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Enterprise Content Management is the Portuguese translation of Gestão de Conteúdo Empresarial (ECM for the intimate). Organizations that want to reduce bureaucracy while improving the productivity and efficiency of their employees, as well as ensuring the security of their data, see the Enterprise Content Management solution (another way we can call ECM software) as a strategic piece.
Well, but what has been said so far may seem a little theoretical and you may still be wondering “is ECM for my company”? The simplest answer would be: whether it is big or small, once Enterprise Content Management is implemented, you will realize that the tool is something vital to your strategy. And to put an end to your doubts once and for all, check out some of the main reasons for your company to invest in ECM software.
Most productive company
Generally, companies realize the need to invest in ECM software when they find themselves dealing with excess information scattered throughout the organization. In most cases, the problem is felt when it is realized that seemingly simple processes end up being unproductive, as finding a document can be a painful task.
In the article Paperless: what it is and how to take the first steps towards the paperless era. We show some of the beneficts of doing away with paper, or at least reducing the physical circulation of information.
Still on productivity, we highlight that bottlenecks in activities that should be performed in an automated way are a good sign that it is time to invest in an ECM solution. Enterprise Content Management Software triggers collaborative workflows with those responsible for performing actions on the document, such as signing (with a digital signature), editing or commeting, in addition to ensuring its quality control.
Reduced operating costs
Enterprise Content Management Software digitally captures documents. Therefore, investing in an ECM solution will eliminate the cost of printing, shipping, and storing paper.
Organized documentation
We know that information is the lifeblood of a competitive company. The more, the merrier, as long as it is not disorganized, poorly documented, or critical documents are disappearing.
When we talk about critical documents, we are referring to everything that is important for an organization or an area. For a business that provides financial services, loan documents are essential. For the insurance industry, claims processing is critical. And no matter how big or small your business is, employee records are vital to the human resources department.
Investing in ECM software means having your documents in a single repository, that is, all of them will be archived and organized in the same place. That’s because with Enterprise Content Management software, the ease of archiving documents is not a bonus. It’s a fact.
Instead of digging through files and hundreds of documents looking for a sheet of paper, precisely because it centralizes everything in a single repository, ECM allows quick access to the files you need.
Contract term control
Did you know that an ECM tool notifies you of contracts (and other documents) that are expiring? Well, this ensures that you don’t miss deadlines and can even anticipate a negotiation. In addition, of course, it prevents you from losing a customer due to failure to negotiate an expired contract.
Data Security
As we mentioned, information is vital. And as history records, large corporations have already felt the problem of data leakage (yes, we are talking about Facebook). By investing in an ECM solution, your company is sure that:
- Only authorized users (it can be an entire team, a few people, or even just an individual) will access a given document;
- Authorized people will always access the most up-to-date version, in addition to having control of all revision versions;
- Electronic documents can be signed with certificates in the ICP-Brasil standard, which guarantees the reliability of the information (have you seen our article on Digital Signature?)
Increased customer satisfaction
If customers are always right, it is also true to say that they need to be well served. Every time an employee is able to quickly answer a customer’s questions without having to search for documents or spend time on data entry, the likelihood of customer retention undoubtedly increases.
If your company has a high CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), investing in an ECM solution has the added advantage of saving money, helping to keep current customers happy.
Agility in decision-making (=more competitiveness)
Decisions made faster can allow your company to seize opportunities and avoid unnecessary expenses. However, we know that every decision must be well analyzed. And what is the best way to do this analysis? Studying data and information.
The best decisions are made when information is available at the right time, to the right people. Therefore, investing in an ECM solution is to be sure that decision-makers will quickly have the necessary information, at the time they need it (and on whatever device).
To close: investing in ECM software is…
… Enable your business to take control of critical information. As we mentioned, most organizations realize that they need to invest in an ECM solution after having identified a paper-heavy challenge (as well as other unstructured content) that causes bottlenecks when trying to process, access, or store information. However, instead of waiting for more serious problems to arise and then thinking about ECM, your company can avoid future headaches.
But if you are still in doubt about whether or not to invest in an ECM solution, request a demo right now, which has a complete module for Enterprise Content Management. Alternatively, request a demo to learn more. It will be a pleasure to answer all your questions.
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