In recent years there has been a worldwide shift towards electronic services and online information systems. Organisations need to be able to access data quickly, easily and efficiently. This global trend has resulted in the need for electronic document and records management systems (essentially a computer system that will contain electronic copies of an organisation's paper-based documents).

The "official" definition of Enterprise Content Management was created by AIIM (Association for Information and Image Management) International, the worldwide association for enterprise content management in the year 2000.

Enterprise content management systems combine a wide variety of technologies and components, some of which can also be used as stand-alone systems without being incorporated into an enterprise-wide system. The five components and technologies of the ECM model were first defined by AIIM as follows: Capture, Manage, Store, Preserve, Deliver.

The primary benefits for implementing these technologies have mainly been around saving time or improving accessibility to information. 

Specific benefits include:

• Reduction of paper handling and error-prone manual processes
• Reduction of paper storage costs
• Reduction of lost documents
• Faster access to information
• Online access to information that was formerly available only on paper, microfilm, or microfiche
• Improved control over documents and document-oriented processes
• Streamlining of time-consuming business processes
• Security over document access and modification
• Reliable and accurate audit trails
• Improved tracking and monitoring, with the ability to identify bottlenecks and modify the system to improve efficiency
  
  

Office workers can get through 50 sheets of paper a day, with several studies suggesting that much of this is wasted printing that goes straight in the bin. Overall this contributes to 80.6 million tonnes of printing and writing paper entering the waste stream each year in the UK – 24% of total UK waste.  Contrary to the expected trend towards a 'paperless office', paper consumption continues to rise by 20% each year. The average office worker uses up to 100 sheets of paper every day in a typical office, half of the waste is paper-based.

 

Paper is therefore a major purchasing and disposal cost to the average office, yet it is a cost that can be brought down easily through reduction, reuse and recycling.

In the current economic climate, efforts concerning environmental impact may no longer be a top priority for many companies. However, with pressures including consumer buying trends, tighter cost margins and environmental legislation, green business practice is becoming an essential element for any company’s long-term survival. Achieving a greener, more profitable business need not be as complex or time-consuming as some may anticipate.