The many roads that lead to going mobile with OpenText

Setting the standards: what do you want to achieve with your mobile device?

It seemed obvious that other customers are also playing with the idea of going mobile. Accessing your Content Server environment from a mobile device can have advantages for many customers. Therefore, we did not just focus on this use case, but we took a broader view on the different mobile solutions that OpenText must offer. We looked at a couple of use cases and explored the possibilities of each OpenText solution. We discussed what individual users (roles) would like to gain by accessing Content Server on their mobile device. Finally, we settled on the following use cases:

• Accessing (reading) documents from a mobile device
• Performing workflow steps from a mobile device
• Uploading (adding) files (like photos) to Content Server from a mobile device

We examined other use cases as well but they did match our scope. While they may be important when working with Content Server from a desktop, they were not our focus when looking at mobile use of Content Server.

So many options, choose the one that fits

When we started our research most of our customers where still using CS10.5. With our use cases in hand, we looked at four different available solutions that OpenText offers for mobile. We like to share with you what we found:

1. Tempo and Core are cloud solutions for document collaboration. They have a mobile component, but do not offer the option to go completely mobile. Both are great for document collaboration (also with external users), but other features of CS, like performing workflow steps, are not possible with Tempo and Core.
   
   
2. ActiveView Mobile is not a mobile platform but provides the means to make your web browser mobile-friendly. ActiveView Mobile allows Content Server to be accessed via a mobile web browser, providing you with a kind of mobile user interface on your Content Server website. This solution is very flexible, as the browser access can be used on all mobile devices. Using web reports, the mobile environment is easy to customize for different needs.
    
3. OpenText Everywhere (ECM Everywhere) presents the entire Enterprise Workspace in a mobile (hybrid) application. This solution focuses on a broad use of Content Server functionality. Because individual operating systems (Android/iOS) act differently, the actual functionality available can vary depending on your OS.

Technology catches up on us

Time waits for no one. We experienced this first hand after presenting our view on how to best handle workflow tasks via mobile devices to our customer, OpenText had been moving forward. The company announced Content Server Mobile. This application is the successor of ECM Everywhere, but uses CS16's SmartUI. SmartUI is built on the ActiveView platform, so Content Server Mobile has some advantages over ECM Everywhere in flexibility and adaptability for different needs. While we have not seen this application in action in real life, it looks very promising. 

Different needs, different solution

The lesson we learned from our research in going mobile with OpenText? If a customer asks you about using Content Server on a mobile device, there is not one clear-cut answer. For each customer, the most suitable mobile solution depends on their needs. Are they just looking to access documents from a mobile device? Or do they need to complete workflow tasks via mobile? Each OpenText solution comes with its own advantages and drawbacks.

So, if you are thinking about going mobile with OpenText we have these pointers for you. Make sure you have a general understanding of all OpenText solutions. Do you want to find out which solution fits your needs best? Contact us via the button below.