The forced shift to remote work, as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, has greatly strained the limits of traditional content management solutions. Persistent problems of these solutions like data redundancy, data inconsistency, and limited accessibility and sharing capabilities have been emphasized in the work from home era. With the remote workforce requiring access to critical business data on-demand, Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions provide organizations with an excellent solution to effectively manage all their information in a collaborative environment that ensures high availability, information security, and risk management assurance.

ECM solutions are software systems designed to help organizations achieve their business goals in a timely and effective manner by streamlining access to vital information, eliminating holdups, minimizing overhead, and enhancing information security and integrity. ECM solutions offer functionalities that include a simple human interface, variable content handling, smart automation of processes, real-time status tracking, robust scalability, and easy integration with core business applications. Key components of a good ECM solution include:

• Content Capture: An ECM solution must be able to capture vital information generated or received in an organization into one secure system. Scanning and character recognition capabilities are essential features as the solution must be able to capture a wide variant of data whether they are in digital and print form. The captured information should be automatically organized based on predefined criteria set by the organization. A good ECM solution should help automate data entry tasks and facilitate the easy tracking of large volumes of data.
• Information Management: ECM solutions must efficiently process, modify, and manage captured content. Typically, the needs of each organization dictate the management tools required. Management tools include collaboration tools that allow for content collaboration, workflow tools for process automation, and archiving tools for effective indexing and purging.
• Storage: The ECM solution must provide mechanisms that can temporarily store information that changes frequently. A library tool should be available to pick up content that has passed through the capture and management sequence and deposit them in a central repository that can be hosted on an in-house server or in the cloud.
• Preservation: This component focuses on the long-term storage or archiving of critical information as opposed to the short-term repository of the storage component. As with the storage component, there are many media options that facilitate the preservation of information. A key consideration when choosing the media type should be compatible with evolving technologies.
• Delivery: The ECM solution must be able to promptly deliver requested content to appropriate users throughout the organization.

In conclusion, ECM solutions enhance business workflows, improve productivity, and information security.  ECM solutions can help organizations save time, boost staff morale, increase customer satisfaction, and adhere to compliance regulations. However, your ECM solution is only as good as the service you receive with it. Work with the expertly trained team at Mitiget to assess your current needs, tailor a solution, and implement it properly so to maximally reap the many benefits of ECM. Contact us at info@mitiget.com.