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The consolidation of content management companies took another step this week with a deal between Open Text and RedDot Solutions.

Open Text, the largest independent provider of enterprise content management (define) software, announced an expanded Web content management (define) strategy. The new solution includes the integration of RedDot's software with Open Text's Livelink ECM - Web Content Management Server. The idea is to create a comprehensive offering that ties the two content management systems together to improve business processes, reduce costs, and manage compliance.

The integration will bring together RedDot's easy-to-use Web content management and delivery capabilities with Open Text's Livelink ECM suite, using the server capabilities of Livelink ECM - Web Content Management Server.

RedDot's products are known for their ease-of-use, fast implementation time, and sophisticated contextual delivery features. They help businesses manage multiple sites and let users create and deliver content.

Consolidation in this space is a growing trend. Open Text in particular has been busy, snapping up Hummingbird, which came on the heels of Open Text acquisitions in recent years, particularly of German companies.

Other high-profile acquisitions include IBM's pending purchase of FileNet for $1.6 billion.

Analysts say that the current state of information overload within businesses and on the Internet necessitates these types of content management consolidations.

"With more content and more sites to manage, Web content will become increasingly tangled with the broader information management demands in large organizations," said Mark R. Gilbert, research vice president at Gartner, Inc. "To be successful, companies need solutions that can scale for the enterprise, and they need tighter integration with ECM capabilities."

A RedDot representative said RedDot solutions will continue to operate as a separate entity because of its strong brand and position in the marketplace.

"This strategy will fuel RedDot's success across the globe and reinforces our position as a leader in Web-centric ECM," said Daniel Kraft, chief operations officer, RedDot Solutions. "We are excited to include new functionality with our products and to provide the best solutions to leverage content through the Web."

The consolidation gives Open Text a broader offering, which helps it serve smaller companies. And attract more such customers.

“The combination of RedDot’s robust technology ... with Open Text’s enterprise scaleable tools and advanced ECM suite creates a true best-of-breed Web content management offering for our small, medium and enterprise customers,” said Kirk Roberts, an executive vice president at Open Text.

Open Text will present an initial version of the solution at its LiveLinkUp Phoenix 2006 user conference in November, and plans to ship the first version in early 2007.

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