Many companies have realized that to sustain a competitive edge, they must boost their Business operation efficiencies. They have upped their game by deploying Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software, which harnesses their proprietary data and the business intelligence that it provides.

Corporations automate their core back-end, document-intensive processes by digitizing, centralizing, and making their information easily accessible. Collaboration is the lynchpin. ECM’s integration with customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning, human resource management, and other business applications further fosters corporate initiatives to reduce paper proliferation, eliminate errors and delays, improve process visibility, empower employees to be more productive, develop better customer service, and mitigate business risks.

Late in 2016, Gartner reported that content services applications will replace traditional ECM suites in 25% of large enterprises by 2020. Industry trade organization AIIM responded by saying that it is important to be aware that the term ECM may no longer encapsulate the grander meaning, strategies, and goals of modern content management services.

In AIIM’s ECM – State of the Industry – 2016, 38% of respondents strongly agreed that a new language other than ECM is needed to describe content management products. AIIM noted that this is important because how we define ECM influences how we deploy solutions and strategize at a high level.

As the very definition of ECM continues to evolve and new ways to innovate information opportunities emerge, here are three key trends to watch in 2017:

Mobility Becomes a Mandate

According to Global Workplace Analytics, working remotely has increased 103% since 2005. Offices and processes are being re-engineered with an understanding that 50% to 60% of work time will take place outside of the traditional office. As smart phones, tablets, and other mobile devices continue to replace PCs, expectations will grow that work can be performed on any device in the office, at home, or while travelling.

Hybrid Cloud-Based Storage

The rapid adoption of cloud architecture and the low cost of digital storage is making ECM applications more affordable for small and mid-sized companies. A Forrester Research survey has shown that 59% of decision makers plan to utilize a hybrid cloud model in 2017 as they seek to increase efficiency levels. The hybrid model, which includes a mix of private and public storage options, allows corporations to keep their sensitive data on-premises but still enjoy the economies that off-site storage delivers.

Compliance Challenges

ECM enables organizations to comply with the growing industry-specific and country-specific privacy and regulatory requirements by automating the governance process, which eliminates the human-error element. Because ECM brings enterprise data under one platform, companies are better able to control compliance certifications and advanced security features.

About AllianceTek

AllianceTek helps you design the ideal combination of people, processes, and systems so you can scale your business operations to increase productivity and sustain a competitive edge. Our specialty is implementing, integrating, or optimizing technologies such as ECM that have previously been out of reach for small to mid-sized companies. Our core expertise is Salesforce, .NET, SharePoint, iOS and Android applications, and CRM, web, cloud, mobile, and multimedia platforms.