What's new

Learn about the new features in this release of IBM® Content Cortex.

For more information about features that are deprecated or removed in this release, see Deprecated and removed features.

From IBM FileNet Content Manager to IBM Content Cortex

Content Cortex is IBM’s next-generation content services system, and the successor to FileNet® .

Content Cortex builds on the capabilities of FileNet while adding AI Services that empower your end-users and introduce the possibility for agentic AI infusion throughout your content lifecycle. Its new intelligent archiving features mean you can now govern and work directly with highly compressed static content such as account statements and tax documents. If you're upgrading from repositories like IBM Content Manager (CM8) or IBM Content Manager OnDemand (CMOD), Content Cortex provides a modern platform to manage all your enterprise content in one place. New information Learn more...

AI Services

The following changes related to AI Services are introduced in this version.

Interact with AI agents in IBM Content Navigator: IBM Content Navigator now includes embedded AI agents that combine conversational chat with traditional user interface components in a unified workspace. You can interact with specialized agents to find documents, take actions on content, and receive real-time feedback on operations, creating a more efficient and intelligent content management experience. Learn more...
Connect external MCP clients to IBM Content Cortex through the Model Context Protocol: You can now connect external MCP clients like Claude Desktop or Copilot Studio directly to your IBM Content Cortex repositories through the Core MCP Server. Your MCP clients gain secure access to document management, folder operations, classification, and search capabilities without requiring custom integrations for each platform. This is particularly useful when you need to automate content operations through AI workflows without using the Navigator interface. Learn more...
Activate document content for agentic AI processing: You can now extract richer content from your documents using multiple specialized text extraction engines. The new Enhanced Extraction framework supports pluggable engines like PDFBox for PDF forms and Watson Document Understanding for images and structured data. Each engine produces different annotation types—plain text, markdown, key-value pairs, or tables—that are persistently stored on your documents. These annotations power content-based retrieval, vector indexing, document summarization, and generative AI applications, making your content ready for AI-driven insights and automation. Learn more...

Intelligent archiving

This version of Content Cortex introduces intelligent archiving, which establishes an upgrade path for users of archival repositories such as such as Rocket Mobius, IBM Content Manager (CM8) and IBM Content Manager OnDemand, enabling you to work directly with static and highly compressed content while taking advantage of the existing features of Content Cortex. It also means that users of Content Cortex can now manage and work with this kind of content more readily.

Work directly with static content in archival repositories

Intelligent archiving enables users to do the following operations with static content:

Folder-based searching with access to recent searches
High-speed viewing
View EBCDIC documents (with IBM Daeja ViewONE Virtual)
Side-by-side viewing
Download in multiple formats
Client-side printing
Email distribution
Line data transformation to modern formats
Favorites for static documents and searches

Intelligent archiving also provides the following repository-level features:

Management of folders in archival repositories directly in IBM Content Navigator
Search template management for archival repositories
Granular access controls for archival repositories. Learn more...

Content retrieval and storage infrastructure

The following changes related to content retrieval and storage infrastructure are introduced in this release.

Migrate from Content Search Services to Elasticsearch for Content Based Retrieval: You can now migrate your object store from Content Search Services (CSS) to Elasticsearch or OpenSearch for content-based retrieval without service interruption. The migration supports dual indexing, where new documents are indexed in both CSS and Elasticsearch or OpenSearch simultaneously. A sweep mechanism indexes existing CSS documents into the new search engine while searches continue to use CSS. After all documents are indexed in both engines, you can decommission CSS and switch to Elasticsearch or OpenSearch for all searches. Learn more...
Customize document indexing with text preprocessing: You can now control how document content is processed before indexing by creating custom text indexing preprocessors. When you enable content-based retrieval on a document, your preprocessor runs automatically instead of the standard text extraction, allowing you to transform content, extract metadata, apply filters, or enrich documents with additional information before they're indexed by Elasticsearch or Content Search Services. This gives you precise control over search accuracy and relevance for your specific business needs. Learn more...
Support for AES Galois Counter Mode encryption: File, fixed and advanced storage areas now support AES Galois Counter Mode encryption with 256-bit keys. This encryption method appears in ACCE in the Configuration tab for storage areas and advanced storage areas.

Business insights

The following changes for business insights are introduced in this release.

Use your Content Cortex entitlements to get Business Automation Insights: You can use your Content Cortex entitlements to download, install, and deploy Business Automation Insights giving you direct access to insights into your content management system and its performance in near-real time. Learn more...

Traditional deployments

The following changes for traditional deployments are introduced in this release.

Troubleshoot installations faster with enhanced Configuration Manager logging: You can now diagnose Configuration Manager issues more efficiently with consolidated log files and configurable log locations. Instead of searching through scattered log files, you can find all GUI-related logs in configmgr-gui.log and silent installation logs in configmgr-silent.log. You can also specify a custom log directory and use granular severity levels to pinpoint configuration problems during FileNet P8 deployment, reducing troubleshooting time. Learn more...
Automated usage metrics collection for compliance and auditing: The Content Cortex components in your environment collect usage metrics and generate usage reports automatically. IBM License Metric Tool uses that data for license compliance reporting and helps IBM understand popular capabilities and prioritize feature development in future releases. If you need to change how usage metrics are collected, you can configure settings such as the file location, publish timing, and rollover behavior for Content Platform Engine and GraphQL. Learn more...

