Enterprise Content Management. Facilitating Corporate Survival and Growth

Transcription

1 Enterprise Content Management Facilitating Corporate Survival and Growth 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 1 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

2 Enterprise Content Management Facilitating Corporate Survival and Growth Date: June RedDot Solutions Page 2 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

3 Contents 1 Executive Summary What is Enterprise Content Management? Creating the Business Case for ECM Implementing Enterprise Content Management RedDot Enterprise Content Management Experiences of RedDot ECM Customers Conclusion and Next Steps About RedDot Solutions RedDot Solutions Page 3 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

4 1 Executive Summary In business, public sector and as private individuals, we have all been through an information revolution during recent years. Ready access to global information via the Internet, instant communications via , electronic communities of vendors and suppliers, electronic auctions, online shopping.. things that were merely a dream just a few years ago are now considered basic fundamentals for being in business and leading our daily lives. It is no longer acceptable to leave information within departmental silos. The vast volumes of information inside and outside organisations must be liberated and managed so that businesses can radically improve the way they operate to meet their external obligations and achieve their own business objectives. Pressures from government and industry regulators dictate that specific information be collated, retained and reported on a regular basis as a pre-requisite for compliance. Market forces have raised customer expectations for service and accelerated the drive towards collaborative working between internal functions and external suppliers. Heightened concerns about corporate governance have placed a tighter focus on capitalising on information for risk management, process improvement and cost control. But, the information revolution still has a way to go. As amazing as the changes have been over the past decade, who can accurately predict what will happen over the next five years? The certainty is that the pace of change will continue to accelerate, and that organisations will have to look more and more seriously at how they define, collate, manage and disseminate information. Information management is no longer a luxury. Managing enterprise content has become a fundamental requirement of being in business, staying in business and achieving maximum profitable growth within the enterprise. Much of the new electronic information is unstructured content s, scanned images, electronic documents, audio and video files. The volume of this unstructured content is estimated to double within an organisation every 12 months. Managing this vast volume of content is one of the greatest challenges facing modern commercial and public sector organisations, and at the same time one of their biggest opportunities. Content management has traditionally been offered in the form of point solutions for document management, web content management and other local requirements. While they have delivered some benefit, point solutions have failed to address the fact that similar content now arrives and is disseminated in many different ways. The true value of information can only be extracted once this array of disparate products is transformed into a multi-capability platform able to consolidate, 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 4 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

5 integrate, disseminate and pro-actively manage all forms of information and knowledge held within an organisation. This is the purpose of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) a solution regarded by many as an essential pre-requisite to corporate survival in a highly regulated environment, and a key ingredient for winning new customers, improving business processes and driving profitable business growth. In this document, we explain ECM, present the business case for deploying an Enterprise Content Management suite and provide some helpful tips and guidance on the selection and implementation of a vendor solution. In the latter sections, we introduce the RedDot approach to ECM, present our comprehensive solutions, and describe the benefits of these solutions through the experiences of just a handful of our 1,700 ECM customers worldwide RedDot Solutions Page 5 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

6 2 What is Enterprise Content Management? Enterprise Content Management relates to the creation, control and dissemination of all information held in electronic form within an organisation. Much of this information is unstructured and held in multiple formats - as text, s, web pages, XML files, PDF documents, scanned images, audio, video and many other types of files. With technology progressing at such a phenomenal pace, any ECM solution needs to be adaptable to change allowing new content formats, such as Instant and Voice Messaging, to be integrated without any need for change. Until recently, the software available to manage content existed as point solutions for single types of content to address web content management, document or image management or records management for example. Such local departmental solutions are typically expensive to implement and fail to recognise that content created in one format will be frequently replicated and distributed across an organisation via many different channels. An organisation can only realise the true value of information once content is managed centrally across an entire enterprise, regardless of its format, origination or delivery vehicle. Enterprise Content Management is an amalgamation of nine discreet but interrelated applications: Document Management functions that manage the complete life cycle of any office documents, from collaborative authoring to archival and disposal Web Content Management functions that facilitate the creation, maintenance and enhancement of web sites, intranets and extranets by non-technical authors Records Management functions for managing the long-term retention, disposition policies and ultimate disposal of corporate records Document Capture functions for scanning, indexing, retrieving, processing and archiving digital images of paper documents, such as invoices, customer letters, engineering drawings and photographs 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 6 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

