Collaboration tools for enterprise content management

Collaboration tools for enterprise content management
By Steve Manik, BDEE Writer

Enterprise content management (ECM) may be termed as the backbone of any business today. It is a goal that most entrepreneurs dream of achieving and making their business thrive in this world of hard-core competition. But, what is enterprise content management actually?

In technical terms, ECM can be termed as a methodology that supports an organisation in accomplishing various tasks in order to manage digital content. Enterprise content management expedites the following processes:

Creating/capturing digital content
Managing/securing digital content
Destroying/storing/retaining digital content
Publishing/distributing digital content
Searching, customising, viewing and printing digital content.

Content management systems were initially created within organisations that were involved in content publishing. In 1995, CNET triggered off its process of offering the services by establishing a separate company called Vignette. Another company called Pencom Webworks introduced a data transformer service. The product was not a success, but the concepts were later utilised in developing modernised techniques.

Content management systems can be categorised in many ways:

• Web content management systems
• Transactional content management systems
• Integrated content management systems
• Publications management systems
• Learning management systems
• Document imaging systems
• Enterprise content management systems

An enterprise content management system comes with a lot of variations in terms of its functionality. Some of such systems support both web and publications content lifecycle, while others advocate the web content lifecycle and transactional content or customer relationship management.

The benefits
Enterprise content management is a solution that aims to provide you the peace of mind you are searching for. A single word and solution for processes like imaging, document management, content management, knowledge management and work flow, ECM is a structure that can efficiently assist public-sector specifications for enhancing various processes, attaining competence and protecting important data.

According to Cheryl McKinnon, Director for Industry and Solutions Marketing with Humming bird: “Using an ECM framework as a toolkit to deploy specific process and technology solutions is key to success.”

These days organiSations are striving hard to manage information in an enhanced way and to collaborate efficiently. With enterprise content management, an organisation can effectively consolidate document content and the collaboration about that content on site resulting in an effective user experience. A positive user experience is essential in gaining credits and laurels for an organisation and this exactly what ECM does. With ECM, an organisation can look forward to simplification of the IT infrastructure.

Collaboration is at the heart of ECM. Collaboration tools such as Groove, First point, Next page, Documentum etc. are capable of facilitating both structured and free-flowing sharing of knowledge and best practices.

Software like groupware enables several users to work on a single project at separated workstations. The ECM tools have created a revolution in the world of collaboration and business communication. Today, with these tools, entrepreneurs have the ‘Aladdin’s Magic Lamp” to collaborate effectively and easily.

According to an expert advice from John O’Brien, President and CEO of Vista, California, collaboration tools excels in the area of knowledge Management. He adds: “A good collaboration tool can also notify other members when new information is available through an email or online ‘task list’, thereby streamlining the process of distributing information to the relevant member.”

Let us consider the competence of collaboration tools with the help of an example given below. The example effectively shows the marvellous contribution offered by such tools in the business field.

The example dates back to the time when UNIQA Group in Austria, one of central Europe’s leading insurance groups, was re-launching its enterprise portal with the help of Tridion’s enterprise content management solution. The enormous co-project was triggered off by the successful re-launch of the parent company’s website at www.uniqa.at and the group website at www.uniqagroup.com. It also involved the Czech subsidiary’s site, www.uniqa.cz, and UNIQA, the XML experts Software AG and the enterprise content management solution provider Tridion in the whole process. In the near future, other UNIQA subsidiaries (in Hungary for example) are planning to re-launch their sites. The plan also includes the successful introduction of an information platform for all UNIQA customers. This will consist, a unique UNIQA customer section that would effectively allow customers to have direct online access to their account details and a direct path to their account advisers.

The prime objective of the re-launch was to standardise the design and layout of the company’s websites across Europe. For this purpose, UNIQA concentrated on content creation and maintenance of the site. Now the content owners across the company can easily develop and maintain their own content. They don’t have to depend on the e-business department to accomplish this task. Prior to the execution UNIQA meticulously analysed other large content management system providers before even opting for Tridion’s strong XML-based offering.

Dr Ulrich Kiessling, Director of POS/e-business at UNIQA explains: “Despite our complex corporate structure, with many different users such as subsidiaries, part acquisitions, insurance brokers, external authors and employees, Software AG and Tridion succeeded in managing this complex structure and establishing our internet presence from one central Tridion system.”

