SaaS-Based ECM Platforms
An Agile, Cost-Effective Approach for Enterprise Content Needs

Enterprise content management (ECM) is based on the idea that companies can implement a single, unified platform that can be used cost-effectively to address a spectrum of content needs throughout the enterprise. However, the disappointing results of most ECM initiatives reveal the fallacy of this premise. In reality, what companies need are content-centric applications targeted to specific departments and business processes.

For example, management of proposals and contracts is a content-centric application requiring features that are typical of an enterprise-content management system, including imaging, document management, search, routing, approval and e-signature. Financial audit processes involve structured data, but also require the management of extensive supporting material, much of it in the form of documents. An insurance claim process may revolve primarily around data, but much of the supporting material like photos, police reports and adjustor notes is most often found in documents, email and faxes.

There are hundreds of department-specific and industry-specific content applications including:

• Contract and proposal management;
• Invoice processing and accounts payable automation;
• Resumes and interview note management;
• Unified patient records management;
• Legal matter management;
• M&A deal rooms and financial due diligence;
• Real estate and mortgage transaction management; and
• Processing college, credit card and other applications.

For nearly 20 years, document management (DM) and now ECM have promised to cost-effectively manage, standardize and automate content processes. Originally, there were more than 30 different markets spanning imaging, document management, eforms, business process management, output management, records management and more. However, today’s market is dominated by ECM suites—many assembled through acquisitions—that promise to rapidly automate a broad range of content-centric processes. But, by trying to be all things to all people, traditional ECM ends up being inadequate for everyone:

• Addressing the complete scope of most business applications requires multiple ECM technologies to be effective—yet for most installed ECM suites that still means integrating "partner" products, which adds to the cost of both the initial implementation and the ongoing cost of maintaining those integrations;
• The resulting application, because it is assembled from different products (whether within the vendor suite or with partner add-ons), may suffer from multiple user interfaces between all the integrated components, leading to poor adoption and low satisfaction;
• All of this integration and customization through programming drives higher costs of deployment. According to industry analysts, the cost of deploying an ECM platform for a specific application can be three to five times the software license cost; and
• Deployments that require integration and customization can take months or even a year or more to deliver, reducing time to business impact. Programmed changes are hard to modify as business conditions change, leading to a lack of agility that hampers the business as needs inevitably change.

The Answer—SaaS ECM Platform
If the above scenario sounds familiar, you are not alone. Fortunately, there is an answer. More than just a subscription model applied to traditional ways of doing business, Software as a Service (SaaS) represents a fundamental shift in the way enterprises leverage application functionality. Unlike hosted services, today’s SaaS platforms are built on multi-tenant architectures that can be operated at a fraction of the cost of single-instance implementations. The success of the SaaS model can be seen in strong and growing adoption of a broad spectrum of solutions from CRM to ERP. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents to a recent survey by Cutter Consortium reported that they are currently using SaaS solutions in the enterprise, a figure projected to reach 75% by the end of 20091.

SaaS offers these compelling advantages for the delivery of ECM functionality:

• Multiple ECM technologies such as document management, BPM, imaging, search and more are thoroughly integrated once, and that cost is amortized over thousands of customers, providing powerful economies of scale. In this way, SaaS ECM platform can address 80%-90% of a typical company’s content management needs across departments;
• Platform upgrades take place in the background, transparent to the user. There are no additional or unexpected costs for maintenance and upgrades; just a single predictable subscription fee, ideal for departmental budgets;
• Departmental applications are configured (rather than programmed and compiled) resulting in customizations at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional systems. Future changes can be made easily, leading to rapid response as business needs change;
• For these reasons, the initial cost to deploy a SaaS-based ECM solution can be as little as 10% of the initial cost of traditional installed software and hardware. In fact, the ongoing monthly subscription fee is often less than the maintenance cost for traditional software;
• SaaS systems are typically available for free trial prior to committing to a subscription, so the organization can try out aspects of the system before making a decision to subscribe, further reducing the risk of post-sale disappointment; and
• A unified SaaS ECM platform simplifies administration, including user administration, security policies, single sign-on and the enforcement of compliance policies for records management. Likewise, a single Web services interface across applications simplifies the integration and maintenance of integrations and a single SLA can be negotiated across all applications. One vendor also simplifies vendor management.

SaaS is a well-established model whose time has come. When applied to ECM, the SaaS platform can rationalize and revolutionize the deployment and impact of content-centric applications in the enterprise, while reducing costs, speeding workflow and driving substantial business value.

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SpringCM, a leader in on-demand content management, has developed a broad-reaching SaaS enterprise-class ECM platform that has been proven effective by hundreds of companies including GE, Cox, Comcast, National Australia Bank and HealthNet, who have deployed SaaS content-centric applications within their companies. In December 2008, SpringCM introduced Solutions Central, a network of value-added partners—including industry leaders Pitney Bowes and Ricoh—that is building purpose-specific applications for education, healthcare, government and more—all on the SpringCM platform.

1 Cutter Consortium, "Business Technology Trends & Impacts Advisory Service Executive Update," Vol. 9, No. 19.