Enterprise Content Management - Definition

Definition

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

Late 2005
Enterprise content management is the technologies used to Capture, Manage, Store, Preserve, and Deliver content and documents related to organizational processes.
Early 2006
Enterprise content management is the technologies used to Capture, Manage, Store, Preserve, and Deliver content and documents related to organizational processes.
ECM tools and strategies allow the management of an organization's unstructured information, wherever that information exists.
Early 2008
Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is the strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM tools and strategies allow the management of an organization's unstructured information, wherever that information exists.
Early 2010
Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is the strategies, methods and tools used to capture, manage, store, preserve, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM covers the management of information within the entire scope of an enterprise whether that information is in the form of a paper document, an electronic file, a database print stream, or even an email.

The latest definition encompasses areas that have traditionally been addressed by records management and document management systems. It also includes 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), work-flow 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 eventually disposal. ECM applications are delivered in three ways: on-premise software (installed on the organization’s own network), software as a service (SaaS) (web access to information that is stored on the software manufacturer’s system), or a hybrid solution composed of both on-premise 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 checks within ECM systems versus the older method of keeping physical checks in massive paper warehouses. Under the old system a customer request for a copy of a check might take weeks, as the bank employees had to contact the warehouse to have someone locate the right box, file and check, pull the check, make a copy and then mail it to the bank who would eventually mail it to the customer. With an ECM system in place, the bank employee simply searches the system for the customer’s account number and the number of the requested check. When the image of the check appears on screen, they are able to immediately mail it to the customer—usually while the customer is still on the phone.

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