DMS/ECM System Decommissioning and Data Archiving
Secure your data, preserve your documents and stay compliant — with AvenDATA.
From OpenText, d.velop and EASY Archive to custom-developed in-house DMS and ECM platforms, we archive content from legacy applications of every type, generation and industry — covering everything from audit-proof document storage and workflows to metadata management.
The Challenge
Historical documents in old DMS/ECM systems are important, but access to them is becoming increasingly difficult.
In the course of IT migrations, software changes or the decommissioning of existing DMS/ECM landscapes, companies are regularly faced with a critical task.
Legacy systems — often document platforms that have evolved over many years, with complex, individually customised structures — still contain content that remains relevant for tax, legal or business purposes.
However, operating these systems is costly: the software is no longer maintained, licences expire and in-house expertise is dwindling. Access to important documents and information becomes difficult or even impossible — although the documents must remain available, searchable and audit-proof.
This is precisely where AvenDATA supports companies with its archiving solution for legacy DMS/ECM systems. Where document content is also spread across shared drives, we archive file servers and network drives in the same project.
Proven Archiving Solution
with More Than 19 Years of Project Experience
For more than 19 years, AvenDATA has continuously researched, refined and enhanced the archiving of legacy DMS and ECM systems through thousands of real-world projects.
Thanks to our proven approach, we have been able to reliably and transparently meet all professional requirements, audit-related enquiries and legal obligations over the years.
The software used for this purpose, ViewBox, has established itself as a powerful research system that delivers dependable performance both in compliance audits and in everyday company-wide access.
Today it is used by more than 50% of DAX-listed companies and by international groups with UK operations — a clear testament to its stability, flexibility and real-world value.
ViewBox is in daily use across Europe, Asia and North America.
Your Archived Content Lives On as Searchable Documents and Structured Metadata
in ViewBox
We not only transfer all content and metadata from your legacy DMS or ECM system — we also ensure that you can continue to use this data in ViewBox in a structured, transparent and analysable way.
This includes:
- The transfer and searchability of structured metadata and document properties
- The mapping of document links, version histories and workflows (where required and useful)
- The archiving of all relevant documents, records and evidence, from invoices and contracts to emails and technical documentation
Even before the project begins, we work with you to define which document types, metadata structures and links will be needed in future — whether for tax evidence, internal company processes or legal retention requirements. In doing so, you benefit from our many years of experience gained from numerous archiving projects across a wide range of DMS and ECM systems, industries and company sizes.
In ViewBox, you can continue to search, display and export this content even years after the original system has been decommissioned, completely independently of the source platform.
Whether for audits, internal controls or legal proceedings, you always have access to clearly structured and filterable documents and data — without licence costs or ongoing dependency on the old system.
Fast Project Execution and Significant Economic Benefits (Measurable ROI)
Even with Complex Legacy DMS and ECM Systems
The archiving and decommissioning of a legacy DMS or ECM system usually takes between one and six months, depending on the complexity of the system and the volume of documents and metadata.
Thanks to our clearly structured and standardised approach, we can efficiently and securely archive even large-scale DMS and ECM systems.
We have already migrated platforms containing several terabytes of documents and data into our archiving solution, including metadata, version histories, user permissions and complete project documentation.
With our established project methodology, our clients benefit from significant savings within a short period of time, particularly in licence costs for outdated software, databases and operating systems, but also in maintenance, infrastructure and internal administrative effort.
In the vast majority of our projects, the return on investment is achieved in less than one year, driven by clearly measurable savings in licences, infrastructure costs and internal resources.
Legacy DMS and ECM
System Analysis
The first step in decommissioning a legacy DMS or ECM system is a detailed analysis of your existing platform. This analysis forms the basis for a reliable assessment of the project duration and costs involved in archiving your system.
In the process, we record both technical and organisational aspects, including:
- Access options to the existing DMS or ECM system
- Type, structure and size of the database (for example Oracle, MS SQL, DB2 or proprietary formats)
- Scope and relevance of the archived documents, versions and metadata
- Individual characteristics such as custom document types, user-defined masks, workflows, interfaces or additional modules
The results are summarised for you in a binding fixed-price proposal, giving you maximum planning and decision-making certainty.
Project Archiving for Legacy
DMS and ECM Systems
After the system analysis is completed, the actual project begins — structured, efficient and built around clearly defined milestones.
As part of a joint kick-off meeting, we clarify all organisational and technical requirements together with your team. From this point onwards, we take over the majority of the tasks for you, including:
- Setting up access to your DMS or ECM system
- Exporting and transferring the relevant documents and metadata
- Reproducing important structures, document links and, where necessary, workflows
- Documenting all steps to ensure audit compliance and full traceability
Our experienced project managers guide you throughout the entire process and ensure a smooth workflow with minimal resource requirements on your side.
At the end of the project, we carry out structured testing and acceptance phases together to ensure that all content has been archived completely, correctly and transparently.
Result
of Archiving
After the project is completed, all relevant documents, metadata, links and structural information from your legacy DMS or ECM system are transferred into our own research platform, ViewBox.
ViewBox is a web-based research system that provides you and authorised parties with fast, encrypted and audit-proof access to archived content even years after the original system has been decommissioned.
An added benefit: we reconstruct all essential document structures, categories and, where necessary, custom search masks and filter options. This ensures that professional, tax-related or legal research remains easily possible, without any need to access the original DMS or ECM system.
After the successful implementation and acceptance of ViewBox, the original system can be fully decommissioned.
At the end of the project, you receive comprehensive project documentation or procedural documentation that transparently records every step, with particular focus on:
- The type of data and document migration
- The structure and classification of the archived content
- The test and acceptance phases carried out
In addition, we document every individual step of the archiving process in an audit-proof manner in our Jira ticket system, from the first data export to final acceptance and, if applicable, the later deletion of the source system. This ensures that external auditors can at any time fully trace how the archiving was performed.
Software and Research System ViewBox
Making Archived DMS and ECM Data Intelligently Usable
With ViewBox, AvenDATA provides a powerful reading and research system designed specifically for accessing content from decommissioned DMS and ECM systems.
Through an intuitive web interface, ViewBox enables fast searching, structured analysis and targeted provision of archived documents and metadata without any need to access the original DMS or ECM system.
ViewBox ensures that your archived content:
- Remains understandable and usable even years after decommissioning
- Is always available in an audit-proof manner
- Is structured and ready for both internal and external audits
A special feature — automated data deletion with ViewBox: based on defined retention periods, archived content can be deleted automatically in a rule-based and traceable manner once legal or internal requirements have expired.
The application is built on a certified cloud infrastructure and undergoes regular security and functionality testing. Alternatively, it can also be operated on-premises, depending on your specific compliance or IT requirements.
Ready for the
Next Step?
In a one-hour expert session, we analyse your legacy DMS or ECM system — whether a standard solution, a customised platform or a fully in-house development.
We will show you live how to decommission your system efficiently and use the archived content in a structured way over the long term, including:
- Alignment on structure, data transfer and document logic
- A live demo of our ViewBox solution
- An explanation of how we represent custom metadata, document types and workflows
- A reliable estimate of effort, timeline and price
Transparency from the start.
Our project proposals are based on clearly defined fixed prices, guaranteed with no renegotiations. Quality, reliability and value for money are our guiding principles.
Book your free expert session and demo now.
Quick Answers to Your Questions
Personal and without obligation — on DMS/ECM data migration.
Personal and without obligation — on DMS/ECM data migration.
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