The Xplor View - October 2008 - (Page 26)

the market place, addressing systems’ interoperability. However, the initiatives being taken are promising and it is expected that in a few years there will be widely accepted ECM standards. One example of the standards that are being developed is iECM. iECM Interoperable Enterprise Content Management (iECM) is a new standard and community of practice initiative taken up by AIIM, the Enterprise Content Management Association, based in the US. Its goal is to construct a technical infrastructure to facilitate interoperability between: • Content and document systems • Key enterprise applications and work processes offerings, or become focused niche vendors that are the best in their field for providing interoperable and open solutions. Pushed by CIOs and CTOs needing to bring down costs, most vendors have chosen to offer an all encompassing platform which covers everything from document, records, and retention management, to imaging, collaboration, digital asset management, and portal software. Yet they too have had to find a way to link their solutions to the organisation’s other key systems such as CRM and ERP . Despite worries that this is an attempt at a ‘one size fits all’ solution, it is predicted that many existing point-solution vendors will soon consolidate their services, as this is the key trend forecast to keep growing. Relatively few will attempt to go down the focused niche path until interoperability standards and solutions become more defined. Organisations can gain considerable benefits and ROI from this unified platform To achieve the above, the committee is aiming to construct this framework using existing SOA standards. The iECM should assist end-users, solution providers, and system integrators. Organisations will be able to bind their structured, unstructured, and semi-structured content to business processes in new and unique ways. Solution providers will benefit from being able to build their professional services and use them to distinguish their company from the competition. Finally, system integrators will see opportunities to provide scalable solutions to their customers with quicker impact on ROI. Overall, iECM will enable systems to be connected by creating scalable, manageable, and maintainable systems. Market consolidation has forced vendors to begin offering unified content platforms Initially, content management systems were made individually to address specific technology issues dependent on the line of business. Vendors were niche players focusing either on document management, web content, or records management technologies. Each vendor was trying to create something they could claim ownership over as there were few standards and little regulation. The problem with this approach was that it was costly; also, although there was vertical integration where products were created to assist with one content type, there was no horizontal integration for a holistic approach. Different departments owned different solutions within the organisation, which resulted in a fragmented approach to information management. As the market grew and matured, and standards began to emerge, vendors were forced to begin adding new functions to their product packages as they sought new ways of market domination. At the time of writing, vendors had two choices. They could either differentiate their products by integrating bolt-on’s to their ECM has enabled organisations to cut down costs of integration considerably by using a common platform for search and graphic interfaces, and enabling content systems to be reused or shared by different systems. For example, digital asset management and document management (DM) facilities are compatible through an ECM system. If the DM capacity existed, all that the organisation would have to do is add another module to the central system for digital asset management as both would work off one repository, using the same content applications. This eliminates the need for complex integrations. Another cost-cutting benefit of integrated and shared system architecture is that the running costs for the whole application portfolio will decrease. To add to this, the costs of training employees on how to use previously separate systems also go down. As there is only one interface to access the framework of the ECM system, it simplifies the training effort. Efficiency is another major benefit of using the ECM system. Automated processes, collaboration, and the integration of different data sources improve responsiveness to the internal and external environment. Web content management has improved with the ECM system. Little updating is needed to keep sites current and informed. Real-time information can be fed though an ECM system by integrating servers and using XML messaging to enable constant, automated updates. In the same way, many websites can be managed with consistency to ensure standard branding and image of all front-line communications. Finally, the organisation can benefit from being compliant. The ECM system is able to store and manage data in a tiered system by using ILM. Information is then easily archived, searched, and stored. This can reduce the cost of legal and audit risks, bringing consistency to the management of all corporate information sources. Mark has 23 years experience in technology, providing expert advice to the European Commission, several European publications and forums, and strategic advice on emerging technologies. Mark Crocker mark@statumen.com “Knowledge management addresses organisational cultures, knowledge tools, and the methods that the organisation could use to collect and share mostly unstructured knowledge.” 26 The VIEW Journal Xplor European Edition Issue 6 October 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Xplor View - October 2008

The Xplor View -� October 2008 Contents TPE Master Class: Three Ways to Tame your Print-to-Mail Workflow Right Now Mission Impossible: Embracing Environmental Concerns TPE Master Class: Implementing a Lean Working Environment Improving Business Processes Yields Award-Winning Business Performance How Do� You Effectively Win New Business Writing a Marketing Plan to Win New Printing Clients How Buying Strategies Have Affected How the Industry Sells Let's Talk About Integrated Customer Communications Management:�Transpromo...It Takes a Village! Knowledge Management Part 3 XDU: Leading the Education Revolution Kodak plus Xplor equals XDU Around the World Xplor Europe News:�Short News Items for the Xplor UK�Programme and Europe News

The Xplor View - October 2008

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