Enterprise Content Management

Enterprise content management (ECM) represents both a strategy to deal with all types of unstructured content and a set of software products for managing the entire content life cycle. Those who lead ECM projects, typically application managers and enterprise architects, confront critical decisions about how to manage a growing number of information types and whether to choose strategic infrastructure tools or best-of-breed offerings.

ECM technologies are frequently provided as part of an integrated suite or platform and include:

• Document management – Document and image check-in/check-out, version control, security and library services
• Web content management – Automating Web master tasks, managing dynamic content and managing content authoring
• Records management – Rules for content disposition and automation of retention and compliance policies
• Document capture – Basic imaging functionality for capturing and managing paper documents
• Social content – unstructured data (documents, images, video) primarily destined for human consumption. Social content is created, vetted, marked up or delivered through a social process or channel.
• Workflow (as integrated with document management, Web content management and records management products) – Supporting business processes and routing content, assigning work tasks and states, and creating audit trails

Content management (CM) requires an overarching strategy that addresses the risks and rewards of unstructured information, and the needs of multiple user constituencies and buying centers across the enterprise. However, new content types and disruptive forces – such as the consumerization of IT – continue to multiply the number of repositories and applications that enterprises must deal with. Also, the needs of users seem to be diverging and enterprises want CM technologies to play new roles.