Showing how much open source software has matured, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland is now using the Alfresco content management system to control and protect its repository of legal documents. The solution is one of the first implementations of an open source enterprise content management (ECM) solution, with Optaros handling the customization,deployment, and support.
The Alfresco ECM system handles access permissions, collaboration, version control, and other key functions for managing critical documents in a large organization. Content is extremely sensitive, including all the writings, opinions, and other legal documents shared among judges and their staff. Authorized users are allowed access to the system, but only for material they have permission to view or use.
Alfresco’s ECM platform has been extended to meet the Court’s requirements for high availability and enterprise-wide security, customizing standard capabilities and adding new functionality where needed. Experience helped: Optaros is one of only two platinum partners for Alfresco, a designation reserved for partners with greatest Alfresco expertise and the largest number and scale of deployments.
In this enterprise-wide ECM solution, high availability was essential. As lead contributor, Optaros designed and set up the load-balancing and failover architecture, based on the Federal Court high availability requirements. Alfresco software supports enterprise clustering, with processing distributed across clustered servers to ensure continuous operation in the event of equipment failure. Optaros then deployed the enhanced Alfresco application to run in the Court’s high availability clustered environment (which included Sun Cluster, Apache load balancers, Tomcat farm, repository replication, a SAN (storage area network), and PostgreSQL cluster).
“Optaros worked closely with us to develop a high availability clustering solution for hundreds of millions of documents,” says John Powell, CEO of Alfresco. “This level of partnership with Optaros ensures client success through consultants with deep Alfresco expertise, high-availability clustering, and proven support services.”
Optaros extended the interface between the Alfresco ECM application and the Court’s existing LDAP directory so authorized users would not have to enter a separate log-on name and password. This ability to integrate content management with a customized and complex LDAP directory greatly simplified user administration, while adhering to required levels of high security.
Optaros provides complete 24x7 support, with a four-hour response time available in French or English. Optaros supports many clients through its global support infrastructure, open source software tools, and best practices for support management, issue resolution, and client communication.
“Optaros developed a proof of concept in Alfresco in only three weeks and is now providing support for our Alfresco implementation, which is very important to us,” adds Daniel Brunner, Head of IT Development, Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland. “We are very satisfied with the results Optaros has been able to deliver with Alfresco.”
The Alfresco ECM system is now live, allowing 200 users in the Federal Administrative Court to access and manage thousands of court documents in three languages. Plans call for system to be deployed in all courts of the Swiss Federal Court, supporting 500+ users.
As the open source leader for enterprise content management, Alfresco combines the innovation and affordability of open source software with the stability of an enterprise-class platform. Organizations with challenging content management requirements—very high security, hundreds of users, and millions of documents—are now turning to open source ECM software from Alfresco. And like the Swiss Federal Court, Optaros is their consulting partner of choice.