Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is organizing and collecting information to be used by a certain audience such as customers or business executives (Aiim, 2015). It isn’t a single methodology or technology. But what it is, is a combination of them that can be used as a tool to manage, preserve, capture and deliver information that can support key organizational processes through its lifecycle.
In today’s world, information in the friendly format of tablets, cell phones, clouds and websites, are the norm. So putting into place an enterprise content management strategy in order to manage that information is smart. This is because ECM manages business information of different types, sources or locations in an integrated and cohesive way, and that is very important for any organization. It will increase the business’ efficiency and reduce costs. It will put structure to company knowledge while reducing processing times. It saves time and improves sharing of information. Using ECM lowers archive and paper costs (Network Team, 2014).
An aspect of ECM that is probably the most influential to the health of a business, is for them to ensure that whatever software they choose actually aligns with the benefits of the business desires and whatever else they wish to achieve. This can be accomplished by first understanding the business expectations and what problems exist, or could happen, and devising a good and solid ECM strategy plan. Then they can use constant communication to address any issues correctly. They can let their business benefits guide the deployment, and then prioritize the different items by benefits instead of options or features (Schneck, 2016). Once this is underway, it is important to keep communication flowing to make sure the plan doesn’t deviate from the approved path.
There are 5 must-haves for every ECM solution. Those are Innovation, Architecture, Security, Scalability and Integration (Schneck, 2016). Although all of these are very important in the ECM lifecycle of an organization, only Security will be discussed here in this assignment.
Security in an ECM system plan consists of external protection such as perimeter and encryption security, as well as internal protection such as refined rights for accessing documents, or data, consisting of user groups and role levels. These security measures should be implemented for the protection of system information and data contents. The importance of this ECM area is so information and data in an organizations system and IT infrastructure is secure from hackers, and malicious employees. If an organization’s system information and data are compromised, it could bring down the whole organization, and add legal issues and costs to it.
Below is a more detailed description of the different types of security involved in ECM (Viala, 2015):
External Protection:
- Perimeter Security – This is an aggregate of security features that makes sure no intruders can get into an organization’s IT infrastructure. An organization would implement this type of security by installing secure routers and firewalls, and using malware detection tools, VPNs (Virtual Private Network) and SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) to name a few.
- Repository Level Encryption – This is having an ECM system be able to encrypt data and documents in a way that can only go through the ECM interface. It should be built into the software to accomplish this. This ensures there is another added layer of security, and not having the organization rely only on the hardware to store data securely.
- File Level Encryption – This extends the encryption to documents and not only the database, as it stores documents in an encrypted format. This adds another level of security to each document, and protects emails, PDF’s and any other electronic files that might contain sensitive information.
Internal Protection:
- Access Controls – this is when permission levels are set according to user groups and role levels. All organizations should establish this to protect data from unauthorized view, or from being stolen. It also makes it more difficult for hackers to access information in the system.
- Reporting Tools and Audit Trails – this gives the organization reports and information to view if there is a security breach, and can be used to trace it back to the intruder.
- Purging and Archiving – this enables content to be archived, or purged, once it is no longer needed or is inactive. This is to keep it off the user’s drivers.
- Digital Signature – validates authenticity of documents and the identity of its signatory. This is so it can be detected if there are any changes to the original document.
- Backups – an organization’s ECM system should definitely include backup procedures. Local backups, as well as offsite backups, to secure data should be implemented, along with a plan listing what to do with the system’s data in a disaster recovery.
References
Aiim. (2015). What-is-ECM-Enterprise-Content-Management?. Retrieved September 30, 2016 from http://www.aiim.org/
Network Team. (2014). 10 Reasons Why Enterprise Content Management is Important for Your Business. Retrieved October 2, 2016, from http://www.netatwork.com/10-reasons-why-enterprise-content-management-is-important-for-your-business-in-2014/
Schneck, T. (2016). Choosing an ECM Solution. Retrieved October 2, 2016, from http://blog.docuware.com/document-management/choosing-an-ecm-solution-key-aspects-to-consider
Viala, S. (2015). Ensuring the Security of Your ECM System. Retrieved October 2, 2016, from http://www.revasolutions.com/ensuring-the-security-of-your-ecm-system-2/