This weekend I took part in a one-day conference on Content Management that was held by the STC UK Chapter. I gave a presentation on my personal experience of introducing a document management system in one department of a large IT division of a leading UK company where I was working as a contractor.
I was able to report that the document management solution we chose, Alfresco, was a great success both technically, in terms of its features and ease of use, and practically, in terms of user acceptance and improved working practices. Where the project came a little unstuck was in what, for want of a better word, I’d call the “political” sphere. The project lacked a business sponsor at a sufficiently senior level in the company hierarchy, so by the time I left the company involved it was unclear whether a budget would be available to make the solution I’d introduced a permanent feature of the department’s infrastructure.
Update 5th March 2008: I’ve just heard that the company have at last decided to go ahead with an official implementation of Alfresco. Perhaps it was something I said?
