ECM is Not Doomed to Fail

By taking the accountability and execution away from humans and their pesky individuality and embedding the expanded

functionality of ECM directly into business processes, organizations have the ability to define and implement conventions at the macro (governance) level and seamlessly apply them at the micro (process) level, utilizing the ECM solution as the conduit and gatekeeper. It works in the opposite direction, as well; standards and conventions defined at the process level can be fed back to the master ECM platform and become part of the official policy.

Capture, taxonomy and permission scoping and planning evolves from trying to encapsulate everything related to every single piece of information across the enterprise to designing bite-sized models on a per-process basis, based on what’s best for that process. Day to day, users in any given process are now only faced with a handful of filing decisions instead of dozens of possibilities. Behind it all, the ECM system controls the playing field under direct supervision from RM, legal and senior management.

Welcome to the Future

A successful digital future is one of synergy, insight and agility; an environment where data from disparate sources across the enterprise quickly and intelligently comes together to fuel the right decisions at the right time. And what a wonderful world it would be, right? It is all possible (yes, it really is!) but getting there can certainly appear daunting—dots need to be connected, circumstances understood, rules forged and applied—the considerations seem to go on and on. Where to start?

First of all, plan, plan, and plan some more. Scope, assess and consult. Target digestible steps, not wholesale leaps. And understand that progressive organizations are seeing a large chunk of the answer is already sitting right in front of them. By building on their existing ECM infrastructure and embedding the immense capabilities of the newest generation into lead applications across the enterprise, the silos can come down and the information can flow to those who really need it.

Like an action hero in a Hollywood flick, ECM started out with noble intentions, faced incredible obstacles, and has emerged from the flames unbowed, wiser and more capable than ever. In fact, its inherent strengths as organizer, guardian and bond for all things digital are making it even more indispensable as companies make the essential move to becoming wholly digital enterprises. Using ECM to bridge lead applications and transform processes makes both optimal information governance and incremental business value readily attainable. It’s in all of our best interests to treat it right this time.