Open Source ECM Hippo Inks Partnership With Capgemini NederlandSoftware vendors need integration partners. And if one were to choose, these partners should be sophisticated, have a lively and broad Rolodex, be well respected in the sector and be capable of adding momentum to the project at hand.

Hippo (news, site), the makers of a Java-based, open source web content management system, seem to share this perspective. And they've signed an important agreement with Capgemini in the Netherlands.

Capgemini Nederland B.V. is a subsidiary of Capgemini, one of the better known firms for consulting, technology and outsourcing services. In 2008, Capgemini reportedly did EUR 8.7 billion in global revenue. The firm has presence in more than 30 countries and employs about 90,000 people worldwide. The Hippo-Capgemini partnership will focus on web content management (Hippo CMS 7) and portal solutions, as well as add more general implementation power to the Hippo ecosystem.

According to Hippo, some of Capgemini's consultants already receive advanced training in Hippo's new technologies. It has also been said that they are participating in the open source Hippo community to “stay on top of new features and functionality.”

The Hippo CMS is now in a much-revamped version 7 series, and most recently we saw the 7.1 release come out the gates, shipped as a bundle with Apache Jetspeed Portal 2.2 and the Hippo Site Toolkit. Based in the Netherlands and with offices recently opened in the USA, the Hippo CMS project appears to be making solid progress. We'll be keeping a close eye on it.