7 Collaborative Content Management Software that allows several individuals, departments or external groups to share responsibility for the creation, access and communication of content used within team or group work environments Workflow (or Business Process Management (BPM)) functions that define and control the flow of content needed to support a series of business activities directed at achieving a defined business objective or goal Information Portals functions that provide easy screen access to common information and applications used by discreet target groups of users Personalisation functions that allow customers, suppliers, business partners and staff to access specific information relevant to their individual interests and presented in their preferred individual format Digital Asset Management functions that control the content, version iteration, currency and access parameters of electronic documents and images, throughout their lifecycle from origination to disposal In summary, an ECM suite allows an organisation to create and capture electronic content and personalise content delivery for all information consumers. ECM categorises enterprise information regardless of format or location - defining the content, access parameters and controlling the content throughout its life-cycle. ECM ensures management so that users know what information exists, that they only access current versions of that information and are able to locate and retrieve the information they need using optimised search facilities RedDot Solutions Page 7 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

8 3 Creating the Business Case for ECM The volume of information now available both inside and outside an organisation is vast and, with the rapid expansion of and use of the Internet, the amount of unstructured data is increasing. It is vital that an organisation knows the precise nature, content and status of all the information at its disposal. Such information is critical in order to ensure compliance with the growing volume of government and industry regulations, and to reduce business exposure to risk through legal or corporate governance issues. From a business perspective, information consumers expect to receive consistent and accurate information whether they access a web site, read a brochure or contact a call centre. Increasingly, sales depend on having information available and providing communications through whichever channel a customer prefers to transact business. ECM contains the functionality to deliver consistent information through every channel that a customer might use or has access to. From an organisational standpoint, businesses are becoming more fragmented, requiring teams of individuals, functional departments, and companies and their suppliers or business partners to work in collaboration together, jointly creating and sharing information. ECM provides a comprehensive, controlled infrastructure that supports this collaborative approach. Having a structured system for managing enterprise content is fundamental to an organisation s ability to meet regulatory compliance, stay in business, grow revenues and operate in the most profitable manner in their current business environment. A Single Unified Platform for Enterprise Content ECM manages all information held in electronic form within an organisation. It allows users to access related information together from one place, regardless of format, and supports the application of consistent management policies for security, classification, retention and disposal. An Economic Solution ECM includes facilities, such as web content management and document capture that help non-technical staff create and maintain electronic content. These facilities provide users with more direct control over their own information and release technical staff from having to tackle mundane operational tasks RedDot Solutions Page 8 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

9 Right Content, Right Place, Right Time ECM turns content into meaningful information relevant to each individual information consumer. Personalised information portals can be created that facilitate the extraction and tailored presentation of precise information delivered to each individual at specific intervals and in their preferred format. Compliance and Risk Reduction Meeting the standards imposed by government, industry regulators or good corporate standards means that organisations must retrieve, retain and report a range of specific information, preserving its integrity and auditing events associated with its origination and use. ECM provides a structured environment that can be customised to ensure full audited compliance with all internal and external regulatory standards. The comprehensive catalogued history of electronic content, including s, within ECM also enables organisations to know what information has been created, received and distributed. This information can be vital in addressing commercial disputes or minimising the ever increasing risk of litigation. Business Process Improvement By supporting the complete cross-section of electronic documentation and communications, ECM supports the drive towards business process transformation using electronic content in place of paper and traditional forms of delivery. By applying business rules, enterprise content can be channelled directly into other business processes to actively trigger operational workflows. Controlling Content Lifecycle As the volume of information grows, it becomes more and more difficult to know the latest version of a document, who owns the content and who has legitimate access. ECM retains all the parameters associated with every item of content, ensuring that the right versions are used and only updated and accessed by authorised individuals. ECM controls content throughout its lifecycle, including triggering its ultimate archiving or disposal an important consideration in keeping information current and minimising the volume of content held online RedDot Solutions Page 9 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

