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ECM Basics: Thinking Beyond Paperless Processing (while keeping an eye on the green)By James Thumma, VP of Sales and Technology, Optical Image Technology

This time of year, two obsessions dominate my time: making sure my department is running efficiently, and pursuing a small round white ball—if I am lucky enough to keep it on the course. It’s been said that golf is a game where the ball lies poorly, and the players well; in golf as in life, it’s the follow through that makes the difference. While I have no comment about the first observation, the reality of the second statement is evident throughout the business world.

Ben Hogan noted that the most important shot in golf is the next one. This is an important mindset to have if you are considering a transition from paper-based processes to an enterprise content management (ECM) system. Immediately after implementation, ECM serves as a content repository for all of your documents, faxes, records, email messages, images, and other paper and electronic files. It offers the potential for improved document retrieval, a reduction in keying errors, improved privacy measures, and overall process enhancements. Each of these elements will increase efficiency and provide you with a strong ROI. However, it is important to look beyond the immediate gains that your transition will offer, and to take a holistic view of its place within both your business and technology infrastructures.

All ECM systems are not created equally. A high-performance system will provide your organization with considerable benefits that transcend your initial process improvements. Read on to learn about considerations that go beyond paperless processing—and to learn about the importance of web access to legacy systems, improved compliance initiatives, and change management.

Golf is a game in which one endeavors to control a ball with implements ill adapted for the purpose. --Woodrow WilsonIn the business world, too, many organizations are dependent upon legacy applications that are incompatible with a contemporary IT infrastructure. Legacy systems can be slow and difficult to access. Maintenance is costly, both in terms of time and resources.

An ECM system that is underwritten with a strong Web services API (application programming interface) allows you to integrate your legacy systems with the rest of your business processes. ECM connects authorized users to your information and provides you with the security, access,

and distribution that you need for optimal performance. Ideally, users should be able to query and access information from legacy systems without having to learn new software programs and without exiting their familiar software applications. Connection is as simple as a click of the mouse.

Imagine where your golf game would be if you were still dependent on old technology of wooden woods and small headed drivers. The right ECM system—one that is underwritten entirely in Web services—has the extensibility to ensure that all of your software is integrated throughout your entire enterprise. It guarantees that your organization will no longer be bogged down by obsolete technology.

All ECM systems are not created equally. The right system will provide your organization with considerable benefits that transcend your initial process improvements. Read on to learn about considerations that go beyond paperless processing—and to learn about the importance of web access to legacy systems, improved compliance initiatives, and change management.

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Golf is an easy game... it’s just hard to play. Compliance initiatives offer the same contradiction. Compliance is often difficult to prove. Complicated (and increasing) demands for organizations to implement privacy measures, information transparency, and accountability can seem overwhelming. Paradoxically, however, when solid policy is backed up by a high-performance ECM system, compliance measures are often addressed with very little effort.

A strong ECM system allows businesses to implement security measures that stand up under strict scrutiny. Organizations can designate which users have the ability to access, view, annotate, and process specific documents. The implementation of electronic workflow—in addition to making your processes more efficient—assures that tasks are completed in a standardized and designated order while minimizing errors. This ability helps to address both privacy and security requirements. The ability to automate records retention and destruction schedules further addresses privacy and security measures, and minimizes the role of human error in your records management strategy.

A good ECM system can also supply your organization with audit trails to simplify compliance reporting. You are equipped with irrefutable evidence as to which documents were accessed—and by whom—which helps to ensure accountability and information transparency. To summarize, the very actions that make your business run more efficiently will help you to become more compliant.

Monitoring and reporting tools, which also help organizations to address compliance requirements, allow organizations to monitor processing levels and enable adjustments. They enable you to gauge productivity levels, improve work distribution, and improve productivity. Like Gary Player said about golf, the harder you work, the luckier you get.

There’s no game like golf: you go out with three friends, play eighteen holes, and return with three enemies.Change management is a critical—and often overlooked—component to a successful ECM installation. And from what I’ve seen in the industry, software with all of the functionality and bells and whistles in the world will not be readily accepted unless it is easy to use. Communication and involvement with your users—prior to and during migration—can mean

the difference between success and failure in the adoption of new software. Ideally, this should take place prior to ECM implementation.

Automated workflow will allow your organization to get the most out of your ECM system and will make your processing active (as opposed to passive). Documents will be electronically routed for processing to the right person at the right time. With the right software system, you will be able to design your own workflows using a simple drag and drop interface. And by managing change effectively, you can ensure successful adoption of the new software.

To be successful, assemble a team composed from members from various levels of your enterprise—both end-users and decision-makers. Work together to analyze each process that is integral to your operation. Be sure to identify the following:

John Updike said that the golf swing is like a suitcase into which we are trying to pack one too many things. As you get closer to implementation, be sure to choose a project with a manageable scale that can be expanded throughout your enterprise. Also, consider your short-term needs vs. your long-term goals. Success in one department provides tremendous incentive for other departments to adopt the new system.

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• The desired outcome of each workflow• The people involved in each workflow • The decisions that affect processes (and the people who make them)• Assets that are needed for optimal performance

John Updike said that the golf swing is like a suitcase into which we are trying to pack one too many things. As you get closer to implementation, be sure to choose a project with a manageable scale that can be expanded throughout your enterprise. Also, consider your short-term needs vs. your long-term goals. Success in one department provides tremendous incentive for other departments to adopt the new system.

Tips and advice from the prosIn golf as well as in software implementation, enlisting the expertise of professionals can pay great dividends. Software vendors sometimes have decades of experience, and can provide your organization with personalized recommendations. Consider investing in consulting services, which may include detailed needs analyses and assessments.

An experienced vendor can analyze your business processes and work with you to outline innovative measures to improve your operations. A professional services consultant may suggest custom programming, designs, and personalized feature enhancements to further increase your ROI. Some lessons from the pros will take your software implementation to the next level, allowing you to play through your competition. Find a vendor who’s got game, and take advantage of the expertise that is available. And as Dean Martin said, if you drink, don’t drive. Don’t even putt.

To learn more about preparation for an upcoming ECM implementation, please contact Optical Image Technology (http://www.docfinity.com) at 814.238.0038 or email info@docfinity.com.

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