Enterprise Content Management Products and Features

Standard content management systems (CMS) power your website content. But enterprise organizations often need more robust content management features to run their whole operation. If you manage everything from product content to secure financial records, it’s time for an upgrade to an enterprise content management (ECM) product. 

It’s crucial to choose the right features in ECM software if you want to get the most out of your investment. You can use an ECM system to increase productivity and efficiency, give global teams access to the same content, and automate content processes. Let’s take a look at what ECM software is, some of the common top features, and explore a few platforms that could work for you.
 

What is enterprise content management software?

Enterprise content management (ECM) software is technology that lets you manage, organize, and distribute content and information across the entire digital asset lifecycle, from content and data creation to archive and disposal.

Your ECM software can help you capture, store, and share all of your company’s most important content. Your ECM could be one platform or could be built on a combination of technologies like digital asset management (DAM) and product information management (PIM) systems. With the right ECM features you can make your business operations more efficient and help encourage collaboration across global teams. 
 

What are the top enterprise content management features?

Many of the top ECM products have similar features that your organization needs for a successful implementation. Here are the main features to look for in your ECM software.

Digital document management
Digitize paper documents so that you can find, access, and edit files from anywhere in the world. You can unlock a new layer of business information by applying artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to scan and analyze your digital records.

Central storage and access
Don’t put up with enterprise content scattered across external hard drives, USBs, and personal computers. ECM tools store your content in a central source of truth to break down inefficient content silos and reduce security risks. 

Enterprise collaboration
Access your content from anywhere — mobile, desktop, web portals, or your productivity apps. ECM software integrates with your everyday productivity tools to support distributed workforces and remote workers.

Information governance
Manage all your enterprise documents in a way that can enforce governance and effective Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance. Make sure to choose an ECM platform that protects your brand against data loss, reduces security risks, and meets today’s strict digital compliance requirements. 

Content intelligence and analytics
With content analytics and intelligence you can learn more about how your content is being accessed, who’s using it, and how often it’s used. This feature can help you improve productivity and make faster, more informed decisions. 
 

What are examples of enterprise content management products?

There are many ECM products to choose from and the trusted solutions will offer some mix of the features above. To choose between software, you’ll need to determine which features are a priority for your team, how each ECM product integrates with your current technology stack, and which vendor you most prefer working with. Here are some of the most trusted ECM products in the industry. 

Alfresco 
Alfresco is a full-featured ECM product that is flexible and highly scalable. It makes your content accessible wherever and however you work. This open-source software also integrates with many preferred business applications.

Confluence
Confluence comes from Atlassian (the makers of Jira) and is purpose-built for knowledge management and project collaborations. It’s an ECM solution with an intuitive structure that makes setup, creation, and discovery easy. Confluence makes it possible to share information between teams and the entire company. 

M-Files
M-Files helps your company keep content connected. It increases the productivity of knowledge workers, ensures a seamless digital experience, and strengthens collaboration. M-Files integrates with everyday tools to help organize, manage, and connect information. 

Laserfiche
Laserfiche is a leading platform for smart content capture, intelligent document management, and enterprise process automation. It helps simplify records lifecycle management, automate everyday business processes, and integrates with common enterprise apps. 

DocuWare
DocuWare digitizes and secures business documents to help distributed and remote teams operate at full productivity. It’s an ECM software that provides document management and workflow automation solutions. It keeps information secure, compliant, usable, and accessible from anywhere on any device, at any time. 

Acquia DAM (Widen)
Acquia DAM brings your information together into one platform to help save time at every step of the content lifecycle. Its secure permissioning structure and sharing options eliminate bottlenecks by giving collaborators quick access to files from anywhere in the world. Acquia DAM helps teams scale by improving content workflows and driving operational efficiencies.
 

Looking for the right ECM technology for you?

If you want to reduce costs while you manage the content lifecycle across distributed and remote teams, then ECM technology is for you. The right software will help you increase productivity and efficiency, give global teams access to the same content, and automate your content processes. When you’re in the process of choosing ECM software it’s smart to demo a few and see their features in action.

Acquia DAM meets the enterprise content management needs for over 800 of the world’s most respected brands. Request, watch, or click through a demo of Acquia DAM today to learn more about how it can digitize your document management, centralize content storage, and encourage collaboration across global teams.

Note: This article was originally published on Widen.com.