10 4 Implementing Enterprise Content Management The fact that Enterprise Content Management has become an essential business discipline is a reflection of the importance of managing information across the entire organisation to achieve three key business objectives - regulatory compliance, improved business processes and revenue growth. Selecting an ECM solution should therefore not be undertaken lightly. Although few organisations will want to deploy all nine elements of an ECM solution from day one, it is important to have the flexibility to add and integrate additional components when the need arises. ECM is not a one-size-fits-all technology, and each organisation needs to consider the breadth of applications and the scale of deployment that will ultimately be required. Prioritise Requirements Implementing ECM should not be a daunting proposition. The early actions should be focussed on addressing a key business requirement equipping content owners with web content management capabilities, or setting up compliance procedures. The objective should be to deliver fast financial or operational benefits in an area of significant business importance. Define the Requirement Carefully Enterprise Content Management is a much misused term, and is wrongly applied by single product vendors to describe a point solution with no expansion path. It is important to fully understand and define the initial requirement since different elements of ECM can be used to accomplish similar objectives. For example, an intranet could be document focused and be created using a document management tool. Alternatively it may be web-based, indicating that a web content management system would be more appropriate. Seeking advice and guidance at an early stage from a vendor who is able to supply a complete suite of ECM components, will avoid becoming trapped with an inappropriate solution. Think about Tomorrow No ECM implementation stands alone within an organisation. By definition, it draws from, and interacts with, the flow of content between internal functions and between the organisation and external customers, suppliers and business partners. Knowing the origins, purpose and value of content - and understanding the associated business processes is essential in producing a solid roadmap for ECM deployment. In addressing the initial requirement, avoid purchasing a point solution that cannot subsequently be developed and integrated with other ECM components. Every organisation will ultimately need to 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 10 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

11 tackle several, if not all, of the challenges addressed by ECM, and becoming locked into a proprietary solution that only manages one type of content, will lead to significant problems in the future. Open Approach Look for a vendor who is able to address all nine elements of ECM, and a vendor that has an open attitude and infrastructure to integrate future content types and other technologies as they develop. Through merger and acquisition activity, or merely within a single business organisation, it may become necessary to integrate ECM components from several different vendors. Ensuring that your ECM vendor has adopted open standards, and has an open approach to working with other vendors, will facilitate the integration of installed ECM components when necessary. Look for Proven Experience The market for ECM software is comparatively young, and includes a number of small vendors who may use early customers to develop their solutions and fail to develop a wider capability. To ensure that the chosen vendor is able to support the implementation of ECM over the longer term, it is important to choose a vendor with a comprehensive suite of ECM components and a large established customer base, with an international reach. Endorsements from satisfied customers are very important in the early stages of an emerging market RedDot Solutions Page 11 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

12 5 RedDot Enterprise Content Management RedDot helps organisations take control of the vast, and rapidly increasing volumes of unstructured information within their domain, and manage that key corporate asset for maximum business gain. Unstructured data in the form of s, word processing files, spreadsheets, presentations, PDF files, scanned images and documents comprise some 80% of all enterprise content. Our solutions support the management and efficient deployment of content across the entire organisation. RedDot products are targeted at the SME/SMB (Small and Medium Business Enterprise) sector, but are currently used in many large multinational corporations. We provide tools for the creation and efficient operation of web sites, intranets, extranets and portals, and move beyond online media to control the mountains of unstructured data held in servers, file storage systems, departmental systems and project folders. RedDot provides an integrated suite of products that address all of the elements of a comprehensive ECM environment. The products are modular which allows you to start with software to meet a priority need, such as web content management, and expand incrementally by activating additional software modules for immediate use at any time. The RedDot software has been designed within an open architecture that allows easy integration with other installed products and existing business processes. RedDot products are expandable to address new document formats and fresh technologies as they arise. RedDot now has the added advantage of integrating fully with the Hummingbird Enterprise Suite of products providing extended ECM features such as knowledge management and business analytics. Using RedDot, organisations are able to create a uniform structure for content across the entire enterprise. Our solution comprises three product groups: 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 12 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

