Falling in line with its technical predecessors – enterprise resources planning (ERP), customer relationship management and the like – enterprise content management (ECM) is unfortunately running somewhere in the 50 percent + failure rate. Failure being measured as an overall sense that we did not get what we paid for. We should not be surprised, considering most companies are going about ECM with the same approach that produced disappointing results before. So, how do we break with tradition and make ECM a raving success?

Start with strategy, not technology
One place to start would be getting very strategic and far less technical. Taking a lesson from ERP history, the way we selected and implemented solutions was largely driven by features and technology. We may have satisfied a detailed list of “request for proposal” features, but I would rather ERP had solved a few key business problems, like business intelligence or economies of scale. I’ve yet to meet an ERP owner who would say they got the data or economies they expected.

To improve the ECM product, maybe it makes sense to start at the very beginning and establish a strategic definition of what ECM is. It seems that with every article and advancement of the ECM cause, we are adding to the inventory – not to mention buyer confusion – of what ECM is. Do a search for “ECM definition” and you’ll find paragraphs ranging from 20 to more than 100 words. These all list a number of functions, but virtually nothing strategic.

When I think of a good definition, two attributes come to mind: brevity and clarity. Yet it seems as though each iterative attempt to define ECM gets longer and more clouded as to its strategic value. Many definitions seem to be vendor-friendly. So with all humility, let me offer a first draft to set the wheels in motion, and hopefully plant a seed in more capable minds to refine and establish a single, clear definition of ECM that we can all live with. OK, here we go…

Enterprise Content Management, a definition: “A strategy to manage information, assets and processes.”
Okay readers – this is just a draft – so hack away!

But, if I may defend this definition with one small note, there is one thing I really do like about it, and that’s where it starts: ECM is a strategy. It’s not a collection of functional modules and technology. It’s first and foremost about strategy. There is certainly no lack of mature and viable technology to deliver ECM, so how do we turn the tide away from a 50 percent + failure rate? Could it be by putting strategy first and technology second?

I’ll go with that. As we tell our clients, “You’re not ready to deploy an ECM solution until you can show us your ECM strategy. Your strategy tells us what business problems you need to solve.”

A basis for measuring strategic ROI
Now we have the basis for strategic ROI. Strategic ROI measures our success at meeting a goal from which measurable economic rewards will follow. Strategic ROI is actually easier to measure than economic ROI because it’s less detailed. You either succeeded or you didn’t. I would argue that strategic ROI is more important than economic ROI. Here’s a simple example.

Let’s say IT supports 50 websites across the enterprise. Content change requests come in on a daily basis and sit in a queue for 2-3 weeks. The developer team logs a certain number of overtime hours to keep up. You need to buy an ECM tool. An economic ROI would be to eliminate overtime. A strategic ROI would be to delegate Web content management to the field and alleviate IT of these mundane changes. So you need an ECM solution that supports delegation, not just Web content management.

ECM should be a winning solution for any organization. In order to do so, we need to know that ECM is a strategy which clearly identifies business problems and the value of solving them.

Stay tuned! More to come on this topic in following columns.

Dan Hooper is a principal for Integrated Services, Inc. in Dallas. Founded in 1985, ISI provides IT and automation consulting services to Fortune 500 and high growth companies.