IBM Corp. rolled out its Enterprise Document Management Suite (EDMSuite) late last week, an extensive portfolio of IBM and Lotus technologies that integrates document management, workflow and web applications to enable companies to manage information across a networked enterprise.

EDMSuite lets users with Web browsers or Lotus Notes clients search multiple repositories containing different types of multimedia information.

For example, a marketing manager could access a financial database and retrieve sales data to integrate with a multimedia client presentation. A financial analyst, on the other hand, could view specially formatted performance data from a remote office using the corporate intranet, then check local competitors' activity by accessing their sites on the Web.

"Global 2000 companies have begun to take a strategic view of information and process-management requirements and to demand an easily integrated suite of compound document management, imaging, output management and workflow capabilities from their vendor of choice," says David Yockelson, vice president at IT consulting finn the META Group. "IBM's EDMSuite addresses these requirements and leverages a worldwide sales and support infrastructure attuned to diverse customer requirements."

The IBM EDMSuite includes:

* Domino Doc: Lotus' new Web-based content management solution that allows users to securely capture, file, retrieve and distribute content across the Internet, intranet or extranet, using desktop applications, Web browsers, or any IBM or Lotus Notes client;

* ImagePlus VisualInfo: IBM's production document repository for document-intensive business processes;

* FlowMark: workflow-management middleware for designing, refining, documenting and controlling business processes;

* OnDemand: print-archiving technology for COLD applications that enables users to store, retrieve, distribute, print and fax any document in its original format.

EDMSuite's internet Connection supports multiple search techniques, including parametric, full-text and image-content. A flexible design allows for integration of additional search engines, and permits federated search: searching multiple repositories from a single query.

IBM says the integrated product initiative is being well received by industry partners and users of its current document and workflow products, citing as an example VIP Ltd. Inc., an IBM business partner and systems integrator which has just completed a transition of its product and service offerings to better complement EDMSuite. The transition effort included realignment of VIP's flagship QuickLaunch offering and related products.

"IBM and VIP customers will now have a single source for enterprise document management," says Mike Cozakas, CEO of VIP. "With the announcement of NT server support for the EDMSuite, IBM is in a solid position to win the market."

Powered by DB2, EDMSuite will be available on Windows NT by the end of 1997. The FlowMark and Domino. Doc components already run on NT. The ImagePlus Visual NT server beta program will begin in April, and the OnDemand nT server beta program will start in the third quarter of 1997. All components will also provide ActiveX controls for the Windows platform with JavaBeans as the chosen open, cross-platform component standard. This initiative has already been started with FlowMark and Lotus Notes.

All EDMSuite components will be compliant with Microsoft BackOffice.