13 RedDot Content Management Server (CMS) Helps organisations create, review, manage and archive online information usually delivered via a web site, intranet or extranet portal. Rapid Updating by Users RedDot CMS makes updating web pages simple and fast. It has an intuitive, customisable interface which allows users to create and maintain their own content. RedDot CMS, through its ease of use can be used effectively with no special training. Protecting the Corporate Brand RedDot CMS protects brand value by separating content from design. Content changes by users are automatically configured to comply with approved corporate design guidelines. Talking the Right Language Customers, business partners and staff prefer to do business in their own local language. RedDot CMS not only lets you create and deliver web pages in multiple languages, it embodies control processes that ensure ongoing consistency between multi-lingual content over time. Single Source Content Multi-Media Delivery There is no longer the need for you to create and maintain content in different formats. With RedDot CMS, a single source of content can be presented automatically for online, mobile, print and other media delivery platforms. Consistency is assured, and you can enjoy significant cost and resource savings by avoiding redundant content and duplication. Compliance with Accessibility Standards RedDot CMS ensures that all the content you make available online complies fully with the growing volume of regulatory and best practice guidelines for accessibility. You can use the software to create content that is easily accessible to all, and run automated checks to quickly isolate and correct any deviation from these industry standards. Repurposing of Content Organisations find it useful to deliver content in different formats to specific audiences. RedDot CMS allows you to automatically create multiple viewable versions of the same content. Content only needs to be entered once in the CMS, saving time and ensuring the content remains consistent in every format RedDot Solutions Page 13 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

14 RedDot CMS Modules: Web Content Manager: Provides easy user maintenance of content within a controlled, managed environment Import Manager: Integrates content in many formats from multiple sources automatically Asset Manager: Provides a structured environment for the storage, control and integrity management of digital assets Translation Editor: Automatically records changes made in one language and ensures consistency across multi-lingual pages Web Compliance Manager: provides integrated quality assurance and checks accessibility, W3C conformity, spelling and self-defined standards RedDot CMS Clear, simple content maintenance wherever a RedDot appears 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 14 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

15 RedDot Extended Content Management Server (XCMS) Extends the functions of RedDot CMS to optimise business processes, manage documents and provide facilities for information sharing across collaborative work groups. XCMS manages messages, presentations, word processing files, PDF files and other documents providing enterprise-wide facilities for rapid search and retrieval. Integration with other business processes allows RedDot XCMS to automatically forward documents to relevant individuals and trigger actions to progress orders, pursue enquiries or initiate other business processes. XCMS facilitates the creation of individual and workgroup portals that allow teams both inside and outside the organisation to collaborate effectively in joint projects. Capturing Enterprise Data Most organisations have messages, presentations, Microsoft Word files, PDF files and many other types of documents scattered across the enterprise in numerous different formats. Locating and accessing such information is often impossible for even the most experienced of users. RedDot XCMS captures, catalogues and manages this vast array of enterprise knowledge centrally, making it available quickly and easily to all authorised staff regardless of physical location. Rapid Search and Retrieval RedDot XCMS features extremely powerful search capabilities that allow users to sift through vast volumes of content extremely quickly and retrieve documents by subject, time, keywords, activity and a variety of other criteria. Accelerating Business Processes RedDot XCMS accelerates standard business processes by automatically triggering actions on orders, job applications, information requests and other process driven items. The moment a relevant communication is received, the software springs into action forwarding the necessary documents, forms and instructions to internal staff or external business partners for immediate action. Workflow Optimisation Standard processes often take longer and absorb more resources than necessary, simply because information is not available or procedures not followed. Users of RedDot XCMS can define and control standard procedures for activities such as placing orders, prompting automatically to ensure that complete information is available and the correct steps taken at every stage of a process RedDot Solutions Page 15 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

