# Documentum

Documentum is an enterprise content management (ECM) software developed by OpenText. In December 2003, Dell EMC acquired Documentum for $1.7 billion, integrating it into EMC's Enterprise Content Division (ECD), one of its four operating divisions.
On January 23, 2017, OpenText, a Canadian technology firm specializing in ECM with its headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, acquired Documentum from Dell EMC for $1.62 billion. The sources of funds included $650 million in cash, $585 million in net proceeds from an underwritten public offering of OpenText's common shares, $254 million in net proceeds from the reopening of OpenText's 5.875% senior notes, and the remainder drawn from OpenText's existing revolving credit facility.

## Founding

Documentum was founded in June 1990 by Howard Shao and John Newton, who had previously worked together at Ingres. With initial funding from Xerox, Shao and Newton created a custom system for Boeing to manage information for the Boeing 777 training manuals. They also developed another system for Syntex, a pharmaceutical company, to automate the creation of New Drug Application (NDA) documents for submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Documentum introduced its Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) in 1993, which was a client-server service for managing electronic documents. Users could connect to the repository via desktop client applications. EDMS also included a full-text search engine to retrieve documents from the repository.

## Company growth

In 1993, Jeffrey Miller, a Silicon Valley marketing executive, joined Documentum as president and CEO, with a mandate to transform the company from a technology-driven start-up to an established software firm. Under Miller's leadership, the company secured its first round of venture capital funding from Brentwood, Merrill Picker Anderson, Sequoia Capital, Norwest Corporation, and Xerox Ventures.
Documentum went public on NASDAQ on February 5, 1996, under the symbol DCTM.

## Web versions

In 1998, Documentum launched its Web Application Environment, a set of internet extensions for EDMS that enabled web access to documents stored within the EDMS repository. In 2000, Documentum released its first web-native platform, Documentum 4i, which could integrate with external web applications. In 2002, Documentum introduced Documentum 5, a unified ECM platform designed to store different types of content within a shared repository.

## Products
### Documentum Server

The Documentum Server, formerly known as Documentum Content Server, is the core platform used to manage content in a repository. This repository consists of three components: a content server, a relational database, and a storage location for files. Objects are stored in the repository, with associated files typically stored in a file system, and metadata stored as records in a relational database.

### Documentum clients
#### Smart View

Formerly known as D2, Smart View is a configurable, content-centric client that provides access to ECM applications. It is the primary client for Documentum.

#### Other clients

xCelerated Composition Platform (xCP): A development platform designed for automating business processes, which includes a web-based client and a platform for user interface development and server-side components. Webtop: A browser-based interface that provides access to the repository and content management services (CMS). My Documentum (deprecated): A tool for providing content management services and information access within the infrastructure. Documentum also supports extensive integration and customization via application programming interfaces (API), including web services, WebDAV, FTP, Java, Documentum Foundation Classes (DFC), Documentum Query Language (DQL), Web Development Kit API (WDK), SMB/CIFS, and CMIS.

### Customization

Customizations of basic Documentum products are typically achieved using the Documentum Foundation Classes (DFC), a collection of Java-based APIs. Additionally, configurations and customizations can be done through extension products such as D2 and xCP.

## Technological evolution
### Web versions

1998: Documentum launched the Web Application Environment, providing web access to EDMS repositories. 2000: The release of Documentum 4i, the first web-native platform. 2002: The introduction of Documentum 5 as a unified ECM platform. Documentum has continued to evolve through a variety of releases and updates, with a focus on integration with external systems and providing extensive customization via D2 and xCP. The software is commonly used in industries requiring secure content management and regulatory compliance, including pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and financial services.