9 Reasons to Take Content to the Cloud - Complete Solutions

Expanding on yesterday's post on No Installation Necessary, today's installment addresses another area where cloud makes it easier to get business results versus on-premise enterprise content management software.

Reason 3: Complete Solutions

One of the ironies of traditional enterprise content management (ECM) "suites" is they typically are not suites at all, but colllections (OK, really mishmashes)  of technologies developed over 10 years or longer, "packaged" with years of acquired technologies.  And while platforms like SharePoint can be used to do many things, you have to be willing to not only do lots of code and configuration, but also procure, install, configure, support and maintain 3rd party products.

If there were labeling requirements for content management there are for some consumer products, maybe they should have to say "Lots of Assembly Required"?  It's sort of like the vendor didn't finish the job, and expect customers to do the work?

In contrast all of typically necessary components of a cloud solution (like document management, multiple forms of capture from fax to IDC, workflow, BPM) come pre-integrated. No need to pay for additional modules or expensive and time-consuming integration services. 

Of course there is often integration required with enterprise systems or legacy content management systems, but even that's easier with cloud (look for more in an upcoming post).