Organizations that planned to digitize their workforce or in other words, go paperless might have had a tough time in the last decade. Even though there are thousands of solutions that streamline the process of digital transformation, organizations fail to effectively implement the same.
Talking about the amount of content generated each day, organizing and managing them is a cumbersome task. Right from images to documents, emails and web content, an enterprise needs to align all. Where manually processing all of the above drains out resources as well as energy, ECM software emerges as the game-changer.
What is ECM?
ECM or the enterprise content management system is nothing but the technologies that are utilized to manage, capture, store and deliver documents digitally. It is a one-stop-shop-solution for all the enterprises looking for a content management system. In simple terms, ECM software eases the task of managing and monitoring unstructured enterprise information, increasing efficiency, and business productivity.
Having said that, it is worth notifying that not every ECM works well with an enterprise. In order to unleash the true potential of organizations’ content management needs, the ECM should be flexible as well as rich in features. Also, it must possess the extensive capability of managing documents and creating records in the most optimal way. This is where we introduce the idea of using SharePoint as the enterprise content management system.
Wondering why?
Why SharePoint for Your Enterprise’s Content Management?
Put simply, SharePoint is one tool that aids the management of end to end enterprise content. It comprises four different pillars rather than components that facilitate the task of managing content within an enterprise.
- Document Management
- Records Management
- Digital Asset Management
- Web Content Management
Document Management
Managing documents manually isn’t the best way. Each day millions of data are produced and organizations need to store, manage and organize all. With the SharePoint’s Document Management system, organizational leaders can opt for centralized storage. What this means is that instead of storing documents individually, employees have access to a central repository of data that would be used to store data. This repository can then be accessed ubiquitously by all irrespective of their location.
Accessing documents globally might create a mess as employees can access any or every day. To prevent this, SharePoint enables co-authoring documents. This suggests that managers can restrict access to a particular document by assigning it to the ideal employee. On the greater good, when two or more employees work on the same document, it accelerates the pace at which work is done, increasing productivity and efficiency of the same.
In addition to the above, SharePoint’s Document Management System renders an audit trail notifying the manager on all the activities carried out on a piece of the document.
Digital Asset Management
Under this category, SharePoint includes media asset libraries. All of the libraries that are part of the digital asset in SharePoint has been tailored to aid the process of aligning audio, graphic and video files. The presence of a number of content types specifies a range of features that are not part of standard libraries. Asset browsing and playing popup videos are backed by thumbnail views. Alongside, the inbuilt media players in the SharePoint intranet portal enable playing videos directly.
Premeditated Record Management
Having records of data is needed to keep track of the transactions made as a piece of evidence. When done manually, organizational leaders spend a considerable amount of time and effort. With SharePoint ECM solutions, the enterprise leaders can automate the creation and storage of records.
Further, organizations need not worry about the security of the data as SharePoint encompasses two-factor authentication and total encryption. The eDiscovery center offered by SharePoint is a kind of site that eases the task of searching content and also, identifying the same electronically. Using SharePoint for record management, users can not only export its content but also keep track of holds posted on certain content.
Web Content Management
The last component of SharePoint ECM is related to the management of web content. Whether users wish to create content for the web or decorate the same to induce a consistent look, SharePoint’s web content management caters to all. The prevalence of reusable templates makes it easy for users to recreate website content quickly. Also, using the same template for multiple pages ensure that a steady appearance is maintained. All in all, SharePoint web content management cuts down the cost of deployment saving time and money.
What’s more?
It is not just the components that aid the process of managing content within the enterprise, but there are a number of factors too.
- For one, using SharePoint as the enterprise content management system software cuts down the total cost associated with it. It is ready to go software and has been available for free for a long time. Even if users are asked to buy the license for the same, SharePoint ECM is available at affordable rates.
- The SharePoint platform is highly secured. Whether you consider the dual authentication or the file encryption, organizations deploying SharePoint need not worry about the privacy and protection of their data.
- SharePoint provides third party support. Amidst thousands of requirements, contractual obligations, and regulatory compliances, SharePoint provides support to all. True that there are other vendors too who render support for different services, however, none encapsulates all. It is, only SharePoint, that is one-size-that-fits all kind of solution.
The Final Word
Having said all of the above, it is pretty obvious that SharePoint ECM stands out as the enterprise content management system software for organizations struggling to manage and monitor their organization data. The solution is flexible and can map the needs of all kinds of business. Whether a successful enterprise or a mid-market organization, SharePoint ensures flawless implementation. With robust capabilities and out of the box features, SharePoint seems apt as the enterprise content management system software. In case you too are in a search of the dauntless software for content management, SharePoint ECM might fit the puzzle best.
