Documentum, founded in 1990, built an early lead in the document management market. In December 2003, the company became part of EMC, one of the biggest and most aggressive vendors in the data storage systems marketand some of EMC’s hard-charging culture appears to have rubbed off.
David Beyers, manager of training technologies at Alteon, Boeing’s flight and maintenance training subsidiary, says he notices the difference in the Documentum sales team now that they work for EMC. “The sales guys were low-key before,” he says. “Now they want more commitments up front. They’re a little more aggressive.”
Beyers adds, though, that EMC has also brought more depth to Documentum’s technical support staff. “They’ve been really good about putting us in touch with engineers at no charge,” he says. “Before, I just don’t think [Documentum] had the staff. It costs money to provide those kinds of people.”
While Documentum used to have a reputation for being expensiveat one time costing more than twice as much as competitorsits pricing is now in line with the rest of the market, according to customers. However, getting the code customized can still be pricey, says Brian Madden, director of information technologies at Boston Capital, a real estate financing firm.
Documentum developers can command hourly rates of $175 or more, whereas standard Web developers run $130 per hour, according to Madden. “It can add up very quickly if you need to make customizations,” he says.
Still, Documentum’s system stands apart in providing a soup-to-nuts ability to handle multiple types of content, says Steve Servais, director of human resources information systems at The Manitowoc Co., a manufacturer of ships and cranes. “We really looked for a vendor that could meet our document management, Web content management and collaboration needs,” he says. “We felt Documentum delivered that.”
And many customers like that Documentum is large and well established, particularly now that it’s under EMC’s wing. Darrell Delahoussaye, manager of information systems in Bechtel’s oil, gas and chemicals division, has worked with Documentum since the early 1990s. As Documentum expanded it has incorporated more sophisticated features into its system. “They’ve maintained their relationship with customers they’ve had for a long time,” Delahoussaye says, “and as part of EMC they have even more resources.”
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EMC operating results*
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*Fiscal year ends Dec. 31; YTD reflects first three months
Source: company reports
Other Financials**
Total assets – $15.80B
Stockholders’equity – $11.72B
Cash and equivalents – $1.68B
Short-term investments – $1.38B
Long-term debt – $128.08M
Shares outstanding – 2.44B
Market value, 4/25 – $31.96B
**As of March 31, 2005, except as noted