16 Teamwork Productivity By providing rapid access to documents and organising content within virtual workspaces, RedDot XCMS creates highly productive work environments for individuals or common-interest groups. Relevant information is more visible and immediately accessible, saving an enormous amount of time and resources searching for information and assessing priorities. RedDot XCMS Modules RedDot XCMS includes the full functionality of RedDot CMS plus: Document Manager: Manages the content of text documents, messages, web pages and other items, turning unstructured information into valuable enterprise assets Business Process Manager: Triggers and controls business processes automatically against pre-defined workflows Collaboration Manager: Provides a structured environment for group communications, co-operative working and the dissemination of relevant information to support productive working across common-interest groups of users RedDot XCMS Documents and processes at a glance 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 16 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

17 RedDot LiveServer LiveServer extends the functionality of RedDot CMS and XCMS by personalising web sites and intranets for customers, business partners and staff for individuals or target groups. Content relevant to individual customers or workgroups can be presented depending on user activity and content previously visited to provide the most productive and satisfying user experience. Personalised Customer Service The more you are able to address customers, business partners or employees as individuals, and deliver information directly relevant to their interests, the more satisfying and productive their experience will be of visiting your web or intranet sites. RedDot LiveServer allows you to compose and structure content specifically for individuals or target groups, personalising the presentation to best satisfy their individual needs. Access Security As more information becomes available online, there is a growing need to protect your corporate information assets with adequate security. RedDot LiveServer includes an access control register that restricts sensitive information to authorised users only. Customer Profiling RedDot LiveServer automatically builds profiles of web site visitors based on their online activity and interests. You can use this analysis to optimise marketing promotions, targeting incentives precisely to individuals or target groups. Controlled Access to Online Processes Business processes can often be accelerated by allowing customers, business partners and suppliers to have direct access to your operational systems. Protecting the confidentiality and security of sensitive information held in these systems is imperative, and can be achieved through a RedDot LiveServer portal. RedDot LiveServer provides several levels of security to ensure that only the information you choose is made available and accessed exclusively by users with the designated access permissions. Future-Proofing your Investment RedDot LiveServer includes easy-to-use tools, including web services, for integrating data from other systems. These tools ensure the uniform integration of data and processes from current and future external applications, including those from SAP and IBM RedDot Solutions Page 17 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

18 RedDot LiveServer Modules RedDot LiveServer includes the full functionality of RedDot CMS and XCMS, and in addition features: Personalisation Manager: Allows you to address customers, business partners and staff individually when using online media Application Portal: Lets you build portals for specific target workgroups Search Engine: Full text search of your entire content, ensuring personalised authorisation-specific display of information Integration Extensions: Allows integration of both content and applications in web sites and portals using web services and open standards RedDot LiveServer Simple definition of users and groups 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 18 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

19 6 Experiences of RedDot ECM Customers Thomas Cook ( Using RedDot XCMS, Thomas Cook has created and launched a standardised Portal Infrastructure and reduced costs at the same time. As part of a far reaching overhaul and restructuring project, Thomas Cook AG (the second largest travel company in Europe) took the eight German company web sites it maintained and transformed them into a unified solution. The goals of the project were twofold; 1) to achieve an overall cost reduction and 2) at the same time generate a flexible, high performance e-commerce platform for online travel sales and agents. After an intensive evaluation of the leading solutions in the market, RedDot ECM suite (XCMS) was selected by Thomas Cook as the best solution. In addition to being able to demonstrate high levels of functionality at a very competitive price, the ability to extend the core system with modules to allow the management of business processes and documents swung the decision in the favour of RedDot, beating off competition from various suppliers in the process. We wanted a flexible Enterprise Content Management System that our employees could use to efficiently produce, publish and administer our complex web sites. The system also needed to allow the same employees to access and manage business process and documents using the same graphical user interface. RedDot has totally fulfilled our expectations and is a central part of our e-commerce platform used to sell online travel Dr. Oliver Rengelshausen, Manager Non-Traditional Sales, Thomas Cook AG CIMA ( The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) announced a major overhaul of its web site the primary point of contact for its 80,000 students and 60,000 members in 154 countries. Underpinned by RedDot Content Management System (CMS), the web site includes an extensive members portal, that is used by 99% of its members and handles registrations and payments for its accountancy courses. RedDot has also helped to remove significant bottlenecks in publishing new content to the site, a task previously handled by CIMA s IT department. As non-technical users can now use RedDot SmartEdit interface with minimal training, new content can be easily created and published. The result is a web site which consistently represents the interests of members, as well as boosting interest and revenues in its training courses RedDot Solutions Page 19 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

