SaaS ECM Evolves into the Cloud
Last year, I wrote in this space about the advantages of SaaS-based ECM platforms.
Since then, a variety of factors—including persistently tight IT budgets, lower headcount, business uncertainty and unrelenting pressure to grow through innovation—have made the advantages of SaaS-based ECM even more compelling.
From SaaS to Cloud
First a word on terminology. The growing use of the term “cloud” to describe the delivery of ECM as a service is more than just a matter of the buzzword du jour. “SaaS” was and is a useful term when we are talking to IT folk about how we are now delivering software to the enterprise. But it’s a very techie acronym. The term “cloud” is much more readily comprehensible to business executives—and it is much more suggestive of what software-as-a-service can and should deliver. “Software-as-a-service” is accurate, but semantically it still puts emphasis on the fact that software is involved. “Cloud,” in marked contrast, more clearly conveys the idea that business capabilities are being provided in a way that fully insulates the buyer from all of the underlying technology that makes those capabilities possible. And our mission, after all, is to support the business with what it needs when it needs it. So “cloud” is in fact an appropriate and useful term to use as a descriptor of where ECM is going.
Why ECM is Heading for the Cloud
Enterprise buyers are embracing the cloud for all types of IT requirements. But there are several reasons that the cloud’s value proposition for ECM is particularly attractive:
Consume what you need. ECM implementations are typically a series of projects over time, each requiring different capabilities on a different scale. Unfortunately, that is not how on-premise ECM is typically provided. The on-premise model is a bit like having to buy a 24-count variety pack of Power Bars, when all you want is one chocolate one.
The cloud model, on the other hand, gives you the flexibility to just purchase the capabilities you need at the scale you need today—and to then adjust your engagement over time as necessary.
Eliminating technical complexity. On-premise ECM implementations are notoriously complex, requiring IT organizations to assemble software components, install and configure them, apply patches, write integration code, maintain operating system updates, continuously tune system parameters, maintain hardware and manage performance. None of these costly, time-consuming activities, of course, directly delivers any business value.
The cloud model completely overhauls this low-value equation, relieving the service consumer of the burdens associated with ECM complexity. As Gartner noted, cloud ECM “brings with it fewer costs for infrastructure hardware, software and management and less complexity in the applications layer.”
Getting the green light. With on-premise ECM, upper management has to commit lots of money and human resources to a project up front—and then wait months before finding out whether promised business benefits have resulted. Given how esoteric ECM technology may already seem to these decision-makers, it’s not surprising that many of them are loathe to green-light such projects in a down economy.
Cloud ECM projects are much, much easier to approve—since downside exposure is negligible by comparison. So it shouldn’t be surprising that cloud wins continue to advance over on-premise wins.
Business Results Minus IT Headaches
IT people tend to think about SaaS in IT terms. But business people understand the cloud in business terms. And they are starting to associate the cloud with some very specific business benefits:
Speed. Cloud ECM implementations typically take 24% of the time of similar on-premise projects. That rapid time-to-benefit translates directly into the higher ROI that business managers want.
Cost. With budgets tight, the comparatively low cost of cloud-based ECM is extremely appealing to the business. Plus, CFOs have better visibility into and control over costs when they are explicitly itemized on a vendor contract.
Reduced risk. Cloud projects don’t require large outlays for uncertain results. And a variety of protections can be written into vendor contracts. For these and other reasons, the cloud fits well into today’s corporate risk mitigation strategies.
Flexibility. The events of the last two years have reminded everyone that the ability to quickly respond to change can be critical to success—or even survival. Cloud-based ECM gives the business this flexibility, both in terms of right-sizing capacity and in terms of aligning ECM capabilities with changing business needs.
Of course, it’s important not to over-sell the cloud. If process owners can’t figure out how to optimally apply ECM capabilities to their core business challenges, even the best and most cost-effective technology won’t deliver business results. But for those of us who understand the power of ECM and how to use it, the cloud offers an undeniable business case. And the uptake we’re seeing in the marketplace proves that ECM buyers agree.
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.