Introducing Content Services Week!
The redefining of the traditional enterprise content management (ECM) space toward a content services approach is the biggest evolution of the space since the term ECM was first coined 18 years ago! It’s about time this highly relevant technology space got an upgrade!
In dramatic language, Gartner proclaimed this shift as the “death” of ECM and birth of content services. Out with the old term and in with the new. But what is really changing?
This shift in terminology equates to a shift in focus. Where the term enterprise content management inherently brought the focus on the management of the content – where and how it was stored – the very concept of content services focuses more on how, where and when the content is used. It is notable the goal of the technology has always been about empowering people with a complete view of exactly the right information at the right time, where and when they need it. For organizations to make that happen for all users, across an unlimited range of unique scenarios, this demands a content services approach.
The idea of content services is to allow organizations the freedom to tailor the services they need to empower their users, rather than try to force-fit them into the same user experience and work style. It’s no longer about monolithic systems that dominate your IT landscape. It’s now about microservices that tie your existing systems together to share real-time data and deliver that information to users – especially via cloud technologies.
What you can expect this week
I’m proud to introduce Content Services Week, as I’ve had a front-row seat for the last 15 years, watching document management turn into enterprise content management and now evolve into content services.
All week long on this blog and The Hyland Blog, we’ll be detailing what this means for you – whether you’re an end user, manager or decision-maker.
And we’ll be covering all the vertical industries we serve: Shared services, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance and higher education.
Content is king
With ECM, the focus was on a single content repository. Perhaps this shift in terminology is an acknowledgement (or acceptance?) within the industry that the “lord of the rings” approach to make this happen (one repository to rule them all) was always more of a dream than a reality. In this new world of content services, the repository is not king any more.
Content is the king, wherever it is stored.
Now, the focus is on transforming the way people use all forms of content and information assets to make more-informed decisions and serve customers better.
In order to achieve this vision of content services, it’s really about creating a collection of services or microservices that share a common API, capable of connecting to multiple repositories. On top of this, building out a library of reusable components that organizations can use to quickly create unique applications fit for the task at hand that specifically fit the way each user works.
So this change in how software is built – how solutions are built and developed on the vendor side – means that organizations can expect solutions to evolve and grow at the speed of their business, rather than waiting 2-3 years between upgrade cycles to get their hands on some new functionality. They can have new features as soon as they are available through incremental and continual upgrades, which happen automatically.
It is a radical change in the way content management technologies have traditionally been deployed. But, it is probably not a concept you are unfamiliar with in your personal life.
In fact, I would suspect this evening you’re probably going to fire up Netflix or listen to Spotify. Those services leverage these same sort of concepts.
If you use these services, you already know that you will get frequent enhancements in functionality. In fact, you probably look forward to them every time you log in to your account. But did you also know if you do a search for Netflix or Spotify, you can also see the full details of their REST APIs?
You might not know or care about how their technology works behind the scenes, but you do care about being able to pick up exactly where you left off watching that show. You care about an easy, intuitive user experience and expect the technology to just work.
It’s all around us. And that’s what we are really talking about when we talk about content services and why it’s so relevant to this technology space. If we can get our hands so easily on content merely for our entertainment, why should we expect anything less for the content that we need when we are doing meaningful work – helping the people we serve whether they are patients, students, customers, vendors, agents or constituents?
Why us?
If you’re looking for professional evaluations of this evolution, dare I say – look no further.
Hyland is very proud to be one of only three companies named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms, 2017. Our focus on building out an extensive range of content services along with our deep industry expertise allows us to deliver highly tailored solutions within the range of industries we serve.
I’m excited for Content Services Week. The paradigm is here. And, as leaders, we want to tell you all about it.
Enjoy the week and post any comments if you have any questions!
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