Cynthia Theriault

785 Words2 Pages

Cynthia Theriault

Documentum, Inc.

Documentum, a Silicon Valley startup, is the first to market with an

enterprise-scale document management solution built from standard

relational database technologies in combination with object-oriented

methodologies. The software enables people to collaboratively create,

manage, deliver, and archive the content that drives business

operations. The Company is at the crossroads of marketing strategies.

Jeff Miller, the new CEO of Documentation, is faced with the question

whether to undertake an innovative, but unproven, market selection

process presented by Geoffrey Moore, a well-known Silicon Valley

marketing pundit.

Boeing (aerospace market) and Syntex (pharmaceutical market) were the

first two customers of Documentum. During a prospect meeting with

Boeing, Documentum realized that their new product did not have

reference material for the customer. Additionally, during the

meeting, presenters spoke of the product’s technical architecture

instead of telling Boeing what the product would do for their

company. Documentum was not meeting the customer’s expectations

because they were not communicating on the customer’s level. During a

meeting with Syntex, Documentum realized that their core software was

not universal. The core technology had to be customized for each

industry. It was a good product, which validated their concept that

companies needed an easy and accurate way to share and archive

documents.

In t...

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