Looking for a Balanced Enterprise Ecosystem: Flex, Alfresco and CMIS

One of the underlying premises for the emergence of the Flex framework – a fresh leaf within the Flash Platform – was its perceivable enterprise flavor. Whatever the skeptics may claim (referring to factors such as the status of ActionScript to the absence of across-the-board programming language for both the server and the client), the framework’s integration in the enterprise world is getting increasingly tangible, especially given its open-source status. In the enterprise world, Flex has its word to say not only in data visualization but, with reliance on LifeCycle, AIR et al., can turn out one of the options to leverage content management systems.

In enterprise content management Flex can come into play following the open source path, which is Alfresco (which is not an exclusive solution – there are Flex UIs for Documentum, etc.). The integration of Alfresco into LifeCycle ES (although not open source in itself), has indicated that Flex developers can in fact benefit by getting their feet wet in ECM. The Flex (an intuitive user interface)/AIR (a desktop runtime)/LCDS (real-time apps) to Alfresco symbiosis seems to be a rather productive one, one that opens up opportunities for building rich apps backed by a CMS. After all, Flex is the UI choice, whereas ECM solutions are notorious for the out-of-the-box user experience they offer.

Furthermore, over time content management gets curiouser and curiouser by moving towards a better, i.e. standardized, ECM world. CMIS (Content Management Interoperability Services – an effort akin to the database standardization wave way back) 1.0 is round the corner, and, as an open-source player on the ECM market, Alfresco has been doing some heavy-lifting in implementing the current versions of the standard and thus forwarding it towards its first full-fledged self, with other big fish in the pond staying somewhat lukewarm as to their vision of how CMIS fits content management. And it’s here where Alfresco tends to the exclusive end of the spectrum. Via synergies with Alfresco, the Flex folks can look for new spots to tap the framework into content management. One of the recent examples of such a spot is a repository browser – CMIS Explorer for Alfresco by Shane Johnson (which could ultimately become a user-friendly [desktop] app offering access to any CMIS-compliant CMS). Offers some food for thought, doesn’t it?