Maximizing the ROI of enterprise content management

Executive summary

• The return on investment (ROI) of enterprise content management (ECM) systems goes beyond cost savings — it also enhances efficiency, productivity and overall business operations.
• Direct and indirect benefits of ECM solutions include reduced paper usage, lower storage costs, improved efficiency, decreased error rates and enhanced security.
• A case study of Liberty Mutual Insurance showcases $21 million in cost savings and operational improvements achieved through the implementation of Hyland's ECM solution.

More than just implementing new technology to save costs, decision-makers want their enterprise content management (ECM) investment to align with their long-term organizational goals.

In fact, a Forrester study commissioned by Hyland revealed that leaders aim to work toward three priorities that support ECM success, namely: modernization, experience and innovation.

Evaluating the ROI of ECM helps businesses assess if they will remain sustainable in the long run, even with emerging trends, technological advancements and rising expenses. Keep reading to find out how ECM can be the lifeblood of your operations.

Calculating the ROI of ECM

Implementing a widescale ECM solution can be expensive. That’s why decision-makers must calculate the ROI of ECM for effective cost management and better allocation of resources.

• Income from ECM: When implementing an ECM solution, the profit stems from cost savings and productivity gains like streamlined workflows, saved time and resources.
• Cost of ECM: An ECM system comes with its fair share of expenses such as implementation, ongoing maintenance and operating costs.

ECM’s contribution to cost reduction

Businesses must be able to gather tangible insights from their ECM solution to ensure the benefits outweigh the costs. Determining a solid figure can be made simpler by breaking down its direct and indirect advantages.

Direct benefits of ECM

Improved efficiency

Automated workflows and unified content repositories improve time-to-delivery and lessen the need for inefficient, manual processes. Leading ECM solutions are equipped with intelligent automation capabilities that streamline workflows and reduce operational costs.

Quantification: Calculate the time saved from automation and multiply that by your employees’ average hourly wage to find operational cost savings.

Better user productivity

A modern ECM tool can boost user productivity by:

• Simplifying the process of finding relevant information, wherever it exists with powerful enterprise search tools
• Integrating with standard authoring tools, such as Microsoft Office or Google Workspace
• Accelerating workflows and decision-making by assembling the most relevant information when analysis and decisions are needed

Overall, simplifying and accelerating actions and tasks with ECM tools increases productivity as it becomes effortless for users to seamlessly integrate them with existing systems and find, access and edit content using intelligent automation.

Quantification: Cross-check KPIs like task completion rates prior to deploying ECM solutions and assess if a significant growth in productivity occurred post-ECM implementation.

Reduced risk of errors

Human errors can be costly and detrimental in data-sensitive workplaces. Intelligent ECM systems help prevent these errors by reducing the risk of accessing the wrong document or basing decisions on incomplete or inaccurate information.

By greatly reducing the rates and risk of errors, ECM delivers enhanced service delivery and faster turnaround times.

Quantification: Investigate how often these errors occur and their associated costs before and after ECM implementation.

Heightened security

Handling data breaches and noncompliance fees come at a high cost. Proactively implementing a robust ECM solution can save your organization from these expenses by strengthening information security and governance across the board.

Quantification: Review the financial impact of previous security incidents and estimate risk reduction to gauge areas of cost avoidance.

Manageable expenditures

Deploying a cloud-ready ECM solution turns a significant capital investment into reasonable, pay-as-you-go operational costs. Your organization can cut down on infrastructure and hardware expenses with intelligent, modern ECM capabilities that many legacy systems lack.

Quantification: Differentiate the cost between on-premises implementation versus cloud expenses. The former requires maintenance, significant capital expenses (buying servers, storage, networking, etc.) and hiring IT staff to maintain these servers whereas the latter involves regular subscription fees and usage-based expenses.

Less paper, more budget and storage

Relying solely on paper-based processes is no longer sustainable for companies moving into the future. That’s why it’s imperative to go paperless — digitizing documents not only saves on paper-related expenses, but also reduces the need for physical storage space, garnering major savings on real estate and maintenance costs.

Quantification: Calculate and compare the expenses on paper and physical storage pre-ECM versus post-ECM. You will notice notable gains and savings in this process.

Indirect benefits of ECM

Better resource allocations

After reducing paper and physical storage expenses, the next step is to reallocate your resources to more strategic aspects like enhancing customer experience and expanding operations.

Quantification: Review how available resources support revenue-generating activities or strategic goals.

Scalability

An effective ECM platform adapts to evolving business needs. Ad hoc repositories, departmental solutions and specific business systems are often unable to meet the scalability requirements to meet enterprise requirements.

Cloud-native ECM systems leverage cloud scalability and elasticity to help companies seamlessly manage a growing volume of documents and reap significant savings in the long run.

Quantification: Compare the costs of deploying additional cloud resources versus acquiring additional servers or storage and possibly utilizing a more scalable ECM.

Compliance and risk management

The right ECM platform ensures your valuable documents are handled according to regulatory requirements. Following stringent compliance measures helps companies proactively mitigate risks and avoid costly legal repercussions.

Quantification: Assess the value of potential fines, legal expenses and reputational damage avoided by improving information governance.

Insurer saves $21 million with Hyland

A strategic ECM implementation gives companies the potential to save millions. Take it from this established global insurance company.

Working toward global expansion and transitioning to paperless operations, Liberty Mutual Insurance knew they needed to tear down their siloed legacy systems to accommodate their growing international user base.

They had a vision in mind — a fully digital, cloud solution that could run on a global scale.

After evaluating different vendors, Hyland's Alfresco was selected for its scalable, cloud-ready capabilities. Additionally, the ease of integration with their existing insurance software made it a top contender.

Liberty Manual Insurance transformed their document management by deploying Alfresco to:

• Save $21 million: In just five years, Liberty Mutual Insurance saved $21 million by maximizing their resources. They were able to build paperless operations, reducing the need for physical storage spaces, drastically cutting expenses.
• Strengthen compliance: Robust ECM solutions come with governance services that can help your business stay on top of evolving data privacy and retention regulations. As a result, the insurer benefitted from more cost savings.
• Improve operational efficiency: Implementing Hyland's ECM platform significantly accelerated the time to market and empowered staff to seamlessly handle an increasing volume of documents.

Given the direct and indirect outcomes, Hyland's content services became a key partner for the insurer’s success.

Stay ahead with Hyland’s ECM solutions

Applying an ECM solution doesn’t end upon implementation. It’s imperative for businesses to calculate the ROI of ECM to leverage its strategic role in driving organizational impact.

Quantifying the benefits gives a tangible view of the value of ECM. Like Liberty Mutual Insurance, your business can have a competitive edge and deliver exceptional customer experience by maximizing ECM to reap financial improvements and ultimately, drive operational success.