In today’s market, traditional ECM functionality is table stakes. According to noted IT market consultant and Crossing the Chasm author Geoffrey Moore, enterprise content management (ECM) has historically been classified as a system of record. And because most organizations have already made their investments in these types of back-office applications, Moore believes there is little competitive advantage that can be gained by throwing more money at them. Instead, Moore suggests that going forward, successful businesses will focus their IT investments on improving their “systems of engagement.”
Ralph Gammon has served as editor of the Document Imaging Report since 1998. In 2002, he purchased the publication and helped launch the publishing company RMG Enterprises.
RMG Enterprises, Inc. is a global marketing, consulting, and publishing company. RMG offers a wide array of services to both profit and not-for-profit organizations. RMG’s principals have many years of experience working with companies and individuals in our extensive network of experts. Using our collective knowledge, RMG can provide assistance in virtually all areas of operating, marketing, and growing businesses.
RMG focuses on three specific industries. The identification and data capture industry and the document imaging industry.
Ralph also works as a freelance consultant and editor for industry vendors and serves as a conference speaker.
He has been a contributing editor for trade publications such as Business Solutions, Integrated Solutions and Transform magazines.
Ralph is a former newspaper reporter who holds a Bachelor of Arts in professional writing from Gannon University in Erie. Reach Ralph at +1.814.866.2247,
<p>Realizing a Vision for
21st Century ECM
By Ralph Gammon
White Paper
2 • White Paper: Realizing a Vision for 21st Century ECM
uplandsoftware.com
In today’s market, traditional ECM functionality is table stakes.
According to noted IT market consultant and Crossing the Chasm
author Geoffrey Moore, enterprise content management (ECM)
has historically been classified as a system of record. And because
most organizations have already made their investments in these
types of back-office applications, Moore believes there is little
competitive advantage that can be gained by throwing more
money at them. Instead, Moore suggests that going forward,
successful businesses will focus their IT investments on improving
their “systems of engagement.”
Systems of engagement are applications that manage
interactions. These interactions can come from outside sources,
such as vendors, customers and partners, or internal sources
like employees. In an Internet-connected world, where real-
time response is increasingly expected, effectively managing
these interactions can make or break a business. How fast
an organization responds to a query can mean the difference
between a making a sale and losing a customer.
According to an onboarding study conducted by Cornerstone
Advisors for the banking industry, only 10% of potential
customers who start a new account application process finish
it.1 Obviously, current systems of engagement could use some
improvement. One way of doing that is by effectively connecting
them with ECM systems.
ECM systems are designed to serve as repositories for managing
unstructured content like documents, e-mails and other records
related to transactions. According to Moore, ECM, enterprise
resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management
(CRM) applications are used to “capture every dimension of
our commercial landscape, from financial transactions to HR
to order processing to inventory management to CRM to supply chain management to product
lifecycle management, and