Choosing Documentum xCP or D2 in 2016

For the past years Documentum has had 2 user applications:

• D2, a configurable application originally bought from C6
• xCP, an application composition platform made by EMC engineering

Rumours that both products will be merged into 1 have been going around for years (see my blog about that from 2013) . This has not happened however. Instead both products have been expanded over the years. D2 has added a number of customization options, xCP has added some document management functions. Both have a great UI that can be layed out and styled as your application needs. This makes it ever harder to choose between them. Here is my take on when to choose which:

D2

The functionality that D2 offers is mostly geared toward Document Centric Applications. It has lots of features in that area. For things like mailroom or personnel file applications, D2 can quickly get results.

xCP

xCP has been created with Case Management Applications in mind. It really shines when used for loan applications, insurance claims, or court case management for instance.

Future direction

Though the best-fit for D2 and xCP is still pretty clear at the moment, I wonder what direction they will be taking. Both products will be actively developed for the near future. There are other things to consider however.
What about mobile Apps used on smartphones? They are showing up on wish lists more and more often. The official Documentum Mobile App has never gained much traction, since users don't want a big general application. On their smartphone they want small specialized applications to perform a specific task quickly and easily. Approving a document for instance. The good news is that EMC is investing in mobile application technology to enable businesses to easily create such apps.

Horizon

And what about Project Horizon? Will this replace D2, or xCP, or both? Even though more details will be released by EMC about the new platform at EMCWorld next week, we know that Horizon is positioned as a new modern cloud-first application platform. It is not necessarily aimed at the Enterprise Content Management market. Its aim is much wider, managing both structured and unstructured information at scale in the cloud. Horizon does not have a framework for building user applications. It has micro services Apps. Any of the numerous modern application building frameworks such as Cordova, Xamarin or Meteor can be used to build user applications for Horizon. Therefore Horizon will not replace D2 or xCP. I do expect to see integrations however; xCP or D2 applications leveraging Horizon services, or mobile Apps using Horizon as well as Documentum services.