Shared Services Model Reduces Enterprise Content Management Costs E-mail
MI Blog - Enterprise Content Management Solutions

Enterprise Content Management (or ECM) “refers to the technologies, strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to an organization and its processes.” ECM solutions are the bridge between a paper-based and paperless office making most documents available through a corporate network, viewable on desktop computer screens. A recent research report from Gartner predicts companies can save 10 – 20% on the cost of ECM deployments and maintenance by adopting a shared services model for ECM software licensing, infrastructure and support. We completely support this stance as shared services models reduce the need for individual departments to support their own ECMs thereby reducing license costs, infrastructure cost and server count, and the number of resources to provide troubleshooting, maintenance and enhancements.


Benefits of Enterprise Content Management Solutions



Gartner goes on to point out a nasty truth of ECM deployments – many large companies have multiple ECM deployments of various brand, technology backbone, and compatibility. The benefits of consolidating to one ECM solution including reducing information silos and increasing integration across the enterprise. Additionally, consolidating ECM solutions leads to improved data sharing, access, business process automation, and decision making.

Drawbacks of Enterprise Content Management Solutions



There are a few drawbacks to a shared services model that include the importance of prioritizing multiple (and sometimes competing) requests for enhancement from business units and the fact that one solution may not meet the needs of every business unit. However, the savings involved will outweigh the drawbacks in most circumstances.

Gartner: http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=1141212&subref=simplesearch

Learn more about MetroplexInteractive’s Enterprise Content Management solutions.