Enterprise Content Management (ECM) System

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is an all-encompassing term that defines a set of processes and strategies used to capture, manage, and deliver content. Rather than a single technology or procedure, ECM utilizes a combination of methods to support critical information management. This information can then be distributed to employees, stakeholders, and customers.

Enterprise Content Management software has evolved over the years as new and innovative forms of content are introduced to professional work environments and continues to be a critical function to support business practices.

In traditional Enterprise Content Management software, the definition of content generally refers to any information printed on paper documents such as invoices, spreadsheets, or reports. However, that definition has expanded to include any digital information such as email messages, audio and video files, social media posts, web content, and more.

When working with large volumes of content, it is essential to implement an ECM solution to streamline content distribution with workflow automation routing to achieve the full benefits of the platform. With functionalities ranging from capturing content from multiple sources, managing it in a secure, centralized repository, and making information and file-sharing accessible across content-centric processes, Newgen enables business leaders to build a boundaryless workplace with anytime-anywhere content access.

The success of a digital transformation initiative largely depends on how an enterprise is capturing and digitizing content, organizing and storing that content for different use cases, utilizing its context in business processes and decisions, and preserving that content for compliance. Selecting the right ECM platform thus is a key part of your digital transformation initiatives.

Web Content Management (WCM) – also often known as Content Management System (CMS) – is considered a subset of ECM. These systems focus on publishing and managing content across different channels like websites, blogs, etc.

A modern ECM platform is deployed for managing information in your enterprise,

• From account opening in a bank to managing a claim process in an insurance firm
• From disbursement of government grants to matching and paying against supplier invoices for a multi-national manufacturer
• From onboarding an employee to managing your marketing repository
• And many more use cases – varying from simple to complex business scenarios

• Multi-channel content management for digital customers
• Analytics for contextual customer interaction
• 100% accurate content capture for faster turnaround time
• Speedy capture, storage, and access of voluminous content
• Automated operational workflows to serve customers better
• Robotic process automation for lightspeed tasks execution
• Fast deploying, upgrading, and recovering functionalities
• Extensibility with content services integration/aggregation
• User-centric modularity across ECM application landscape
• Enterprise-wide content application access
• Tracking capabilities for continuous improvements and ensuring timely actions
• Repository agnostic to connect disparate document management systems
• Microservices around records management, archival, process workflows, business rules, etc.
• Microservices architecture to deploy selected services in different environments, such as public, private, and hybrid settings

Enterprise Content Management typically processes two types of content: structured and unstructured. Structured content, like code repositories and databases, is data that is pre-defined. Unstructured content is information that doesn’t have a container format, such as Microsoft Word documents, PDFs, company emails, and presentations.

Organizations can choose between deploying ECM software in the cloud or on-premise. Cloud-based (or SaaS) ECM simplifies mobile and remote access and offers more flexible licensing models. Using in-house information management systems allows more physical control over your content and adds a few additional layers of security and granular control of permissions.

Enterprise Content Management software can be broken down into five major components: capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver. Each component of Enterprise Content Management plays a significant role in the content management process. Here are basic descriptions of each component:

• Capture: Acquires and delivers data into digital form to help automate data entry tasks and reduce human error
• Manage: Directs and connects data through collaboration and workflow tools to simplify indexing, retention, and purging.
• Store: Stows and categorizes data using a repository, a library tool, and the hardware (servers, cloud-storage, or optical disks.)
• Preserve: Data is backed up and sustained for long-term usage
• Deliver: Approved users are provided with the data they need when they need it

Enterprise Content Management describes the approach organizations take in managing the end-to-end lifecycle of their content, from origination to disposition, while providing the flexibility to access and deliver digital content across all channels and devices.

Business leaders must create a connected and digital workplace to empower their employees with contextual information and easy access to content, thereby driving more informed interactions with customers, partners, and stakeholders.

End-users can search for specific content within large volumes of structured and unstructured information using full-text natural requests. An ECM system will retrieve it instantly regardless of their device or location. From there, the user may edit, print, read or reformat the content as needed. Enterprise Content Management systems also automate document capture, decreasing the time spent manually scanning and reformatting content.

An outdated ECM software can hurt your organization in more ways than you’d think. Enterprise content management modernization is the key to creating an agile, sustainable, and future-proof organization. Listed here are 10 main benefits of Enterprise Content Management modernization:

• Customers expect contextual engagement and superior customer experience
• Interactions must be omnichannel
• Content is pervasive and is continuously evolving in its format and scale
• Security, risk, and compliance requirements are constantly changing
• Workforces must be customer-centric, productive, and able to work remotely
• Enterprises must be collaborative-driven
• Operations must be elastic and agile
• Operations require intelligent automation
• Digital business models demand an extended enterprise
• Integrate APIs and BPMs with simplicity
• Create documents automatically dependent on templates and form entries

Technological advancements, increased demand for company efficiency, and an uprise in data breaches make ECM more critical now than ever before. As a result, it’s crucial for organizations to manage content effectively for integration purposes and to help them make effective business decisions.

Company productivity and efficiency increase as their dependency on paper and physical documents decreases. Businesses that don’t implement ECM risk losing valuable time and assets. If disaster strikes, companies that don’t securely store content can lose that information, leading to significant business interruptions.

Advancements in technology, mobile apps, and remote and cloud technology create new business opportunities. In addition, new types of content are also emerging in the form of social media, video, and audio. Businesses should adapt to these advancements by implementing ECM software to continue to organize data and optimize business performance.

An ECM platform will do these five basic operations for you – capture, process, store, integrate, and archive. While choosing an ECM platform, you must at least assess these key capabilities,

1. Holistic content lifecycle management
2. Intelligent multi-channel content capture
3. Intelligent classification and storage
4. Scalable, federated repository and discovery
5. Robust, end-to-end records management
6. Proactive management of security, risk, and compliance
7. Integration and microservices
8. Mobile and cloud accessible
9. Extended enterprise and collaboration
10. Rapid business application development
11. Intelligent process automation
12. Intelligent automation and analytics

There is a wide range of business process management and document management capabilities in today’s platforms. Choosing the right solution for your business involves understanding how content is currently used throughout your enterprise and how automated workflows and process engineering should work to improve the use of content.

According to TechTarget, basic elements of ECM software should incorporate the following:

• content lifecycle management
• workflow management
• information governance
• content management systems
• collaboration tools
• enterprise document management
• digital asset management

An Enterprise Content Management implementation is a complex process involving various departments within an organization. Therefore, before implementing ECM, organizations need to develop a strategy to identify their specific priorities and get clarity on the necessary procedures and technologies their new solution will entail.

Before implementation, businesses should perform a content audit by documenting all the types of content their organization deals with and who handles what data. ECM is collaborative, and multiple departments must be involved in the implementation process. Organizations should create a team centered around these multiple groups to reach success.

Organizations should clearly understand what an ECM implementation will achieve, and the best way to do so is to define goals. Regardless of the industry or department implementing ECM, users will likely share these common goals: