Whether you are implementing an Enterprise Content Management platform (ECM) for the first time or considering a new Document Management System (DMS), it is crucial to evaluate your organisation's current situation on an ongoing basis. A good analysis helps develop a clear vision of information management. This article will tell you which steps you can take to assess your current situation and lay a foundation for a modern information management system.

1. Identify your organisation's ECM and DMS needs

Start by identifying your desired needs and objectives and set them against existing efficiency barriers. In doing so, it is essential to know what types of content your organisation manages, how much information exists and where it is located in the organisation.

Identify how many and which applications (systems, applications and locations) are in use for managing content. Then look at how employees use these applications to find and use that content.

Ask these questions:

• Which application do people use the most?
• Which application contains information useful for employees who do not use it?
• Which applications cost the most to maintain?
• Which applications do not use modern technologies such as mobile access and cloud?

Answering these questions will help you determine where to start modernising your ECM and DMS.

2. Assess your current ECM and DMS applications

Most organisations already have at least one ECM or DMS application. It is vital to assess the existing applications to see if they (still) meet a modern vision of information management.

• What do employees think of the existing applications?
• What experiences do customers have with the applications? Are they receiving the best possible service and experience?
• How safe are the applications?

3. Analyse crucial pain points around content

After assessing security and employee satisfaction, ask the following questions to find out if it is time for change:

• Can the applications handle all types of content? From traditional formats and types to modern content?
• Are the applications able to scale easily without any downtime?
• Do end users find their information quickly and easily as they do through, for example, Google? Knowledge workers spend an average of 40% of their time finding the right information and locating documents. 
• Do the applications use the latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning? For example, for automatically recognising and classifying content.
• How secure and compliant are your processes and content? Your applications should be able to apply fine layers of protection, e.g. based on metadata. 
• Are costs rising for maintenance and storage of different applications?
• Is it difficult to integrate other applications with your ECM applications? Efficiency and productivity should go hand in hand, and for that, all applications should fit together. At best integrates an ECM application directly into a productivity application such as Microsoft Teams.

Document management in the cloud

Does it seem like your organisation can make strides or are you unsure about your current situation? Register yourself for the webinar Document Management in the cloud and discover in 30 minutes how to get a grip on documents and information in your organisation as organisations.