Cynthia Theriault Essay -- Design and Technology

Cynthia TheriaultDocumentum, Inc.Documentum, a Silicon Valley startup, is the first to market with anenterprise-scale document management solution built from beatrelational database technologies in combination with object-orientedmethodologies. The software enables people to collaboratively create,manage, deliver, and archive the content that drives businessoperations. The Company is at the crossroads of marketing strategies. Jeff Miller, the new CEO of Documentation, is set about with the questionwhether to undertake an innovative, but unproven, market selectionprocess presented by Geoffrey Moore, a well-known Silicon Valleymarketing pundit.Boeing (aerospace market) and Syntex (pharmaceutical market) were thefirst two customers of Documentum. During a prospect meeting withBoeing, Documentum effected that their new product did not havereference material for the customer. Additionally, during themeeting, presenters spoke of the products technical architecture or else of telling Boe ing what the product would do for theircompany. Documentum was not meeting the customers expectationsbecause they were not communicating on the customers level. During ameeting with Syntex, Documentum realized that their core software wasnot universal. The core technology had to be customized for eachindustry. It was a good product, which validated their concept thatcompanies needed an easy and accurate look to share and archivedocuments.In t...