20 Experiences of RedDot ECM Customers (cont d) Triumph Motorcycles ( Triumph Motorcycles invested in RedDot Content Management System (CMS) to roll out a network of international web sites, covering 13 key markets from Austria to Japan. Triumph appointed creative digital agency E3 Media to design the new sites and implemented RedDot CMS to underpin them in order to create a global presence, with a local feel. RedDot s CMS user interface is available in a variety of languages - enabling the regional managers at Triumph to edit sites in their native language using a system that is intuitive and easy to use. As a result, the process of implementing the regional sites, and encouraging local managers to publish content in their own languages, was streamlined considerably. With the RedDot server located in the UK, content managers log into RedDot via their web browser to create, edit and publish new content with RedDot s trademark SmartEdit user interface. Triumph is a recognised global brand. We needed a software solution that would allow us to successfully showcase our products to our international audience. RedDot and E3 Media have enabled us to achieve this objective exactly. Andrea Friggi, Corporate Identity and Communications Manager, Triumph Motorcycles University of Arts London ( University of the Arts, London selected RedDot Content Management System (CMS) to support its new web strategy and the launch of their new look site. With RedDot in place, the communications team developed the new site s look and feel, and began training academic and administrative staff across the University in using RedDot s simple SmartEdit user interface to manage content. The RedDot roll-out both in terms of implementing the software and staff training was completed well within the strict timeframes set by the University, which was to have the new site in place in time for the launch of the University. It was also critical that the individual Colleges could continue to build their individual profiles as highly reputable institutions. RedDot has helped us manage this delicate balance. The ease of use of RedDot CMS has also meant there has been very successful staff buy in to the project and contributed to the project being completed successfully within a short time frame. Katie Christie, Web Editor, University of the Arts, London 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 20 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

21 Experiences of RedDot ECM Customers (cont d) The Police Federation ( The Police Federation of England and Wales, an umbrella body representing over 138,000 Constables, Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors throughout England and Wales, stated significant time and efficiency savings using RedDot Extended Content Management System (XCMS) to deliver important information to its members. With RedDot in place, the Police Federation has cut the time spent publishing new content via its web site by over 50%. The site is already receiving over 3,000 hits every day. We were amazed at how well the RedDot user-training day went. It took one morning session, after which everyone was uploading information to the site the very same afternoon! So far we have been absolutely delighted with the way the technology has helped reduce the content management bottlenecks we previously experienced. Eddie Mooney, Head of ICT at the Police Federation Hit Entertainment ( Children s TV pioneer Hit Entertainment, is giving its characters a new online lease of life, with RedDot Content Management System (CMS) to support its global web site network. Hit Entertainment, owner of children s TV icons including Bob the Builder, Barney and Thomas the Tank Engine, operate a network of 15 web sites around the world. It s hard to overestimate fans appetite for news on their favourite characters. We spent a lot of time identifying our needs for this system and researching a very crowded market place of products. In the end, RedDot was an obvious solution for us; it more than satisfied our technical requirements and exceeded our feature criteria. Most importantly, it delivered confidence to the content contributors who we felt were the most important decision makers in the process. Ryan Tunstall, UK IT & Operations Manager, Hit Entertainment RedDot Solutions Page 21 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

