Managing User Adoptability

From EMC's 15 Minute Guide, When Content Matters: the business case for enterprise content management

Every organization has experience with technology implementations that never really caught on because they were too difficult to use or simply didn't perform as advertised. Like any technology, a content management system cannot deliver value unless people actually use it. A particular challenge in implementing a content management system is that people are already "managing" content in one way or another—even if only on paper. And regardless of the ultimate benefits to the enterprise, individual users have to be motivated before they will make the switch.

Here are some principles worth considering:

• Focus on processes where content matters most, such as functions that are both business-critical and process-centric. This is where users will feel the most pain and have the greatest motivation to leverage the benefits of a content management platform. Information search and retrieval, self-service access to information, and collaboration tools are all good examples of process improvement that will motivate users to embrace a content management system…
• Map to the way people work—then provide improvements. The fastest path for user adoption of new technology is by using tools and techniques that are already familiar, then delivering far more information within that recognizable context. EMC's Transactional Content Management solutions, for example, provides the capabilities of its enterprise content management platform to end users in a wide variety of user experiences: general and purpose-build web interface options; integration with desktop applications including MS Office, MS Outlook, and Windows Explorer; integration with web applications, such as SAP ERP applications, and web portals, such as BEA or SharePoint Portal Server. In many cases, users may not even realize they are accessing a content management system—yet they're getting more and better content to complete their work processes.
• Be prepared for success. Performance of an enterprise content management system is critical to user adoption. Users can't be made to wait because of system bottlenecks or other technical issues. The content management system needs to give them the information they need—when they need it.

PaperFree has been helping organizations successfully implement and deploy best-in-class Information Management solutions for more than 10 years. In that time, we've had the opportunity to work with both business and government in nearly every industry.

Are you thinking about implementing or optimizing your content management environment,? Click here to request the complete guide, or dial 1-888-726-7730 to speak with a PaperFree consultant today.