Delivering a Competitive Advantage Through ECM

In today’s information economy, content is more dynamic, more complex, and shared by more people throughout the enterprise than ever before. A desire to leverage this content across the enterprise and with customers is no longer a nicety for competitive differentiation—it is now a requirement of doing business. The challenge of managing content across the enterprise has become increasingly clear—as well as the necessity and benefit of integrating that content with business processes.

Most recently, Enterprise Content Management (ECM) emerged as the definitive term to describe the next evolution in the document and content technologies market. Within ECM, the business requirements of the entire enterprise are considered, including business processes and the key role of unstructured content in business. ECM solutions promise to deliver what other previous technologies could not—substantial business value.

ECM Delivers Business Value

As more enterprises look to the Web to conduct their business, ECM solutions become even more critical. In order to stay competitive, enterprises must improve their business processes on the Web by making what happens behind the click more effective and efficient. ECM technologies offer enterprises the ability to streamline business processes, link people who participate in those processes via the Web, and leverage unstructured content as a strategic asset.

“Organizations that can best leverage their intellectual assets (i.e., content) will be best positioned to run efficiently (e.g., avoid duplicated efforts, exploiting best practices, identifying/leveraging subject matter experts, exposing the information employees, partners, and consumers need to make decisions); those not moving into this model will increasingly be at a competitive disadvantage,” claims Andy Warzecha, senior analyst at the META Group.1

Most enterprises reap substantial benefits when they incorporate the Web into their business by exposing parts of their business processes and relevant information to participants in their business operations. For instance, when an insurance policyholder participates in the claims process by providing information necessary to move the claim toward resolution, the organization benefits from a lower transaction cost and increased customer satisfaction. It also makes sense for an insurance company to allow others, such as agents or business partners, to participate in the claims process. Exposing business processes to both the policyholder as well as other parties, and incorporating unstructured content, such as scanned police reports, photographs from claims adjustors or e-mail correspondence with agents and policyholders, dramatically improves the efficiency of the claims process.

ECM tools ensure that business-critical information is delivered to the right people at the right time. Business processes within an enterprise are not hindered, and unstructured content and sources of information are integrated in a holistic, single view, providing the opportunity to make valuable business decisions.

Role of Process Management

As Web-enabled business practices and processes, plus unstructured content become more complex, key demands such as the need for centrally managed, enterprise-wide content management will continue to sustain the ECM market. Additionally, today’s enterprises are recognizing the need for more elaborate workflow or eProcess and Business Process Management features found in ECM solutions. Enterprises that once concentrated on building a Web site quickly realized the inadequacy of Web Content Management systems, and that having a Web front alone was not enough. To compensate, significant resources were spent to develop custom workflow and Business Process Management solutions to support growing business requirements. This need for a less costly, more complete package solution is driving demand for ECM offerings.

In today’s environment, competitive companies must remain agile—quick to adapt. Flexibility for changing business needs and evolving business practices will continue to be a market driver. Market leaders in the ECM arena include traditional document and content management vendors, as well as a number of new players. According to IDC’s ranking of worldwide content and document application software vendors, FileNET is recognized as the market leader, eclipsing the next largest vendor in revenue by more than 50%.2 The ranking reviews revenue and market share for 1998 to 2000.

When ECM Makes Sense for Your Business

Requirements for an ECM solution depend on the specific business challenges of an enterprise. A thorough assessment of an enterprise’s specific business processes or application is necessary before undertaking an ECM initiative. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if your organization could benefit from an ECM solution:

• Does your enterprise execute business processes, and more importantly exceptions, in a well-organized, efficient manner?;

• Does your organization effectively use the information it collects via the Web or in paper form by delivering it to the appropriate people in a format they can easily and quickly use?;

• Is your enterprise able to bring together information from various sources such as correspondences sent in by the customer, statements, and information exchanged between businesses, and make it available in a timely manner to the appropriate people within your organization?;

• If the Web plays a role in your business, do you allow external participants to interact in your business processes?;

If the above questions are issues that you struggle with today, a well-implemented ECM software offering can deliver real answers to your business requirements. ECM enables enterprises to adapt faster to the growing business need for dealing with valuable content. As the speed of business transactions and volume of content continue to accelerate, enterprises must act quickly, and explore ECM initiatives to stay competitive.

FileNET delivers the Substance Behind eBusiness™ by optimizing an organization’s business processes and associated content to deliver a competitive advantage, maximum efficiency and increased profitability. For more information on FileNET's business process management solutions, visit www.FileNET.com

1 META Group Electronic Business Strategies, Enterprise Content Management, March 5, 2001

2 IDC Document and Content Technologies Market Forecast and Analyst Summary, 2001-2005, August 2001

Managing a Customer Self-Service Portal

Leading ECM Provider

FileNET, with its Panagon™ product line, leads the Enterprise Content Management market. With Web-based processing and content management capabilities, Panagon offers today’s enterprises an ECM solution with the ability to reach customers or business partners globally by expanding their content and processes beyond the corporate wall, and to evolve to meet changing business needs at the same time.

“Collaborative commerce, greater volatility and volume in eBusiness over globally distributed value Webs, and an imperative to manage not just content but its associated processes and metadata, presents a daunting challenge,” commented Thomas Koulopoulos, president and founder, Delphi Group, an industry analyst and consulting firm. “FileNET’s strong legacy in content management and eProcess, along with the substantial technology of the Panagon platform, provide the right mix for FileNET to be a leading player in the ECM market over the long-term.”

ECM Solution in Action

As one of the world’s three largest lighting companies, OSRAM SYLVANIA implemented FileNET’s Panagon ECM solutions to manage its customer self-service portal. The challenge was to build mySYLVANIA.com, a Web site that would let its industrial distributors find product information easily and order lighting equipment directly. The project was not as easy as first thought—some SYLVANIA products have as many as 35 documents associated with them, including specification sheets, schematic drawings, photographs, material safety data sheets, mortality specifications, and other critical information.

OSRAM SYLVANIA’s mySYLVANIA.com Web site, a multi-featured, interactive, online lighting workplace for its commercial partners and end users, is built on FileNET’s Panagon Web Publisher, Panagon Content Services with Rendition Server, and Panagon Web Services. The site is a personalized workplace where SYLVANIA partners and customers can quickly and easily purchase products, browse a catalog, check product availability, and obtain instantaneous order status online. In addition, SYLVANIA customers are able to check the status of their accounts and vendors are able to verify payment for their services. By giving distributors access to this information, calls to the company’s service staff are minimized. When engaged, representatives can immediately access relevant information from the Panagon solution.

“The Web has revolutionized the way we interact with our partners and customers,” said Armand Gendreau, director of IT projects and core applications support of OSRAM SYLVANIA. “Now we can provide them with up-to-the-minute information instantly by using electronic content. Using Panagon to manage this content, we can assure our customers that they receive the latest product information. We can also give them better service by bringing together a complete information package. The result is better information, delivered faster, with less corporate overhead—clearly a winning scenario for both OSRAM SYLVANIA and its partners.”