Microsoft, IBM, EMC, and others aim to make it easier for users and applications to pull content from competing repositories.

Today a coalition of major vendors is submitting a proposed standard, Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS), to Oasis. The goal of the specification is to make it easier for users and applications to pull content from multiple proprietary content management systems.

At present, much of the information generated in the workplace is locked into silos. Enterprises that want to integrate disparate content repositories, such as document management software and SharePoint, often have to build or buy one-off connections. Or they have to migrate content from one repository to another, which is time-consuming and expensive.

CMIS will use the Web-based protocols SOAP and REST to serve as a common access mechanism. The specification also will create a common domain model to describe what the content looks like, its metadata, and what can be done with it, such as checking it in or out.

The spec's backers believe CMIS will enable users to get access to the right content quickly, and to use that content in new ways, such as in mashups and wikis. Software vendors also will be able to write applications that can run across any repositories that support CMIS.

They also hope the specification will help drive new sales of content management platforms by making it easier to extract value from them.

Work on CMIS was undertaken in 2006 by IBM, EMC, and Microsoft. They were later joined by Alfresco, Open Text, SAP, and Oracle. A final standard is expected to emerge from Oasis in late 2009.