Enterprise SolutionsChapter 10 – Enterprise Content Management

Introduction

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is the strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes.

If covers the management of information within the entire scope of an enterprise.

Information can be in the form of a paper document, an electronic file, a database print stream or an email.

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It also includes the conversion of data between various digital and traditional forms like paper and microfilm

ECM covers document management, web content management, search, collaboration, records management, digital asset management, workflow management, capture and scanning.

ECM Applications

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ECM applications are delivered in three ways:

On-premise software

Installed on the organization’s own network

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Web access to information that is stored on the software manufacturer’s system

Hybrid solution

Combination of on-premise and SaaS components

By: Varsha Godbole 10 – Enterprise Content Management

History

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The technologies that comprise ECM today are late descendants of late 1980s and early 1990s electronic document management system (EDMS)

The original EDMS products were standalone products providing functionality in one of four areas such as imaging, workflow, document management or COLD/ERM.

ECM specially includes the challenges involved in using and preserving a company’s internal, often unstructured information in all of its forms.

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Most ECM solutions focus on business to employee (B2E) systems.

Early leaders already offered multiple stand-alone EDMS technologies.

Throughout the 1990s, integration increased.

Beginning in approx. 2001, the industry began to use the term enterprise content management to refer to these integrated solutions.

Adoption Drivers

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There are various factors driving businesses to adopt an ECM solution such as:

• The need to increase efficiency

• Improve control of information

• Reduce overall cost of information management for enterprise

By: Varsha Godbole 10 – Enterprise Content Management

Characteristics

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ECM as Integrative Middleware:

• Is used to overcome the restrictions of former vertical applications and island architectures.

• It offers the requisite infrastructure for new web-based IT.

• Therefore EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) and SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) will play crucial role in implementation and use of ECM.

By: Varsha Godbole 10 – Enterprise Content Management

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ECM as Independent Services:

• Is used to manage information without regard to the source or the required use.

• For any given functionality only one general service is available, thus avoiding redundant, expensive and difficult to maintain parallel functions.

• Thus standards for interfaces connecting different services will play vital role in ECM implementation.

By: Varsha Godbole 10 – Enterprise Content Management

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ECM as a Uniform Repository for All Types of Information:

• Is used as a content warehouse that combines company information in a repository with a uniform structure.

• Redundancy and inconsistency about information are eliminated

• Content integration and ILM (Information Lifecycle Management) will play vital role in ECM use and implementation.

By: Varsha Godbole 10 – Enterprise Content Management

Components

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Capture

• Involves converting information from paper document into an electronic format through scanning.

• Also used to collect electronics files and information.

• Capture technologies involve the creation of metadata that explains characteristics of the document.

• E.g. Details about a patient collated in medical chart like patient ID, name, date of visit etc. this ensures easy and fast access of the patents records for a medical personnel.

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Manage

• This includes five traditional application area

• Document management

• Collaboration

• Web content management

• Records management

• Business process management

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Store

• These temporarily store information that is not required, desired or ready for long-term storage of preservation.

• Store is different than preserve.

• These are divided into three categories:

• Repositories as storage location

• Library services as administration components for repositories

• Storage technologies

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Preserve

• Is typically accomplished by the records management feature of an ECM system.

• Involves long-term, safe storage and back-up static, unchanging information.

• Designed to help companies comply with government and industry regulations.

By: Varsha Godbole 10 – Enterprise Content Management

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Deliver

• These components present information from the Manage, Store and Preserve components.

• These are distinguished by three groups:

• Transformation technologies

• Security technologies

• Distribution

By: Varsha Godbole 10 – Enterprise Content Management