How did we get here, and where do we go now?
In the late 1990s, Enterprise Content Management became a mainstream technology (at least for large organizations) by first focusing on early adopters eager to automate high-value, mission-critical, and document-intensive processes critical to gaining competitive advantage. Organizations (and the suppliers who supported them) next applied ECM platforms to solving core back-office automation challenges – like accounts payable, invoice processing, contracts management, and HR administration. Over time, we began to think that ultimately, there would be a convergence in an organization around a single ECM platform.
The reality turned out to be something very different. There are information management disrupters all around us! Here are a few:
- Organizations are realize that the single repository dream – if it ever was a dream – is over.
- SaaS and low-code process solutions are creating the potential of a new generation of silos on steroids.
- When it comes to legacy ECM, organizations can’t just throw the baby out with the bathwater.
- New and modern cloud-based solutions can’t just be slapped on to what you have now.
- Saving everything still isn’t the right answer.
Organizations need to look strategically at these kinds of information federation questions:
- How can you access valuable content in a legacy system and still sunset the application itself?
- Is it possible to create a common interface for all content regardless of new or legacy?
- Is it possible to have virtual access to archived content in multiple repositories and real-time conversion of only the data that is needed?
- Is it possible to reduce storage management costs across multiple platforms and repositories – and still preserve access to these archives when needed?
- How can you access content from multiple repositories within an application and not create multiple versions of the same content?
- How can you begin to understand – and manage – all of the “dark data” that is hidden away in long-neglected or abandoned applications and repositories?
You might be interested in a new Tip Sheet I've put together - 5 Reasons We Need a New Approach to Content Management.