I meet a lot of organisations and people that are rolling out or have deployed Enterprise Content Management (ECM) projects.
Some have scanning, some have content only, some have workflow, some have records, some have the full gamut of capabilities and are all singing all dancing ECM platforms.
Regardless of the time an organisation has had ECM for we seem to hear the same types of comments from users:
- “I put my stuff in but I can never seem to find it when I need it!”
- “I have to fill out too much information when I add something so I just put it on my hard drive”
- “I have to log into a different system every time I need to find a document or take part in my workflow process”
- “I hate this thing – it’s s*#t!”
These gripes are mostly confirmed across the organisation at all levels regardless of role. The song “Could we start again please?” from Jesus Christ Superstar springs to mind.
Could we start again please?
The answer inevitably is ‘No, we can’t start again, we are sticking with what we’ve got – it may not be perfect but it does it’s job! We’ve invested…’.
But does it do it’s job? If your users have an ECM experience which is detrimental to business outcomes is it a successful solution?
So can we start again?
The answer is yes.
With many of the current versions of ECM vendors’ products it is indeed possible to start again and unravel your tangled web of content.
The interfaces and tools that are available can also help embed a seamless and pleasant user experience in your organisation.
ECM is introduced to build efficiencies in an organisation and prevent knowledge leakage. If your system is not improving efficiency or preserving knowledge then it may be time to consider an alternative or increase the value you achieve out of your existing system.
Getting more out of what you have or transitioning to a new ECM platform is far simpler today than it has ever been. Moving content between repositories and file systems can be achieved quickly with little fuss. Importing content from File Systems is a core capability of many ECM solutions available today.
Starting again is a reality that is within the grasp of any organisation. If your current ECM or document management solution is causing more pain than gain then it may be time to consider starting again.
It can be easier than you think – you are not alone.
To learn more about Blumarks deep ECM expertise please contact us by phone on 1300 258 275 or by email.