@VasontSystems @dclaboratory @LavaCon

Roundtable Discussion: The ROI of a

Content Management Strategy

Linda Cassola, Data Conversion Laboratory

Suzanne Mescan, Vasont Systems

Suzanne MescanVP of Marketing

We Help You…• Organize Your Business Assets• Manage Your Productivity• Disseminate Your Information Through Component Content Management

Solutions

• Over 60 years in the information management and publishing industry

• Named four times to the EContent 100 list of the most important companies in the digital content arena

Vasont Systems

Linda CassolaSenior VP of Sales/Marketing

Data Conversion Laboratory, Inc.• One of EContent Magazine’s Top 100 Companies in the digital content space

• More than 30 years of experience providing electronic document conversion services meeting the needs of technology…today & in the future!• Audio/video transcription• Composition• Consulting• Content Reuse Analysis• Digital Publishing

• Document & image conversion• eBook production• Project set-up/management• Quality Assurance• Workflow analysis

How do you get information from other departments to create an ROI for a CMS

strategy?

Use the “buddy system.” Find a co-worker in each department who is willing to provide information and metrics that you can work with. This co-worker may also be able to set up tracking to gather information that currently doesn’t exist.

How do you convince management to make the move to a CMS?

• Present information in their language: high-level details, ROI metrics, etc.

• Present the cost of doing business using the current methods vs. the cost of doing business using the CMS strategy and show the comparison.

• Show how much it will cost by doing nothing vs. making the move now and improving the processes sooner.

What are the top 3 areas where a CMS strategy can show the biggest

improvements?

• Translation costs will decrease dramatically from content reuse.

• Production cycle times will decrease due to automation of processes.

• The reusability of content will multiply efficiencies across the organization.

What is the best way to begin a CMS implementation?

• Start with one department or division and get the implementation working smoothly. Then, expand the CMS to other departments or divisions.

• Prioritize your legacy content and convert only what is important to the business long term.

• Convert the content during the implementation process rather than as an afterthought.

What do you measure to justify a CMS for management?

• Measure everything:– Hard costs (e.g., translation costs, publishing costs) – Soft costs (e.g., the time it takes writers to write, editors to

edit, etc.)– Consider what is broken in the current process

• Don’t try to measure every project you produce. Take one representative project and measure every step from beginning to end, through every department. Use these measurements as an indicator of your overall performance.

Where can I find metrics that show how much ROI is possible for a CMS implementation?

• Search online for ROI statistics from analysts, consultants and vendors.• Metrics from a 10-year survey of Vasont Systems’ client base show on average:

– Cost Savings:• 52% savings in editorial and content development costs• 58% reduction in production costs• 78% savings in translation costs

– Process Efficiencies:• 59% reduction in editorial cycles• 85% reduction in production cycles• 80% reduction in translation cycles• 55% less resources produced the same volume of work due to content reuse

rates of 62-93%– Consolidation of IT and operations resources

Contact Information

10

InformationLinda CassolaSVP Sales & Marketing,Data Conversion Laboratory

LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/company/data-conversion-laboratoryEmail LCassola@dclab.comWeb http://www.dclab.com/Twitter @dclaboratory

Join the DCL Learning Series Group on LinkedIn

Suzanne MescanVP of Marketing,Vasont Systems

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/vasont-systemsEmail smescan@vasont.comWeb www.vasont.comTwitter @VasontSystems