22 Experiences of RedDot ECM Customers (cont d) The National Archives ( The National Archives, whose vast collection of archive documents span almost 1,000 years of British history, is undergoing a major shift in the way it operates its web business, with RedDot Content Management System (CMS) to support its 7,000-page web site. With its vast community of stakeholders, ranging from schoolchildren to information management professionals and businesses, National Archives will use RedDot CMS to ensure every visitor has easy access to the information they need specifically targeted to their interest areas. RedDot Solutions is helping to streamline National Archives approach to site management. A team of 40 specialist content owners, holding various roles throughout the organisation, will use the system to take direct responsibility for the site content, replacing a legacy system where content updates were forwarded to the organisation s web team for publication. RedDot CMS will ensure that new information is published promptly and in line with the organisation s style guide, whilst automatically removing out of date material. Keeping the public informed of our work is a critical part of our remit but the sheer breadth of our stakeholder community can make this task a complicated one. RedDot will facilitate faster uploading of content as each of our departments can directly input content into their own areas. RedDot was the obvious choice as it is easy to use and has an extensive customer base. Future plans include extending the system to support The National Archives intranet. Angela Mullen, Content Management System Manager for The National Archives 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 22 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

23 Experiences of RedDot ECM Customers (cont d) Electrocomponents ( Electrocomponents plc better known for its RS Components subsidiary, implemented a new intranet designed by corporate communications specialist CDS and powered by RedDot Content Management System, to improve the sharing of information across the business. Just a few months after its launch, the new intranet gained recognition, securing the Best Intranet Award, as well as winning the special Gold Award for Best Web Project at the Communicators in Business Awards With RedDot, Electrocomponents has been able to properly manage its content for the first time. Most importantly, the intranet s consistent structure and exposed metadata have given employees from different divisions easy access to information held in other areas of the business for the first time breaking down organisational barriers across the organisation. Our original Intranet site grew very quickly, and the lack of a search engine meant content was becoming increasingly difficult for users to find. We didn t want to extend the Intranet any further without moving to a web based content management tool to allow the site to continue to grow in a controlled manner. Stephen Musselwhite, Group Intranet Project Manager for Electrocomponents plc For more information on RedDot customers and a description of their use of RedDot and the benefits gained by using RedDot: RedDot Solutions Page 23 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

24 7 Conclusion and Next Steps The accelerating pace of change in both business and technology has led customers, employees, business partners and even the general public to expect information instantly and delivered with the highest integrity. We expect to receive information in a multitude of different formats - via the Internet, by , as printed documents, in visual presentations and in many other unstructured formats - and we expect the content to be accurate, up to date and consistent. Regardless of how we receive information, the business or government organisation responsible for its origination must be in control, managing the various ways in which content is delivered to ensure that what is communicated meets expectations and conveys the right message. The scope of this content management challenge is enormous, and continues to grow. Effective control across online, physical and all other media can now only be assured and audited using an integrated Enterprise Content Management suite that simplifies and automates creation, administration and quality control. You need to do more than simply manage online media effectively. You must cope with the mountains of unstructured data on servers, in presentations, in documents and in many other locations. RedDot provides a comprehensive suite of integrated Enterprise Content Management solutions that give you an automated system for managing information in whatever format it appears across your organisation. RedDot solutions help you administer, create and control information in physical and electronic formats. They provide an automated and structured environment for enterprise content management which improves efficiency, facilitates the profitable integration of content within business processes, and provides an audit trail to satisfy internal management and the needs of external industry regulators. If you would like to find out more, contact RedDot solutions: : or : info@reddot.co.uk or : +44 (0) RedDot Solutions Page 24 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

25 8 About RedDot Solutions RedDot Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hummingbird Ltd, provides enterprise content management software to create and manage the content that drives business. Recognised throughout the industry as the fastest to implement and easiest to use, RedDot software products XCMS (Extended Content Management System), CMS (Web Content Management Software) and LiveServer are scalable solutions for Web content and document management, business process workflow, personalisation and collaboration. RedDot Solutions has more than 1,700 clients worldwide, including March of Dimes, Bank of New York, Honda, Starbucks, STA Travel, Triumph Motorcycles, The National Archives, O2 and London Fire Brigade who rely on RedDot to increase productivity, improve operational efficiency and reduce risk. Headquartered in New York and Germany, RedDot has offices in Santa Clara, Toronto, Sydney, Sao Paulo, London, and throughout Europe. For more information, please visit RedDot Solutions Page 25 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management

26 2006 RedDot Solutions Page 26 White Paper Series: Enterprise Content Management