Enabling the drive for content
by Bryan Richter
The worlds leading corporations are putting the implementation of content management systems high on their list of priorities to meet the colossal growth in the demand for internet content anticipated over the next few years. This view is supported by industry analyst Forrester that estimates by 2003, 95 percent of the Global 2000 will have deployed a content management solution.
Growth in the demand for content is being driven by the expanding use of the Internet for business and organisational communication. IDC forecasts a compound annual growth rate of 63.5 percent in the number of pages appearing on websites from 4.3 billion in 2000 to 25.9 billion by 2004. Other research shows that the amount of content a typical company generates on its website doubles every six to eight months.
The drive for competitive advantage is the main reason companies are implementing content management solutions in order to achieve cost savings and improve efficiency. Cisco estimates that it has saved over USD320 million per year by implementing an online customer support knowledge system, that enables customers to independently access content via the web. A customer of Stellent in the automotive industry invested USD500,000 in one of the companys content management solutions. As a result, the company is saving in excess of USD2 million annually on production and mailing costs a return of 300% on its initial investment!
One of the key features of any successful content management solution is that it must enable relevant employees to be able to publish information straight on to a website from native file format, such as Word or Excel, in which the information was created. Unfortunately, many solutions do not give this flexibility, resulting in information being held in a logjam, waiting for a web master to publish it into structured format, such as HTML or XML, on to the website.
In todays business world, time is critical, and if information (such as financial results or news) is delayed by days, or even hours, the value of it being published can be greatly diminished, with profound implications for an organisations entire web strategy.
Content management properly implemented can be likened to what the desktop PC did to the typing pool in terms of opening up the flow and speed of delivery of information within an organisation. Solutions that create another typing pool scenario are going to be hard pressed to deliver the results many organisations require! Web masters should be focussing on developing web strategy and functionality, adding real value to the organisation, rather than spending a considerable amount of their time converting documents into XML or HTML.
Another key issue to consider when implementing a content management solution is speed of implementation. Many content management solutions require extensive consultancy work, which can take months to properly implement. This can add greatly to costs. It also makes achieving any ROI much more difficult. Stellents Xpedio technology allows a website to be up and running within days, with a full version normally implemented within six weeks. Most customers estimate that a tangible ROI to cover initial costs can be achieved within two years, sometimes within as little as six months.
In the future, content delivery will become increasingly central to any e-powered strategy. Content management will enable the delivery of data to a multitude of devices PDAs, WAP phones and even interactive TV. It will provide a route to push tailored content to users or citizens, personalised to their specific interests or needs.
Content management is set to propel all organisations that depend upon instant and secure flows of information, into the on-line economy. It can provide the framework for real time information, the exchange of ideas, and eliminate the unnecessary duplication of effort or resources, and provides a powerful way to distribute information both internally and externally on any device. Using the right technology, the reality of this kind of knowledge-enhanced organisation can be achieved
today.