The ECM-Compliance Link: Options for Microsoft Dynamics ERP customers

Known for their ability to track and manage documents, enterprise content management (ECM) systems can play a key role in helping organizations keep up with regulations, standards, and even internal policies. And as the world becomes more and more regulated, Apoorv Durga, a senior analyst at Real Story Group, says a higher number of organizations are looking to their ECMs for help in managing and complying with the onslaught.

"Compliance can have multiple meanings. It could refer to adhering to process guidelines, complying with laws and legislations, or conforming to rules and regulations," Durga points out. "In any case, what's clear is that compliance is becoming increasingly important with the world becoming more and more regulated."

There are multiple aspects to being "compliant" and one key aspect is the ability to have processes and practices in place to manage information, including documents, contracts, emails, images, and more. According to Durga, this translates into the ability to manage records, perform retention and disposition, track and control documents, define business processes to manage records and documents, capture information correctly via forms and scanning, handle storage of vast amounts of data, and carry out other similar activities. "The practice of ECM attempts to address many of these," he says, "and can play a very important role in any compliance initiatives."

To Dynamics customers that are using SharePoint for ECM, Durga says his firm's research shows that the application remains a popular choice when it comes to document-centric collaboration and basic document scenarios. "However, when it comes to more complex requirements, especially those that relate to regulatory compliance and information governance," says Durga, "organizations often consider other tools in conjunction with SharePoint." ...