Recession Proof Your Business with ECM Sales

Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution sales are at their highest levels today despite the weakening economy that continues to sweep our nation and dominate the headlines. Gartner expects the worldwide ECM software market to reach $4.2 billion in 2010. Your growth as a VAR or solutions provider should not be derailed due to these conditions, because companies are continuing to add ECM at record levels. By keeping focus where the sales are to profit now and through the future, VARs can drive professional services revenues through new sales of document management software as well as expanding existing document management software applications.

Forward-thinking organizations must realize that a small investment in an ECM solution is the best practice to manage the changes they may be forced to make until the economy improves. ECM solutions help with all processes that require document access such as collections, human resources, order fulfillment, accounts payable processing, contract administration, customer service and  more. ECM solutions also support employees who telecommute, allowing companies to maximize existing office space, support the 'green movement,' and more. This economic environment has created a ripe opportunity for customers to invest in resource management solutions, and ECM is leading the way.

A number of factors can be credited for the continued rise in ECM solution demand.

1. It's a tool that improves productivity when staffing is limited or hiring freezes are in effect.  It helps customers do more with less.

2. In lieu of giving employees merit and cost of living increases, many organizations are permitting their employees to telecommute, providing an indirect increase by saving on gasoline and possibly daycare, while helping employees gain time in their day. ECM is critical to success in such work environments, because it provides secured, remote access to documents that workers need. ECM replicates office presence and provides a collaboration tool with audit tracking and workflow. 

3. Compliance requirements still have to be met. Companies are still going to pay taxes and cannot ignore Uncle Sam's compliance mandates.

4. Disaster and litigation preparedness remain high priorities. Cutbacks don't mean that companies can afford to go unprotected. For example, you wouldn't cancel your insurance policy, so how can you justify running without a recovery plan in place?

5. The solution including professional services that can be leased in lieu of requiring capital outlays. Your customers can gain all the benefits despite capital budget limitations.

6. Office space prices are still premium and organizations do not want to orchestrate a move in the middle of uncertain times. So maximize the usage of space occupied by file storage cabinets by reducing physical storage space.

ECM answers all of these concerns. Document management solutions are affordable, carry a high ROI, provide a value for customers across all departments, and are sales that make themselves when you ask all the right questions.

John Stelmach is CEO of  Computhink, a document management/content management provider who specializes in secure information sharing and compliance for small and medium size organizations.