There are several advantages to implementing an enterprise content management system in your organization. It may assist in lowering the cost of maintaining content, simplifying document-centric operations more efficiently, reducing the time required for publishing and managing information, and improving employee and customer communication, among other things.
The first ECM software was developed in the late 1980s, with the first commercial product released in the early 1990s. Early ECM systems were designed to manage documents, but they also evolved to support more complex and diverse content types. The use of metadata became more prevalent to help users find information faster and easier.
In the future, Enterprise content management will be a lot more personalized. It will be tailored to the needs and preferences of every individual and will help you implement common guidelines to better manage and control content.
The future of Enterprise content management is not just about the technology that is used to manage it. It is also about how people are using it and what they want out of it.
Let’s get started by going over the top 15 statistics that make ECM is essential for businesses.
Top Enterprise Content Management Statistics
We have gathered the below list of statistics from different well known sources in order to give you a summary about the importance of ECM and its use cases.
1- Market Size
The global enterprise content management market size is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 9.8% during the forecast period, to reach USD 37.7 billion by 2026 from USD 23.6 billion in 2021.
source: marketsandmarkets.com
As expected, this rise over the next few years reflects the necessity for companies to manage the ever-increasing volume and variety of content.
An ECM system, in our opinion, is a must-have for all organizations embarking on their digital transformation path.
2- Data Volume Forecast
The total amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed globally is forecast to increase rapidly, reaching 64.2 zettabytes in 2020. Over the next five years up to 2025, global data creation is projected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes
source: statista.com
Based on the facts presented above, businesses cannot continue to manage their information in the traditional manner. They want smart solutions to assist them in conveniently managing and searching for information.
3- Information Storage
The most likely company information repositories are email, shared network drives and folders, and information saved locally to desktop or laptop.
source: M-Files
According to an M-Files survey, the majority of respondents still use email as their primary method of document storage. Isn’t that shocking? In addition, just 24% of respondents claimed their organizations use an ECM/DM system.
As the saying goes, behind every crisis lies an opportunity. More and more organizations are understanding the necessity of having access to their documents without any restrictions, especially in the aftermath of the COVID19 epidemic.
4- Multiple Information Silos
52% of organizations have three or more ECM/DM/RM systems and 22% have five
source: aiim.org
or more systems.
Imagine how much time is wasted every day in businesses seeking for information rather than focusing on critical tasks (further information about this in the next point)
The dream of having a single repository has failed terribly. Instead of consolidating repositories, solution providers are investing more in integrations and enterprise search capabilities.
5- High Cost Searching for Information
The knowledge worker spends about 2.5 hours per day, or roughly 30% of the workday, searching for information
source: mckinsey.com
According to Worlddata, the average annual wage for employees in the United States in 2021 is $70,430. So each employee costs the organization over $21.000 per year merely to search for information and that’s add up to $1740 per month.
Investing in an ECM system will not only increase employee productivity but will also minimize information search expenses by up to 90%.
6- Missing Documents
25% of poorly filed documents will never be located
source: M-Files
Knowledge workers spend on average 50% of their time creating and preparing documents. Without an ECM strategy and a reliable system, 25% of these documents will end up being lost.
7- Mobility
8 in 10 participants say they need to access corporate documents on their mobile device
source: aiim.org
Let’s face it: the days of employees dealing with paper documents in their everyday operations are long gone. In today’s digital age, everyone expects to be able to access business-related information whenever they need them.
Cloud document storage has enabled mobile access to documents, however its security model is not very flexible. Your employees may use ECM systems to view documents, sign them, and collaborate whenever necessary.
8- Cost of Papers
Businesses in the United States waste $8 billion on managing paper document each year., with an average tag of $20 to file a document.
source: FileBank
Dealing with paper documents not only reduces productivity, but it also costs a substantial amount of money each year that may be reduced by going digital.
9- Going Green
Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the U.S
source: FileBank
In order to save the environment we should stop cutting down trees for purposes such as paper production. Trees are a key component of an ecosystem which helps us in many ways such as absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which helps in reducing global warming or providing shelter for animals living in forests which help them protect themselves from predators etc.
10- Physical Storage High Cost
Every four-drawer filling cabinet holds 10k to 12k documents, occupies around nine square feet of floor space, and cost $1500 yearly.
source: Gartner
Paper not only costs money to make, but it also costs companies a lot of money to keep for archival purposes. Digital file storage has become inexpensive for any size business to purchase.
11- Information Breaches
The average per record (per capita) cost of a data breach increased by 10.3 percent from 2020 to 2021
source: IBM
Shocking statistics right?
In a paper-based system, security might be difficult to implement; for example, a confidential paper left out on a desk or mistakenly misplaced can be easily accessed and stolen, providing a security risk.
ECM systems provide high-security modules that allow a document to be seen only by authorized employees, reducing the likelihood of data breaches.
12- Manual Data Entry High Cost
Data entry errors in procurement, supply chain, and other areas cost businesses over $600 billion each year.
source: Data Warehouse Institute
Manual data entry mistakes may be tremendously costly for businesses since they alter the quality of the information captured, and hence decision making is based on erroneous information.
With technological advancements, much of the data input process may be automated utilizing cognitive technologies, which will undoubtedly improve the quality of information acquired.
