In 2024 Hyland released the fifth annual Content Services Pulse study: Transforming processes and experiences with content, automation and AI. Commissioned by Hyland, with the study completed by Forrester Consulting, the research uncovers trends in the world of content management.
The full study, which provides insights and recommendations for keeping up with shifting content management priorities, also includes innumerable data points ripe for sharing. Let’s take a look.
A note about respondents: 405 global content management decision-makers, representing a variety of roles and industries, were surveyed for this study.
A note about the term Shift Leaders: In Forrester’s study, there is a category called Shift Leaders. This subset of the study’s respondents is already supported by a modern content services platform and makes above-average investment in modernization, experience and innovation as a part of their content management strategies.
Investment trends
Among all respondents, a strong majority of content management decision-makers are making big moves on big things:
- Modernization
- Better experiences for both customers and employees
- A culture of innovation
70%
Invest to modernize (goodbye legacy tools)
69%
Invest for better experiences (hello integrations)
63%
Invest to support an innovation culture
Forrester found that decision-makers were more likely to invest in these areas, indicating they see value in moving away from the limitations imposed by legacy tools, investing in integration to simplify user experiences, and giving employees the cutting-edge tools (and culture) they need to do big, innovative things at the enterprise.
Why invest?
Experience, experience, experience — for customers and employees — was a clear leader amongst respondents’ objectives and goals for their content management strategies. And in fact, over half of content management decision-makers say they have realized or expect to realize these benefits from augmenting content-centric tasks and processes through intelligent automation:
- 76% Improved customer experiences
- 69% improved operational efficiency and effectiveness
- 63% increased employee productivity
- 61% modernized content workflows
- 59% improved employee experiences
- 57% increased innovation in new and existing products/services
78%
Want to improve customer experience
73%
Want to integrate existing business applications
55%
Want AI capabilities to augment automation and improve UX
Why now?
Forrester’s study revealed a 21-point increase from 2019 in the number of respondents who say their workers spend too much time looking for needed information (40% vs 19%). Whether it’s the evolution of the distributed workforce, the number of siloed technology systems used to house content, the massive growth in data or some combination of the trends, the problem is growing.
Decision-makers are planning for the future-state of content, using trends and predictions to invest in the content management technology they see as most likely to lead them forward competitively.
81%
Of decision-makers predict AI-enabled automation will meaningfully improve content-heavy processes by 2026
66%
Of Shift Leaders moving users and content off legacy systems/repositories
60%
Of decision-makers automation & AI will have a large impact on meeting business objectives
Add to the mix the cultural fervor and perceived potential of AI in business applications, as well as the practically unanimous retirement of on-premises deployments, and it’s no wonder leaders are evaluating what they should be doing now to stay ahead.
Hot topics
Unsurprisingly, respondents were keen to bring up trending topics — what was on their road maps, impacts they’ve already seen, and how they hope new technologies and approaches will improve their business. Of particular interest:
Artificial intelligence
While just 29% of decision-makers describe their content-related AI capabilities as advanced, that current status isn’t a journey endpoint. Sixty-six percent of the same group say they have significantly evolved their content management approach because of AI (up 13 points from 2019).
More details about what’s garnering the most attention on the AI front is available in the report. Hint: The potential for AI-generated content is just beginning to be understood and capitalized on.
Data extraction and capture
Eighty-seven percent of respondents described data extraction and capture as a top feature in a modern platform, with Forrester noting the capability — namely, intelligent document processing — as useful because it “involves identifying data and key concepts for use in downstream apps or to improve search.”
Learn more about what you can do with IDP.
Cloud deployment
When it comes to content management solution deployment, just 3% of respondents expect their approach to be primarily on-premises. Additionally, 73% of Shift Leaders have prioritized cloud-based technology, in part to help simplify employees’ ability to work remotely from a variety of devices.
80% of Shift Leaders
Describe their content management strategy as cloud-firstAutomation
Though automation efforts have been in full swing for some time, intelligent automation is making an impact in enterprises with a robust, modernized content strategy. Sixty-seven percent of Shift Leaders are developing intelligent automation capabilities to automate manual processes and extract deeper insights from data.
The drive to get more from the content that already exists within an enterprise is clear, and many are doing it through intelligent automation and AI capabilities.
Content through the Hyland lens
Hyland is a leader in providing intelligent content solutions that empower organizations to achieve their goals. Our cloud-native, content-centric platforms use AI and automation capabilities to deliver exceptional experiences that help customers capture, process and manage high volumes of diverse content so they can improve, accelerate and automate operational decisions and workflows.
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