Implementation of Alfresco as a Document Management System?

Introduction

The success of an implementation of Alfresco depends to a large extent on a good preparation. Organizations do well to involve all persons in the departments where information is managed and produced in the project.

Proper implementation of Alfresco requires smooth collaboration between system administrators, content managers, and any implementation partner.

As with the implementation of any software solution, the project team may encounter obstacles during implementation. In the DMS Pointer, you will find the most common errors that are made during Alfresco implementations.

Fundamentals of an Alfresco implementation

The type of license is one of the most important aspects that must be taken into account during the implementation. Because Alfresco originates from an open source project, it is possible to install Alfresco Community. This is free to use version but without support.

The entire implementation process will have to be carried out by the own IT department. However, there is support in the form of forums and wikis from the Alfresco community, where manuals can be consulted and questions can be asked of other users.

Although Alfresco Community is financially the most interesting, most organizations opt for the paid variant. The lack of support and the heavy exchange that is drawn on their own ICT team makes the Community version less attractive for many companies.

Alfresco Enterprise is the name of the commercial variant, with more functionalities and support. This version is suitable for organizations with a more complex information structure, whereby certain business processes can also be managed (business process management using Alfresco Activity).

Alfresco Community Edition architecture

Depending on the complexity of the business environment and the capacity(s) of the internal IT department, it is advisable to call in a specialized partner for the implementation.

Platform Support

	ASCII	HTML
Server O/S	Linux (RHEL/Ubuntu/Suse), Mac OSX, Solaris,	Linux, Mac OSX,
Client O/S	Linux (Ubuntu), Mac OSX, Windows XP/7	Linux, Mac OSX,
Database	MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL, Oracle, DB2	MySQL, PostgreSQL
App Server	Tomcat, JBoss, WebLogic, WebSphere	Tomcat
Auth	Alfresco, OpenLDAP, Active Directory, NTLM, Oracle	Alfresco, OpenLDAP
Browser	Chrome, Firefox, Safari, IE 7/8/9	Chrome, Firefox,Safari, IE 7/8/9

After purchasing the licenses and completing the implementation, periodic maintenance of the system will have to take place. This maintenance can be done at Alfresco itself or at certified Alfresco partners. Usually, the implementation partner also takes care of the maintenance of the system later on.

It is within the strategy of Alfresco to make the role of the partner ever larger. It is therefore of great importance to choose a good Alfresco partner to keep the system functioning as well and cheaply as possible. In the DMS Pointer are the points where attention must be paid to the selection of the most suitable supplier.

Minimum hardware and software requirements

For a successful Alfresco implementation, there are a number of requirements that are set for the hardware. In addition, the use of the certain software is recommended for Alfresco to function properly.

Hardware

A small Alfresco installation can in principle be installed on every small server, although this depends on the number of users. For an optimally functioning system the following hardware is recommended:

64-bit systems: although 32-bit systems are also supported, the efficiency with 64-bit systems increases.

Processor clock speed of at least 2.0 GHz.
Sufficient RAM memory for both the operating system and Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Space on the hard disk for both the total volume of documents, including temporary files and different versions of the same file.

The minimum system requirements also depend on the number of users logged in at the same time. In the DMS Pointer, the CPU and RAM requirements can be found for different user numbers.

Software

In the area of ​software, the following requirements are set:

• Database: By default, Alfresco has a PostgreSQL 9.3.6 database. In addition, there are a large number of other databases that are supported: DB2, MariaDB, MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, or Amazon RDS.
• Application server: Alfresco 5.0 is executed in Tomcat.
• LibreOffice: for converting documents to different file formats, use Alfresco LibreOffice 4.2.
• Developer kit JDK (Java Development Kit) : version 5.0 of Alfresco supports Java versions 7.0 and 8.0.
• Imagemagick : for previews of images.
• GhostScript: together with ImageMagick provides previews of images.

How long does it take to implement Alfresco?

The implementation duration depends on which version and functionalities an organization wants to use.

Based on a study conducted by Forrester, the average implementation time fluctuates around 2 and 6 months. This is an estimate, in which there are various factors that can influence the implementation time.

Planning and implementing Smart Folders in Alfresco.

In general, a DMS implementation process does not have to take a long time. DMS projects are usually completed faster than, for example, ERP or HRM projects.

However, an organization may have to deal with setbacks during implementation, eventually adjusting the original delivery date. The DMS Pointer specifies what a company should take into account when preparing for an Alfresco implementation.

Step-by-step plan for an Alfresco implementation

But how can we best start implementing Alfresco? The following step-by-step plan gives an idea of ​​the route to be followed during the implementation process.

1. Determine within which sources information is stored: information is usually stored in different locations within a company. Certainly, if the information flows are unclear, it is important to map the origin (eg applications, file servers, mail servers etc.) of different files.
2. Identify the content producers: just as there are different places where information is stored, several people are involved in the production of content within a company. It is important to have a good image of this group, in order to later assign the right user roles. Determine what information an employee should have access to carry out his or her daily tasks.
3. Determine which processes play a role in making content: identifying and structuring these processes is of great importance for a successful implementation of Alfresco. An organization with a good image of how content is produced by users is later better able to direct the Alfresco developers when implementing the right workflows.
4. Design the internal document structure: consider the hierarchy of documents and categorize content based on the type of information and metadata.
5. Create the content structure: how many user groups and roles should be created? What is the standard storage space per user?
6. Link the functionalities of Alfresco to the different business processes: with the information from step 1 and 2, package functionalities can be linked to the workflows that play a role in the content production.
7. Implement the standard functions: after implementing the basic functionalities, the system can be tested by users. This makes it possible to determine whether the system is functioning properly and whether there are still processor performance improvements.
8. (Optional) Implement customized functionalities: after the basic functionalities have been tested by users, it becomes clear whether certain users still lack functionalities. The DMS pointer 2018 deals in more detail with the various Alfresco functionalities that can be personalized.

Series

This is the first blog post of a series on Alfresco. The next articles in this series will include the following;

• Alfresco under the microscope
• The costs of Alfresco: how are they calculated?
• Access control (records management in Alfresco)

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Posted on Utopian.io - Rewarding Open Source Contributors

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