Endeca Builds A Partner Community For Innovation

The Challenge

Endeca wanted to create an interactive online community for its employees, customers and partners and release to the community at their annual user conference - 12 weeks from project start. Endeca's goal was to provide a catalyst for continued application advancement by connecting thousands of users worldwide with peers who share common objectives, environments and needs. Endeca also wanted to create a fertile environment for innovation based on Endeca technology while building stronger relationships between the company and its customers and partners.

Endeca partnered with Optaros to create and build the Endeca Developer Network (EDeN), a global online community aimed at fostering knowledge-sharing and collaboration. Endeca wanted EDeN to include thousands of technical documents, best practices, tools and utilities, code samples, case studies, and other information, the majority of which was previously available only within the company.

The Assembly

Optaros rapidly assembles Internet-based solutions based on client requirements from the most proven and client-preferred software, open source components and Web services to increase client agility. Optaros created the EDeN site as an enterprise 2.0 assembly: a loosely coupled architecture that integrates open source components such as content management, forums, blogging and other functions to fit Endeca's needs and preferences. The site provides visitors with information they can not get anywhere else- but also provides customers and partners with new ways to interact with Endeca staff and each other to build a vibrant online community.

Optaros employed its Optaros Assembly Methodology (OptAM) to help Endeca meet its business objectives and maximize the benefits of open source software and Web services for its developer network. Optaros designed the EDeN site to help Endeca strengthen its customer and partner relationships. EDeN lets Endeca's customers and partners engage in open conversations about products and strategies.

"Optaros designed and delivered a dynamic online community on budget, and in only 12 weeks time, allowing us to unveil the new site to our partners and customers at our user conference," said Colby Dyess, product manager at Endeca. "We never lost any sleep during the project because Optaros was committed to meeting our stringent deadlines and creating a site that offered us speed, flexibility and differentiation. We have Optaros to thank for developing a community and site that, in less than a month, increased customer loyalty, received very positive feedback and more than tripled our membership."

The Alfresco content management system provides community members with access to thousands of technical documents, best practices, code samples, case studies and other material. Content originates from across the company including marketing communications, product development, engineering and professional services. Optaros used Alfresco's JBPM workflow engine to adjust content approval rules to fit the policies of individual departments.

Users can provide feedback, see what content is most popular and most highly rated by their peers, and for this technically-focused audience, what qualifications those peers have.

Optaros added a metadata structure for categorizing content, such as by product or primary audience, allowing content access to be tailored to user profiles. Using metadata tags, the Liferay portal server integrates with the Alfresco system to create customized portlets that give users and groups personalized views into the site. Blogging is another central element of the site, so Optaros assembled the Apache Roller blog server into the EDeN. Popular blogs include The Office of the CTO blog, hosted by Endeca's chief technology officer, and the Product News blog, hosted by members of Endeca's product management and customer solutions teams.

For searching, Endeca naturally preferred to showcase the rich capabilities of its own product so Optaros integrated the Endeca Information Access Platform into the assembly.

The Optaros assembly approach and architecture allows modules to be quickly added or replaced, allowing Endeca to easily add new features that help make the EDeN community stronger. Future plans call for additional feedback mechanisms, more extensive blogging, and expanded access to more content and categories.

"Our customers and partners have been the driving force behind our initiatives to encourage relationship building and the open exchange of ideas and best practices," adds Dyess."EDeN is the culmination of these efforts- a scalable, open solution that meets the growing demands of our user community and provides a fertile ground for cultivating the next generation of information-access applications."

The Results

Optaros met a 12 week deadline in order for EDeN to be ready at the scheduled User Conference where it was announced officially. In its first day, the EDeN hosted 180 people. Within the first week, 360 people were using the site to collaborate, share their knowledge and experience, and build stronger working relationships. The community continued to thrive beyond Endeca's expectations and the membership more than tripled in its first month.

Endeca is discovering another advantage of Optaros' open source assembly: it can be reused and adapted to address similar needs. Endeca is examining ways to leverage the assembly stack to support its internal community, using the same components for content management, blogging, searching and other functions.