He further adds: “Not only did the content management system allow us to install uniform multilingual sites across Europe – we are also planning to use it to develop our Intranet and Extranets. On the one hand, we offer our customers an information portal and direct services, on the other hand it offers us simple possibilities to better leverage our existing enterprise content.”

Walter Weihs, Director of Software AG Austria has said: “UNIQA’s serious consideration to opt the Tridion solution was a big relief for us in the implementation of this project, for that reason the solution is fully XML-based and platform independent. Consequently, the connection to Lotus Notes, which UNIQA required, was no hindrance and the same content can now be re-used in different formats without any tribulations.”

Vincenzo Favuzzi, Director of Strategic Alliances at Tridion GmBH is also impressed: “For a large organisation such as UNIQA Versicherungen AG it is crucial that business critical content is always ready to publish and use on time. Software AG has the proficiency and the experience, to deliver this insurer the right tools to allow well-organised, varied and productive content management.”

You may also have to orchestrate many business processes or need to join global or national working groups with business partners at various locations far off and some of whom you’ve never even met. To get to the head of this rat race where every competitor is striving hard, you must consider some of the best collaboration solutions.

In today’s 24/7 economy, global as well as national business may prove very expensive if you plan to collaborate with the help of videoconferencing, telephone or a personal conclave. Emailing may prove to be a cheaper medium, but email and instant messaging systems may not be able to handle a substantial presentation of your project or documents. Choosing any collaboration solution in this situations would achieve two chief goals: assisting your employees across the globe to expedite the process of collaboration; and enabling them to share that output with the rest of the organisation.

To get the best out of enterprise collaboration, ECM is the best resource. And you have dozens of software providers to choose from, such as Lotus Workplace, Documentum eRoom, Interwoven worksite, Vignette Business Workspaces and Open Text live link.

Other tools such as Oracle’s Collaboration Suite and Microsoft Exchange and a few desktop based Peer-to-Peer applications, like Groove, may prove to be effective in wining global recognition. All these software solutions have been around for some time now and are helping businesses to share their data efficiently.

Groove was developed by Ray Ozzine, the creator of Lotus Notes. The foundations of Groove were laid in October 1997. According to a recent survey, more than €122.59 million has been invested in Groove in the last eight years. Elsewhere, many Microsoft-centric organisations have placed their trust in Exchange as an effective collaboration tool

Microsoft acquired Groove in April 2005 and Ozzine became CTO at Microsoft with the pre-eminent task of reporting to Bill Gates on a daily basis.

Users were able to share data, irrespective of where they were with the help of Groove’s virtual office product. It enables any Windows-based PC user to instantly develop ad hoc and virtual workspaces. These helped in scheduling geographic, organisational and network boundaries, allowing information workers to get their job done whether they’re connected via internet or temporarily away from the network.

The product is structured to facilitate users working off-line and to update their project states with invited users’ laptops or PCs once they log in. With an easy installation process, one can also enjoy a hosted solution with Groove. Lately Groove has developed the ability to invite or request an invitation via voicemail. This could relieve so called email ‘spoofing’, on the rise these days. Since most people recognise their co-workers voice, this new addition from Groove, could prove invaluable from a security perspective.

Another package that targets the small business market is Hyper Office. This can be put into operation instantly and with a low monthly fee and no upfront hardware or software costs. A customised portal equipped with features such as web-based email, electronic document management, contact management and shared calendaring and contacts.

It has become crystal clear in the business world that collaboration tools can prove a dynamic medium to take your business to new heights. For any organisation with numerous branches across the globe and many employees working and operating from different places, sharing content and documents to re-index, modify, support, add or delete is likely to be a daily challenge. With effective collaboration tools, one can rest assured that the content is sent securely from one individual to another.

Experts believe that with ECM collaboration tools are becoming an integral and critical medium of communication between people within organisations. But a final note of caution to prospective users of ECM collaboration tools: These must be securely incorporated into your document and content management strategies so that they effectively serve the prime objective to bind people to the information they need in order to be productive and to enhance operations.

The efficient and successful implementation of ECM collaboration tools is essential to achieve desired results. Unless your organisation uses its information while maintaining ‘privacy’ or authentic information, you will be at risk. But if implemented in a correct and useful manner, these collaboration tools may be a medium for you to conquer the consistent pressures of changing markets, ever increasing, cut-throat competition.

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