Enterprise content management

Enterprise content management (ECM) is a formalized means of organizing and storing an organization's documents, and other content, that relate to the organization's processes. The term encompasses strategies, methods, and tools used throughout the lifecycle of the content.

The Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) International, the worldwide association for enterprise content management, defined the term in 2000. AIIM has refined the abbreviation ECM several times to reflect the expanding scope and importance of information management:

The latest definition encompasses areas that have traditionally been addressed by records management and document management systems. It also implies the conversion of data between various digital and traditional forms, including paper and microfilm.

ECM is an umbrella term covering document management, Web content management, search, collaboration, records management, digital asset management (DAM), workflow management, capture and scanning. ECM is primarily aimed at managing the life-cycle of information from initial publication or creation all the way through archival and eventual disposal. ECM applications are delivered in three ways: on-premises software (installed on an organization's own network), software as a service (SaaS) (Web access to information that is stored on a software manufacturer's system), or a hybrid composed of both on-premises and SaaS components.

ECM aims to make the management of corporate information easier through simplifying storage, security, version control, process routing, and retention. The benefits to an organization include improved efficiency, better control, and reduced costs. For example, many banks have converted to storing copies of old cheques within ECM systems as opposed to the older method of keeping physical cheques in massive paper warehouses. Under the old system, a customer request for a copy of a cheque might take weeks, as the bank employees had to contact the warehouse where the right box, file, and cheque, would need to be located. The cheque would then need to be pulled, a copy made and mailed to the bank where it would finally be mailed to the customer. With a suitable ECM system in place, the bank employee might simply query the system for the customer’s account number and the number of the requested cheque. When the image of the cheque appears on screen, the bank is able to mail it immediately to the customer, usually while the customer is still on the phone.

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