ECM is a computerized archiving and retrieval system. ECM is an acronym for Electronic Content Management, which uses software to manage data from an archived format onto a digital form. ECM system provides information management often including document retention, discovery, and version control of the paper documents. This type of system is often used by libraries as well as organizations that deal with a large amount of information including multimedia files. This system has many benefits like;
1. Allow finding and retrieving information efficiently
This system helps to find the relevant information quickly and efficiently by searching through a large amount of data. Using different strategies, this system allows the user to search for a specific set of documents or retrieve all documents with a specific value in any field. This system can be used by individuals as well as teams because is flexible. For example, users can configure the system to allow them to share and maintain workflow at their convenience.
2. Provide records management services
This system helps an organization or an individual to manage records in an effective way so that they do not lose important data. The system helps manage the documents in an effective way and provides some options to clean out the data or archive documents that are not important anymore.
3. Provide security to the archived data
The organization can be confident that any information which is stored in ECM is secure. One of the most important characteristics of this system is, it has a high level of security and access control to data. ECM system uses different cryptography algorithms for storing the data and encrypting additional security information inside the file itself. It also stores metadata in a separate location and only allows authorized users to access it.
4. File format conversion
ECM assist in the conversion of documents from their non-digital form. The system uses different archiving software that provides functions like formatting, indexing, and other data conversion tasks. This software helps to convert different non-digital files into digital form and intact them with the relevant digital documents thereby helping to keep the data organized.
5. Querying capabilities for information retrieval systems
ECM provides repository services to users who need information during their research or development projects. This system can be used to search for a particular file type, or a specific document or folder within the ECM environment using a user-friendly interface.
6. Version control and storage
ECM provides version control as well as storage of digital files. Using this system, users can keep different versions of the files and can access them anytime they want. The system also stores the documents in binary form with different compression techniques which helps to reduce the size of the file and makes the storing easier. The ECM system provides different levels of security that help in keeping all confidential data away from unauthorized users.
7. Online searching
ECM allows users to search for documents online using different search criteria. This system is a vital part of most organizations and helps to manage the organization because it makes it easier for them to locate the documents from where they need them. The data is organized in an effective way with relevant documents, which can be accessed by any user anywhere anytime.
8. Email notifications
ECM can provide email alerts as well as instant access to retrieve digital files. These types of systems also allow users to store their personal documents in an ECM environment, which can be accessed quickly through email notifications and instant retrieval options.