The launch of OpenText™ Cloud Editions (CE) 20.2 is the most comprehensive cloud release in the history of the company. Together with Business Network 20.2 and OT2 20.2, these releases are designed to help organizations become more resilient, scale quickly, protect their workforce, and adapt their supply chains during – and long after – this time of dramatic disruption and change.
That was the verdict of OpenText EVP and Chief Product Officer Muhi Majzoub, speaking at OpenText Enterprise World Europe Digital, as he revealed the full details of this major product release.
Muhi first recapped the innovation and value that OpenText Release 16 has delivered to customers over the past four years. “Release 16 allowed OpenText to unify our technology foundation and tech stack,” he said.
OpenText CE 20.2 – an evolution of Release 16 – is a class of cloud-native software that provides organizations with flexible options to run their software in their own data center, in the OpenText Cloud, through a hybrid approach, or within the user’s cloud platform of choice.
“We are taking all of our major platforms and bringing them and automating them, leveraging Docker and Kubernetes, to deliver containers in the OpenText Cloud, but also containers that can run in the hyperscaler cloud – Google, our largest partner, Microsoft Azure and AWS,” explained Muhi.
After reiterating OpenText’s commitment to flexibility, Muhi ran through the new features, enhancements and capabilities across each of the main OpenText product and service areas:
OpenText OT2 20.2
The latest release includes a new developer portal (currently in beta) that will provide exclusive access to additional Core Services and a refreshed developer experience. This release also provides access to Core Capture Service and Core Signature Service, and OpenText Core for Building Information Modeling (BIM), which provides a BIM collaboration platform to capture and verify incoming BIM data.
OpenText Business Network 20.2
A major feature of Release CE 20.2 for Business Network is the integration of the Alloy platform from the Liaison acquisition with OpenText’s Trading Grid and Covisint IoT platform. Additionally, with a million-plus partners, Trading Grid Global Partner Directory (GPD) now gives customers a single place to quickly onboard new partners or send requests for partners, using self-service capabilities. Business Network 20.2 also includes enhancements to OpenText’s on-demand fax solution, RightFax.
OpenText Content Services Cloud Edition 20.2
Key highlights include improved integration with the digital workplace and digital business through cloud-native technologies in Content Suite and Extended ECM, and continued modernization of the Documentum user experience, with additional containerization support and deeper integration with Microsoft SharePoint and Office. New capabilities in Intelligent Capture include a connector for OpenText Extended ECM to automate capture into business workspaces and a connector for OpenText Magellan to enhance data visualization and AI augmentation.
OpenText Experience Cloud Edition 20.2
Exstream now has a unified, role-based user experience for design, authoring and orchestration, as well as drag-and-drop flow modeling with support for time-based delivery, and improved data mapping. Output Server includes new integrations with OpenText CloudFax, Content Server and InfoArchive, and multi-cloud or on-premises deployment using Docker/Kubernetes. Enhancements to TeamSite include streamlined targeting and experimentation flow within any page without any code, and Media Management now features an immersive UX, one-click sharing to branded microsites, and enhanced capabilities to rapidly build and deploy workflows.
OpenText AppWorks Cloud Edition 20.2
New features include a full cloud-native architecture with support for Docker and Kubernetes, optimized platform services for increased scalability and throughput, simplified deployment of applications, enhanced security capabilities and more.
OpenText AI and Analytics Cloud Edition 20.2
Across Data Discovery & Notebook, Text Mining and BI & Reporting, this release brings better governance, machine learning models, differentiated text mining with more unstructured data analysis capabilities, an enhanced BI and reporting user experience, and cloud-native software.
OpenText Legal Tech Cloud Edition 20.2
The Insight Examiner cloud investigations application is a new purpose-built tool for finding the unknown facts in an investigation. Axcelerate includes expanded integration of Magellan text analytics and document summaries, predictive search, new UI. There are also key enhancements to Decisiv, including UX enhancements and improved search efficiency, and EnCase eDiscovery, including PST performance to reduce data collection lags.
OpenText Security Cloud Edition 20.2
Key enhancements to the Security Suite include the ability for users to access data on Apple computers with T2 chip in EnCase Forensic and Endpoint Investigator and a new capability in Tableau TX1 Forensic imager that enables users to use TX1 on secure 802.1x networks – the industry’s first forensic hardware imager to be compatible with locked 802.1x network access control policies. There are also key enhancements to EnCase Endpoint Investigator and EnCase Forensic, including a Microsoft OneDrive Connector.
Welcome Carbonite, Webroot and XMedius
Muhi also highlighted the benefits that OpenText’s recent acquisitions of Carbonite and XMedius will bring to customers. Carbonite adds endpoint protection through Webroot, threat intelligence through the BrightCloud service running in the OpenText Cloud, and data protection through Carbonite’s backup and recovery tools as well as its network protection. XMedius adds fax-over-IP with the ability to run in cloud, hybrid and on-premises deployments, as well as voice solutions for voicemail and messaging.
In his earlier keynote, OpenText CEO and CTO Mark J. Barrenechea added that the Carbonite acquisition also makes the company’s information management solutions accessible to a new market of smaller businesses and home users. “We have now expanded our mission with Carbonite to include small and medium-sized businesses,” he said. “We think our solution for information management is relevant across all-sized customers.”
Muhi closed by saying he hoped he would once again be able to meet customers in person later this year at OpenText World 2020 in Las Vegas, circumstances permitting. “We are committed to your success,” he said. “We are committed to continuing to support your business needs with our OpenText solutions and services. Be well.”
