Tips to help Saudi Companies Choose an ECM

With today’s increasingly complex and competitive business environment, forward-thinking Saudi businesses are increasingly turning to third party enterprise content management (ECM) solutions in order to streamline and simplify day to day operations. A good ECM alleviates multiple pain points associated with secure data storage and access, but what makes a good ECM for your particular business? Predictably, the answer depends on the specific needs of your business. Below we’ve distilled the best wisdom on the subject into digestible guidelines you can absorb and apply in your ECM partner search.

Compatibility

First and foremost, does the ECM you’re considering meet your archival needs currently as well as in the foreseeable future? Compatibility encompasses more than simply having the warehouse space and digitization capability; without easy access to the data you archive, the solution is worthless.

For digital archival solutions, the software mechanisms used to find and access your records should be seamless and not add comparative overhead to your existing processes. Scanning documents and indexing their content using optical character recognition software is a must for organizing and making sense of an ever-expanding and complex array of information. Selectively restricting access to certain documents based on account type would be ideal, along with access logs detailing retrieval.

Security

Your business’s historical data is many things to different people. To an employee with granted access, it can be a wealth of information that enables him to make informed decisions when approaching an existing client or tailoring a budget to meet a pressing organizational need. To a competitor able to gain unauthorized access, that same data can be leveraged against you in malicious competition, jeopardizing your livelihood, that of your employees, and ultimately the reputation and intellectual property of you and your business.

Look for an ECM that will safeguard your data with both physical and digital means of security. The integrity and controlled access of your data is paramount. With a full-fledged, proven suite of services, a good ECM will not compel you to compromise between easy access and airtight security.

Flexibility

Does the Records Management Provider you’re considering offer any unique services that set them apart from other offerings that would substantially benefit your business’s data archival? For instance, do they offer Disaster recovery service in addition to off-premises storage for additional peace of mind where security concerns dictate? Can retention and destruction processes be automated and certified in accordance with government mandates?

Reputation

This point is perhaps the most important of all, because a good reputation is ultimately earned through consistent performance. Partnering with a Records management provider that supports reputable ECM systems ensures your content will be carefully curated and any issues that might arise - technical or otherwise - will be handled swiftly and professionally. A reputation built over time can be marred by a single misstep, making perfect customer satisfaction a priority.

As with any partnership, the working relationship between a business and its chosen ECM should always involve clear communication of needs and matching capabilities as they evolve. A capable ECM will aid in the adoption process and tailor its offerings to your business’s requirements.