ECM IS THE SOLUTION TO BUSINESS PROCESS PAIN!

[Johannesburg, 14 April 2009] - A few years ago, governments started initiatives to promote transparency and make previously guarded company information, available to Joe Public. Many new laws, regulations and guidelines saw the light. Suddenly Enterprise Content Management, Electronic Records Management, Information Organisation and Access became household terms. None of these concepts is new by any means, but previously these rarely registered on the average company’s radar. Document Managers were rare, Librarians, Records Managers usually banished to basements and Enterprise Content Managers were non-existent.

Now, things are VERY different. The "top dogs" in companies are now the Chief Information Officers and millions are spent on solutions, all for the sake of compliance. However, one might say that most companies often consider the money spend on Enterprise Content Management (ECM) "a grudge purchase". Ten years ago, companies did not plan for ECM let alone budget for it and were mostly oblivious to the reasons for ECM, other than to adhere to government standards.

As the initial shock and confusion surrounding ECM subsided, individuals became more aware of the benefits and advantages of a good ECM system. We started seeing "ECM Champions" working to guide the flow of money, to organise knowledge and information more effectively. Even though compliance is still important, these days the cost saving and profit gain motives surrounding ECM, are at the top of most agendas. It is not only about compliance anymore!

Businesses can now see real returns on their ECM investment relatively quickly. This justification is more relevant than ever before. ECM is influencing business process change, business process outsourcing and speeding up business processes. Companies are becoming more productive since they can do more with less. Aside from the actual cash savings, there are also other gains such as better customer service and improved decision-making powers. This allows companies to be more flexible and agile – qualities that are of the utmost importance.

Interestingly, a recent study* found close to half of all companies struggled to manage their content – be it electronic or hardcopy. In addition, up to 75% of modern communication channels (i.e. e-mails, instant messages, text messages, blogs and wiki's) are still uncontrolled. This situation remains, even though the benefits of ECM are becoming painfully obvious.

One of the biggest issues where the above mentioned is concerned, is information security and data loss. All of these platforms have led to an explosion in information sharing – which is a good thing. Unfortunately, we are all aware of the consequences of uncontrolled growth. Because of the easy access and popularity of these tools, ordinary business users use them and not the traditional IT crowd. Consequently, sensitive information is often available indiscriminately and frequently data is stored wherever. In the light of this, ECM does not only make sense from financial point of view but also form a risk perspective.

The Association for Imaging and Information Management (AIIM) has for over 60 years been the leading international organisation focused on helping companies to understand the challenges associated with managing documents, records, content and business processes. AIIM is international in scope, independent, implementation-focused and a non-profit organisation.

Their programmes centre on informing organisations about the value, necessity and importance of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) in terms of improving effectiveness, profitability and service to customers. These are all factors that influence and determine the competitive advantage of any organisation. Through education, companies can make the paradigm shift to view information as an organisational asset. Efficient management of this asset is required to support continued growth of the organisation. With over 70 000 members in 146 countries, they have access to a wide range of organisations, all of which contribute to the continued evaluation and currency of the AIIM curriculums. This assures delegates of receiving the latest and best knowledge of ECM.

As The ECM Association, they are representative of the entire ECM industry – including users, suppliers and channels and they act as the industry intermediary. As an independent, vendor-neutral and unbiased source of information, AIIM serves the needs of its members by providing educational opportunities, professional development, reference and knowledge resources, networking events and industry advocacy.

AIIM has the following programmes available: Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Certificate Programme, Electronic Records Management (ERM) Certificate Programme, Business Process Management (BPM) Certificate Programme, Information Organisation and Access (IOA) Certificate Programme, E-Mail Management (EMM) Certificate Programme and Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0) Certificate Programme (E2.0 will only be available in South Africa late 2009). These programmes are all available at Practitioner, Specialist and Master Levels. The AIIM Masters certificate programme is arguably the highest global qualification in the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) field.

In 2006, NokusaEI became the only AIIM accredited trainer in southern Africa. It was a great fit, since both of these organisations hold education and learning in such high regard. Since then, NokusaEI has been delivering AIIM certificate programmes throughout South Africa. Many customer ECM projects have benefited through this knowledge transfer. It usually brings about that paradigm shift in the minds of their clients and their employees. It ensures good all-round knowledge of ECM, which contributes to the overall success of an ECM project through the consideration of all factors that are part of the ECM journey. Consequently, it makes a great difference and ensures that ECM projects costing millions do not become the proverbial white elephants.

Should you want to know more about AIIM or NokusaEI please go to their websites: www.aiim.org and www.nokusaei.com. For more information on the AIIM programmes presented by NokusaEI, please contact their training coordinator Lidia Basson on 011 791 1028 or lidia.basson@nokusaei.com.

*The annual research report entitled "State of the ECM Industry."