Container deployments

The following changes for container deployments are introduced in this release.

Deploy the AI Services operator for agentic content management: You can now deploy the Content Cortex AI Services operator as a stand-alone component. The operator integrates with existing traditional or containerized Content Cortex systems, or you can create new combined deployments. Through the AI Agent plug-in, you can find documents, summarize content, update properties, manage folders, and explore repository structure using natural language. The operator supports independent installation and upgrade cycles and deployment on both OpenShift Container Platform and CNCF Kubernetes environments. Learn more...
Deploy Content Cortex components with Helm charts on OpenShift and CNCF Kubernetes: You can now deploy IBM Content Cortex components using Helm charts on both OpenShift Container Platform and Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) Kubernetes environments. This deployment method gives you an alternative to Operator Lifecycle Manager and provides more control over deployment configuration through values files. You can install the Content operator, IBM Content Cortex AI Services operator, IBM License Service, and IBM Usage Metering components using Helm charts through the OpenShift console, a deployment script, or manual YAML application. Learn more...
Manage content directly from Microsoft Office applications: Content Cortex for Microsoft Office is now an optional component during installation and supports the modern Office add-in architecture for Outlook. This update ensures compatibility with new versions of Microsoft Office that no longer support COM and VSTO add-ins, allowing you to continue managing content directly from your Office applications. Learn more...
Automated usage metrics collection for compliance and auditing: The Content Cortex components in your environment collect usage metrics and generate usage reports automatically. IBM Usage Metering Service uses that data for license compliance reporting and helps IBM understand popular capabilities and prioritize feature development in future releases. If you need to change how usage metrics are collected, you can configure settings such as the file location, publish timing, and rollover behavior for Content Platform Engine and GraphQL. Learn more...
Optimize container resources automatically with IBM Turbonomic integration: You can now integrate IBM Turbonomic with your Content Cortex container deployments to automatically manage CPU and memory resources. Turbonomic continuously analyzes workload demand and adjusts resource allocations through Operator Resource Mappings, helping you maintain application performance while reducing infrastructure costs. The integration supports both the Content operator and the AI Services operator, enabling dynamic vertical scaling of containers and horizontal scaling of pods across your cluster. Learn more...
Integration of IBM Instana Observability to provide end-to-end monitoring and diagnostics: You can now use IBM Instana Observability to monitor your container deployments. The Instana integration can be optionally enabled with your production deployments. To use Instana with Content Cortex, you must install the Instana host agent on the same cluster where Content Cortex is deployed. Learn more...
Centralize credential management with external secret providers: You can now store and manage sensitive credentials for Content Cortex and AI Services in external secret management systems like HashiCorp Vault. Using the Secrets Store CSI driver in Red Hat OpenShift 4.18 or later, you can centrally control access to API keys, database passwords, and other credentials across hybrid deployments. This approach keeps your secrets secure in one location and automatically synchronizes them with Content Cortex and AI Services, eliminating the need to store credentials directly in OpenShift. Learn more...

Add-on extensions

The following add-on extensions are introduced in this release.

Enhanced extraction framework for extensible text and metadata extraction: You can now use the enhanced extraction framework to extract text and metadata from complex document types such as PDF forms, images, and structured data. This extensible framework allows different handlers to be plugged in that use different extraction engines, from IBM or other third-parties, extracting text from different document types. The framework supports multiple handlers with configurable priorities, enabling specialized processing for specific document types while falling back to the default Oracle Outside In Technology engine when needed. Learn more...
Extract form fields from PDF documents with structured data capture: You can now extract form fields from PDF forms by using the PDF Forms handler add-on. The handler uses the PDFBox library to identify and extract form field names and values, storing them as key-value pairs in JSON format. This enables you to capture structured data from PDF forms for indexing, search, and AI-driven analysis without manual data entry. Learn more...
Extract text and structured data from images and complex documents: You can now extract text and structured data from images and complex document types by using the Watson Text Extraction handler add-on. The handler uses Watson Document Understanding to perform optical character recognition and extract structured content, producing multiple annotation formats including plain text, markdown, key-value pairs, and tables. You can deploy this handler as a SaaS solution through watsonx.ai Text Extraction or as an on-premises solution. Learn more...

API Enhancements

The following API enhancements are introduced in this release.

CM8 Compatibility API: The CM8 Compatibility API enables you to migrate existing IBM Content Manager (CM8) applications to Content Cortex without rewriting code. It provides a translation layer that mimics the CM8 API, allowing you to continue using familiar CM8 classes and methods in your applications while working with the modern Content Cortex platform. Learn more...