rapid project development and deployment that automate the document classification and extraction process to provide workers with more insight and operational control.
• Unified content governance. Securely, consistently, and intelligently manage content from all repositories and file shares from a single, comprehensive, and scalable solution.
• Addition of a new container in support of the share feature for IBM Content Navigator. Enable content sharing with users that are external to your organization through the external share container REST API. If you plan to use the external share feature in a container environment, you must deploy the Content Platform Engine container, the IBM Content Navigator container, and the new external share container.
• Support for EMC ECS storage. Use ECS storage through the CAS interface as your storage method for container deployments.
• Upgrade configuration profile changes. Create the appropriate profile for your upgrade situation with the new Configuration Manager. During an upgrade, users are asked to specify which version their system is currently running to ensure that the resulting profile includes the correct tasks and fields.
• Save time with Deploy Update task in Configuration Manager. Deploy the FileNetEngine application after a software update, such as an interim fix, with this task in the Configuration Manager. Using the Deploy Update task instead of the Deploy Application task for updates like interim fixes within a major release level can save time in the redeployment of your updated application. Deploy Update is not applicable for installation or upgrade operations. In those cases, the Deploy Application task must be used.
• External content sharing. Include folder-level sharing and the sharing of objects from external users in V5.5.X. Although this feature is exposed to users through the IBM Content Navigator desktop, the FileNet® P8 administrator must also perform configuration steps to enable this feature. To enforce the expiration date on shared content, the share feature includes a new sweep and a sweep disposition policy that checks for share instances at specified intervals and takes appropriate actions. You can edit the policy to change the intervals for the sweep actions.
• New content consistency sweep. Sweep the exact content you desire for consistency. In V5.5.X, the functionality of the Consistency Checker standalone tool is replaced by the addition of a content consistency sweep job in the Administration Console for Content Platform Engine, based on a new class called CmContentConsistencyCheckJob. The full capabilities of the general sweep FilterExpression are available to control what documents or annotations are checked. This includes picking out a particular storage area or objects that were created in a particular date range. The full scalability and resilience features of sweeps are also available. This includes setting max workers and batch size, and the ability to tune the query that is used by the sweep (FilteredQueryTimeout).You can also use time slots to schedule when the sweep runs.
• Wider support for the Consistency Checker standalone tool. Expand beyond a Windows-only tool. The new Consistency checker sweep job runs within the Administration Console for Content Platform Engine and is now supported on all Content Platform Engine platforms.
• External key management. Externally manage Content Platform Engine encryption keys now in V5.5.X using the Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP). You can leverage this feature to centralize key management on a key management server of your choice, under your control, for improved security and privacy protection.The external key management implementation relies on a supported Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) key management system. You configure this system in your environment as part of the preparation for your installation or upgrade. Then, you specify the server for key management as part of the New Domain wizard in the Administration Console for Content Platform Engine. This feature has been validated with IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager (SKLM) 3.0 and Vormetric Thales Data Security Manager (DSM) 6.1. External key management is available when you create new P8 domains only. It does not apply for existing P8 domains.
• Db2 for z/OS is no longer supported.
• Updates for container installation approach. Keep in mind for V5.5.X, the process for installing the content services containers includes several  updates and improvements. A new container in support of the share feature for IBM Content Navigator was released. The external share container provides a REST API that enables the feature for sharing content with users that are external to your organization. If you plan to use the external share feature in a container environment, you must deploy the Content Platform Engine container, the IBM Content Navigator container, and the new external share container.
• Content Based Retrieval Dashboard (Ping Page). Investigate customer indexing and search issues using the Content Based Retrieval (CBR) PCH counter values, viewable by using the System Dashboard. Basic Content Platform Engine and Content Based Retrieval PCH counter metrics such as Batch Duration time, Batch Size, Indexing Duration, Object Indexed per-minute can provide key indexing information about CBR performance and help to resolve problems. The CBR Dashboard ping page provides a method of accessing a subset of the key CBR PCH counter values without requiring installation of the System Dashboard.

FileNet End of Service Dates

With IBM content services built on FileNet Content Manager, you can deploy the most flexible, comprehensive, high-performance content management solution as the foundation for strategic business applications. By leveraging open architecture, IBM content services from FileNet are optimized for performance and total cost of ownership, while providing federated capabilities that unify and enhance the value and productivity of existing IT investments, making it easier to work in a consistent, reliable and deliberate manner that creates and delivers optimal business value.

IBM has formally dropped support for FileNet version 5.2.X on April 30th, 2019. FileNet customers have three main choices if they are still running 5.5.X or any prior versions.

1. Upgrade to V5.5.X
2. Run unsupported by IBM (with support provided by DAS)
3. Migrate to another option

Contact us at DAS today to find out about your particular EOS dates and whether you are due for an assessment, upgrade, enhancement, or maybe just recommendations on options to upgrade or patch any insufficiencies.

The DAS team has also migrated a number of on-premise customers to the Cloud and has utilities developed that ensure for a cost-effective and seamless migration.