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Entreprise content management - ECM - integration

Written by Ana Canteli on 26 september 2017

All companies have a decision to make regarding the systems that they use for document management, records management, business processes and enterprise content management - ECM -. Throughout their life cycle, companies have been overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information that is created within them. In order to solve this problem, companies began to acquire applications that help manage the information that is entered, created and managed within them: document management systems (DMS), enterprise content management systems (ECMs), management software of customer relations - CRM -, digital asset management systems - DAM - Records management systems - RM; to enterprise resource planning systems, better known as ERP. Leaving aside all the information contained in shared computers and discs, or hidden in e-mail folders; these systems are the easy part of the problem, while they contain structured information.

Building a business content strategy

Over time, organizations warned of the need to integrate all their technologies, applications and systems to apply the business intelligence and then create a knowledge management system at the service of users. However, many of these document management applications and ECM software - which are part of the legacy of many companies - do not present integration facilities. And they execute critical business processes or contain information of such nature, which can not be interrupted without causing serious disruption to the business. Thus, building a document management strategy is a key element for organizations. It involves reflecting on the approach of all the tools used by the company to create an integration platform, which allows them to maximize the usefulness of contents and information, through a coherent strategy that consolidates their future in the digital era. Determine what should be maintained in the organization and where. And therefore what information and what technologies must be eliminated, are strategic decisions that affect the whole company.

Why are integration platforms important?

• Because all organizations have information on them and in great quantity.
• Because the volume of enterprise content increases faster than the ability of organizations to manage them.
• Because they know that maximizing the usefulness of information is vital to their future.

The integration platforms must allow companies to rationalize and modernize their technological structure, in a flexible and evolutionary way over time.

Integration facilities: the crux when choosing an enterprise content management system

It does not matter if you work in a company dedicated to human resources, in a public administration; in a customer service department, or if you are dedicated to the management of web content. When you introduce a new application, you want it to integrate perfectly with the other programs that are part of the organization.

SDK'S

That's why OpenKM offers SDK'S for Java, PHP and .NET that facilitate the integration of the ECM software with the company's applications in a transparent way. In fact, this is one of the strengths of the document management of OpenKM because it does not present any technological barrier when integrating with third applications. These Development Kits offer companies the possibility of integrating freely and autonomously, their content manager in their current and future technological environment.
The OpenKM enterprise content management ECM system allows you to access other company applications, from the same user interface, providing a banner that allows easy navigation between applications. This, together with the OpenKM SDKs can supply or provide content stored in other applications, that contributes to improve the end user experience.

MS-addin

The Microsoft-addin allow the user document and content management from applications commonly used as Word, Excel, Access and now Microsoft Visio. From Outlook, users will continue to work as usual, while OpenKM stores emails, including attachments, or allowing us to add metadata if necessary.

Desktop Sync, electronic signature assistant and scanner

With Desktop Sync, members of the company can work from the desktop of their computers and synchronize all the content made during the day; whether displaced in the client's office or in telecommuting mode. The scanner client allows the integration of the OpenKM document management system with the company's scanning devices. And the electronic signature client allows you to use the digital signature certificate on the documentation.

Integration with applications

On the other hand, the OpenKM suite makes available ad hoc integrations with Google Drive, the BonitaSoft workflow engine, 2D and 3D AutoCAD modeling software, Vtiger CRM, and capture software such as Kofax, Abby Flexicapture, or ChronoScan. If your organization already uses Active Directory or LDAP you do not have to duplicate the list of users on another platform, since the implementation of OpenKM includes integration with these utilities in all installations. Even the data warehouse can be configured for any database like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle or SQL Server, among others.

All of these extra elements contribute to facilitating the choice between an enterprise content management provider or another.

Benefits of integrating content management software

• Real-time customer satisfaction: integrating the document management and content management system improves business processes, facilitates collaboration among members of the organization, enables employees to search and find the information they need wherever they are. All this results in a substantial improvement in the appreciation of the products and services by the customer.
• Increases employee knowledge productivity: The end-user experience of an enterprise content management system is often the Achilles' heel of any ECM systems implementation process. That's why in OpenKM we offer a training course included in all the proposals, designed to show all the features of the content management software to the staff. In this way, the assisted presentation of the tool is guaranteed, which promotes the acceptance of the software by the user. On the other hand, the OpenKM KCenter platform, give  companies the possibility of transforming the appearance of the document management solution; so that the new application fits with the look &feel of the rest of the suite of programs, to which the employee is used to. Thus, the inclusion of the OpenKM ECM system may go unnoticed by the staff; which avoids the stress or anxiety associated with changes in information technology.
• Organizational Flexibility and Agility: Most companies believe that process automation is vital to their business success. OpenKM's enterprise content management software offers the possibility of implementing business processes in the application, thanks to the Automation feature, designed for this purpose. OpenKM Document Manager and Content Manager SDK’s reduce the technical barriers to accessing content stored in other applications. This in turn, allows better management of the migration of content stored in programs affected by technological obsolescence.
• Reducing risk: Having the documentation managed from different programs, it can be difficult to verify that all the documentation in their respective environments complies with the rules and standards of the organization. The integration utilities allow the information to pass through the enterprise content management system of OpenKM, to check that all the information complies with the business processes stipulated by the company. In addition, OpenKM serves to carry out e-Discovery activities, creation of reports and guarantees the definition of the standards  for their correct fulfillment.

The choice of a document management system has become almost imperative nowadays, since it facilitates access to information, serves to implement business processes in electronic format and with its set of features, satisfies the needs of employees. But it would be useless to buy such software, if it can not be integrated into the suite of programs that the company use. For this reason, the integration utilities become a fundamental element in the selection of our enterprise content management provider.