<s>
Enterprise	B-Protocol
content	I-Protocol
integration	I-Protocol
(	O
ECI	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
marketing	O
buzzword	O
for	O
middleware	B-General_Concept
software	O
technology	O
,	O
often	O
used	O
within	O
large	O
organizations	O
,	O
that	O
connects	O
together	O
various	O
types	O
of	O
computer	O
systems	O
that	O
manage	O
documents	O
and	O
digital	O
content	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ECI	O
systems	O
often	O
work	O
in	O
tandem	O
with	O
other	O
technologies	O
such	O
as	O
enterprise	B-Application
content	I-Application
management	I-Application
,	O
document	O
management	O
,	O
groupware	B-Application
,	O
and	O
records	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enterprise	B-Protocol
content	I-Protocol
integration	I-Protocol
aims	O
to	O
answer	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
needs	O
in	O
today	O
's	O
organizations	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
ECI	O
metadata	O
catalogs	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
collect	O
data	O
from	O
a	O
wide	O
array	O
of	O
sources	O
,	O
including	O
digital	O
asset	O
management	O
systems	O
,	O
file	B-Application
and	O
web	B-Application
servers	I-Application
,	O
and	O
individual	O
users’	O
PCs	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Vendors	O
sometimes	O
refer	O
to	O
this	O
sort	O
of	O
decentralized	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
as	O
a	O
virtual	O
repository	O
or	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
file	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
gathering	O
data	O
for	O
the	O
metadata	O
catalog	O
,	O
some	O
ECI	O
systems	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
connect	O
to	O
the	O
resources	O
offered	O
by	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
directly	O
through	O
an	O
interface	O
such	O
as	O
an	O
API	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
accomplish	O
these	O
goals	O
,	O
some	O
ECI	O
systems	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
integrate	O
with	O
other	O
computer	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
publishing	O
systems	O
and	O
format	O
converters	O
,	O
often	O
through	O
web	B-Application
service	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
was	O
Context	O
Media	O
(	O
now	O
owned	O
by	O
Oracle	B-Application
)	O
;	O
their	O
Interchange	O
Platform	O
(	O
now	O
known	O
as	O
Interchange	O
Suite	O
3.0	O
)	O
provided	O
several	O
cutting-edge	O
features	O
,	O
including	O
a	O
dashboard	O
interface	O
for	O
monitoring	O
the	O
flow	O
of	O
content	O
and	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
metadata	O
,	O
a	O
component	O
that	O
allowed	O
the	O
definition	O
of	O
relationships	O
among	O
collected	O
data	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
packaging	O
and	O
distribution	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Venetica	O
was	O
acquired	O
in	O
2004	O
by	O
IBM	O
and	O
its	O
ECI	O
technology	O
is	O
now	O
sold	O
as	O
IBM	O
Content	O
Integrator	O
,	O
which	O
provides	O
out-of-the-box	O
connectors	O
for	O
the	O
industry	O
's	O
most	O
popular	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
systems	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
several	O
features	O
for	O
federation	O
and	O
developer	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
vendors	O
of	O
ECI	O
systems	O
include	O
Day	O
Software	O
,	O
EntropySoft	O
,	O
and	O
SeeUnity	O
,	O
all	O
of	O
which	O
offer	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
connectors	O
to	O
various	O
content	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
search-based	B-Application
applications	I-Application
vendors	O
sell	O
ECI	O
systems	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Aspire	O
(	O
Search	O
Technologies	O
)	O
,	O
CloudView	O
(	O
Exalead	B-Application
)	O
,	O
Lookeen	O
Server	O
,	O
and	O
Documentum	O
.	O
</s>
