Multi-channel next-generation information capture is clearly the least mature of the four core Content Services technologies.
Multi-channel capture is poised to assume an increasingly important role as the tide of incoming information rises and accelerates. There is still a long tail in the market that views “capture” as primarily something you do to paper in order to more effectively store it somewhere. That is clearly changing, and next-generation capture is focused on the capture of information from all forms of incoming information, translating that information into a machine comprehensible form and using it to directly engage business processes.
Consider the top priorities in a Content Services solution – 1) content integration into core business processes, 2) flexible and hybrid deployment models, 3) built-in records management capabilities across the lifecycle of information, and 4) and automated categorization and classification. None of these can be accomplished in an environment of exploding information without an effective strategy for multi-channel capture – not as an afterthought to be done “later” but automatically and as information comes into the organization.
Traditional content management capabilities are becoming increasingly commoditized and shifting from a source of competitive advantage to table stakes in a bigger value proposition centered around process automation and machine learning. There is a major pivot underway over the next two years from “content” as a stand-alone priority (a legacy of the ECM years) and content as a key enabler of processes and analytics.