* The advantages of Software as a Service for ECM
Last week, I wrote about some of the challenges of a small business implementing Enterprise Content Management (ECM). This week, I focus on Software as a Service (SaaS) as an ECM option. When considering an ECM solution, the primary choice is between implementing a turnkey solution and SaaS. Both have their pros and cons, though SaaS is increasingly becoming a viable solution for ECM. The advantages of SaaS for ECM include:
Ease of Deployment: SaaS implementations are notoriously fast to implement; usually in days/weeks vs. months for turnkey solutions. Turnkey solutions do offer richer feature sets and functionality, but these tie directly to implementation complexity. Most SaaS solutions are configurable so only required features are implemented.
Lower Operating Costs: With SaaS, operating costs are reduced since there is no infrastructure to maintain. Even something as basic – and essential – as patch management becomes the responsibility of the SaaS provider. (Compare Patch and Vulnerability Management products)
Shifted Compliance Burden: Regulatory compliance directly relates to ECM. Much of compliance is dependent on proper management of content, or as we call it at Nemertes, Information Stewardship. This is an area where SaaS providers are differentiating services by supporting compliance requirements for regulations, including: HIPAA, GLBA, Sarbanes-Oxley, and SB1386 (along with the other 37 state privacy laws). (Compare Network Auditing and Compliance products)
Enhanced Security: Security is the continual improvement of confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA). SaaS done well can increase all three factors. Though it may seem counterintuitive, moving your content to a third-party provider can be a very smart security move. Of course, the success is directly tied to the controls and procedures that the provider puts in place to protect your data.
With these advantages, why isn’t everyone doing SaaS ECM? Look at other hot SaaS solutions like CRM. Through our research, organizations tell us that one of the factors that makes CRM a great SaaS solution is the limited scope of deployment; usually sales and customer support. ECM’s enterprise footprint is much broader; ECM touches all corporate groups and applications.
So, how best to take advantage of SaaS for ECM? The answer is to take a page from the CRM playbook and limit the scope of the implementation, either by organizational or functional means. For example, implement SaaS ECM for the Legal Department or the branch office, and/or focus on document management vs. full content management. With this limited scope approach one may gain the benefits of SaaS and address the issues raised last week: what you have vs. what you need; best vs. good enough; and, document management vs. content management.
