Leverage Your ECM Investment Wisely for Long-term Success
Close to 80% of the content used by knowledge workers in 2017 is considered unstructured and unsuccessfully managed. This content is almost doubling on a quarterly basis, which means there is an essential need for tools and systems that can manage the ways in which workers use it.
That’s why Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is an essential component to the financial and operational success of just about any business you can think of these days.
It comprises the technology which manages, stores and delivers documents and content related to an organization’s processes. As many users are interacting with these complex systems, it’s important for a business to choose its ECM system wisely, making the investment worthwhile.
Choosing your Content Management system wisely ensures that you are providing users with a tool that not only works, but will contribute to your company’s long-term growth and competitiveness.
Three Considerations When Choosing an ECM System
Ease of Adoption
Organizations should be considering investing in ECM systems that are both flexible and intuitive. If there’s one issue that causes knowledge workers to disengage with a system, it’s the simple notion that they might have to learn an entirely new tool or will have to navigate an unknown interface.
By giving users what they’re already familiar with, you can bridge the gap between new technology and adaptability. Effective ECM systems should always blend seamlessly into each user’s workflow, promoting continuous and long-term use.
Omni-Channel
With all industries striving to open new ways of communicating with their customers, it’s imperative for an organization to have an ECM system in place which standardizes content across all channels. An omni-channel ECM strategy is essential to achieving this goal. An omni-channel strategy ensures that you will:
- keep your customers engaged with you all the way through their buying process;
- provide consistent content to all your trading partners and internal users.
A recent report from CMS-Connected solidified the need for omni-channel ECM systems by stating, “The once well-defined line between content marketing channels is now shrinking. In fact, research by Aspect Software suggests that about 91% of customers want to pick up where they left off, from one channel to the next.
Successful organizations recognize the importance of creating a consistent experience across all digital touch points, and useful ECM platforms incorporate omni-channel features to meet today’s customers’ expectations.”
Allow for Personalization
We just touched upon how important it is to interact with users and customers at different touch-points in an effort to avoid a buying journey that can be perceived as broken and inefficient. In the same vein, each customer should feel valued no matter when they choose to visit along the journey. To maximize the customer journey, you need to optimize the customer experience and interact with users on a personal level.
This level of personalization is achieved via Metadata, which allows companies to sort and define categorizations or groups of users accordingly. Based on a report by CMS Wire, “Content Management, no matter what type of content, requires a strong Metadata model and Security model to ensure correct management of objects and true usability.” Given that, an omni-channel and flexible ECM system must also interact with each and every user in a highly personalized way.
ECM Future Trends
Cloud-Based Systems
Experts at the International Data Corporation are expecting companies to double their spending on cloud software, looking at $112.8 billion in investment by 2019. Companies are looking to reduce costs, maintain security, and ensure that the next generation of users is able to adopt the systems easily.
Private cloud ECM systems are highly secure, to maintain the integrity of the knowledge being shared and, will be more cost-effective than other complex systems. Additionally, millennials will be making up 75% of the workforce by 2020, and they are much less likely to work with tools that are difficult to use and access.
Globalization of Systems
The vast majority of companies face serious challenges in getting their content translated into different languages. This makes adaptability difficult to achieve on a global level, which is necessary in industries that touch customers all over the world.
These days, we’re seeing an obvious growth in the mobile and ecommerce space across the global, which is pointing towards a parallel growth in ECM systems that can support this trend. Although the globalization of ECM systems is still in its infantile stages, it’s important to make note of this trend as the need will only increase with time.
Following these basic principles ECM system success ensures that you are making a worthwhile investment in your future. Users will be much happier with a system that aligns with their needs and that respects future trends for content management best practices. Leverage your ECM investment wisely to achieve financial success and the overall growth of your enterprise for years to come.
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