After over a year of working from home, if your company is still struggling with content governance in an increasingly online workspace, you are not alone. Organizations around the world have had to rush to roll out software like Microsoft Teams and migrate to Microsoft 356/SharePoint Online to give users access to communication and collaboration tools. Many have not taken the time to ensure proper governance of their content. It is hard enough to maintain your company’s operations as they were prior to the pandemic, but creating a centralized management of accessible content for your employees comes with the added tasks of organizing and governing this content.
If these added stresses are not overwhelming enough, the increased demand for content organization has turned Enterprise Content Management (ECM) into a competitive market. With this competition has come several options, and it is important to consider which option is best for you and your company. This article will highlight the importance of content governance and provide tips on finding the right governance approach for you.
Although migrating to a platform like Microsoft 365 and SharePoint Online might seem easy at first glance, having proper governance protocols for your content can be deceptively complex. In an age where content seems to be rapidly and perpetually produced, it is very easy for relevant content to get lost in an ocean of data. Without stable informational architecture and proper policies that detail exactly where and how content should be organized and stored, you run the risk of losing vital pieces of information that could be critical for your company’s success. Furthermore, once you’ve established policies on the storage of data, it is also important to establish archival policies on how data is retained and the criteria required for content to be either archived or deleted.
When considering the policies and procedures required for proper content governance, it is no surprise that new organizational structures are required to accommodate these procedures. A company’s content is not just created by the IT department. It is a joint effort of all departments throughout your entire company. In order for your collection of content to be at its best, all employees must know how to both access and contribute to this collection. With this in mind, proper content governance must be supplemented by trained professionals to help ensure that policies and procedures are properly maintained.
If the above paragraphs make you feel overwhelmed and hesitant to attempt content governance in-house, you are not alone. The past year has turned Enterprise Content Management into a massive US$48.4 Trillion global industry, and this number is projected to reach US$129 trillion over the next 5 years. With this growing industry comes an abundance of options to choose from, and this choice can seem just as daunting as choosing to manage your content on your own. That said, taking the time to ensure the proper protocols and procedures are in place will pay dividends by ensuring that your employees remain productive and efficient.
Although it may seem that there are many barriers to enter into the world of content governance for your company, the benefits are well worth the short-term investment in proper governance. With well executed content governance, all facets of your organization’s operations will be improved, from daily operations to company culture to internal communications to data analysis. With information stored in a way that is designed to be at any employee’s fingertips in a moment’s notice, the potential is endless.
If you’d like to know more about how to improve your content governance, or if you’d like to know how a strategic partnership with Elantis can ensure professional content governance for your company, please reach out to talk with one of our enterprise content management experts.
