Our client recognized their need for an ECM that would allow them to easily managed all their company data in one place, access it from anywhere on any device, and securely share certain data internally and externally. By working with Cloud Matrix IT, they gained all of that and much more.
"Honestly, our files were all over the pace. We knew we needed to do something about it. So we finally did. One of the best moves we've made so far"
FILES. FILES EVERYWHERE.
Our client is a leading association in D.C. that represents the interests of thousands of members in the United States and across the globe. As their organization grew, they faced challenges with managing their company documents and data, which were scattered across different platforms, formats, and locations. They realized they needed an enterprise content management system (ECM) that would streamline their workflows, improve their collaboration, and enhance their decision-making.
We worked closely with them and their members to understand their specific needs, goals, and challenges in order to design a customized ECM environment that suited their business requirements. Our ECM solution gave them better visibility into their data, by allowing them to access, organize, and analyze it from a single system. It also created a more efficient workforce, by enabling them to automate tasks, share information, and communicate effectively. Moreover, it saved them time, costs, and resources by reducing the need to search for documents, duplicate data, or deal with errors. And most importantly, it provided enterprise-level security across the entire organization, by ensuring compliance, encryption, and the ability to automatically backup of their data. With a newly developed ECM solution and company intranet, our client was able to transform their document and data management, and achieve higher levels of productivity, performance, and satisfaction.
- Files scattered in many places and on various devices
- Unorganized documents with little structure
- Not benefiting from cost savings of an ECM
- No data security
- No permissions management
- Limited sharing options
- No backup or disaster recovery solutions in place
- Missing files or cannot locate them
- No document collaboration
- Limited employee productivity
- Time wasted managing and searching for documents
"An enterprise content management system is key for your business to ensure your employees can find documents easily, collaborate on files simultaneously, save time editing, and share securely with internal and external users."
- Richard, Cloud Matrix IT
IT & BUSINESS CHALLENGES
Our client had multiple offices in the United States as well as resources that worked aboard. They faced multiple challenges in managing their company data, let alone the advantages they were missing out on by not having an enterprise level content management system in place.
FILE DISORGANIZATION AND DEPARMENT ISOLATION
Our client handles different types of assets, such as images, videos, audio files, and documents, that are utilized by employees across the organization. Content volume is a major obstacle for them. However, even though volume is a problem, they still need to create more content. This increases the speed of content production and the demand to distribute them across multiple channels and devices. They might expect this to lead to more productivity, but in most cases, it does the opposite. Content is scattered everywhere. This makes them work in isolation. When different people have access to different things, it’s easy to lose sight of content. Crucial documents are lost or stored on different gadgets, drives, or folders.
INADEQUATE FILE SECURITY
They were facing several challenges due to inadequate file security and lack of a proper content management platform for all of their company files. They were exposed to the risk of data breaches, legal issues, version conflicts, reputation damage, inefficiencies, and costs. They needed a solution that would protect their data, comply with regulations, manage document revisions, maintain trust with stakeholders, and improve operational efficiency.
LACK OF COLLABORATION
Our client was also struggling with successfully managing all their company data due to a lack of collaboration within their organization. Prevented by an archaic file management process. They faced reduced efficiency, inconsistent content, missed opportunities, poor version control, risk of errors, and fragmented knowledge. These challenges affected their business performance and end customer satisfaction.
INEFFICIENT PERMISSIONS MANAGEMENT
They were dealing with inefficient permissions management, which negatively affected their ability to manage access to their documents. They had no clear system for granting or revoking access to files and folders, which resulted in security risks, compliance issues, and operational problems. They had difficulty controlling who could view, edit, or share their content, which exposed them to multiple risks like data breaches, legal actions, and errors. In not having proper access management in place, they had trouble collaborating and communicating with their teams, further reducing their productivity and work quality.
NO ROBUST DATA BACKUP SOLUTION
There were no robust data backup solutions in place for their data, which compromised their ability to respond to losing data or having a cybersecurity incident. With no reliable way of restoring their data in case of accidental deletion or corruption, they risked losing critical company data, disrupting their business continuity and violating their contractual obligations. They also had no assurance of data integrity, availability, or security.
HOSTING ON A TRADITIONAL FILE SERVER
They were experiencing limitations of hosting their content on a traditional file server. Causing difficulty when accessing, sharing, and collaborating on their files, especially when working remotely or across different devices. They also faced security and performance issues, as their file server was vulnerable to attacks, outages, and data loss. They needed a more modern and flexible solution.
LACK OF TEAM COLLABORATION
Another challenge our client was facing was a lack of collaboration throughout their departments. This affected their file management in several ways. They had reduced efficiency, as they could not work together on content creation, review, and approval. They had inconsistent content, as they did not follow the same branding, messaging, and quality standards. They missed opportunities, as they did not generate fresh ideas, identify gaps, or explore new approaches. They had poor version control, as they did not track changes and ensure everyone worked with the latest content. They risked errors, as they did not communicate well and avoid mistakes in grammar, facts, or context. They had fragmented knowledge, as they did not share expertise and learn from each other.
REMOTE ACCESS
They had challenges remotely accessing files from outside the network. They had limited access, as they could not reach all the files and folders they needed. They had slow performance, as they had to rely on VPN or FTP connections that were often unreliable or slow. Not to mention outdated technologies. They had security risks, as they could not ensure the encryption and protection of their data in transit or at rest. They had collaboration difficulties and could not easily share and edit files with their colleagues or partners.
EMPLOYEE TIME WASTED
Another large issue they were experiencing was the amount of time employees wasted when searching or managing files. This was not optimal as it affected their productivity, quality, and profitability. They had difficulty finding, organizing, and updating their files, as they had no clear structure or system. They spent valuable time searching for files, dealing with duplicates, or trying to resolve file conflicts. This caused trouble collaborating and communicating with their teams, as they had no easy way of sharing and editing files.
An enterprise content management system that will level up your operations, efficiency, and document security.
cost savings | time saving searching files | enhanced file security | proper permissions management
elevated team collaboration | securely share internally & externally | easy deployment of backup solutions
scalability | increased productivity | better file organization & structure | intranet sites | seamless integration
customizable | streamline business processes
SOLUTIONS DEPLOYED
Having worked with many clients who faced a lot of the same challenges, we worked with this association to develop and migrate them to the Microsoft 365 SharePoint framework, which provided them with a comprehensive and flexible ECM solution. SharePoint enabled them to store, manage, and access their files in the cloud, ensuring their data was always backed up, recoverable, and protected. SharePoint also allowed them to collaborate effectively, streamline processes, ensure consistency, foster creativity, manage hundreds of virtual versions, prevent errors, and share knowledge easily internally and externally. SharePoint also integrated with other Microsoft 365 applications, such as Teams, OneDrive, and Power BI, further enhancing their content management capabilities.
By migrating to SharePoint, they were able to overcome all their business challenges and improve their content management and business performance. They reported increased efficiency, quality, and profitability, as well as reduced security and compliance risks. They also expressed satisfaction with the user-friendly and customizable features of SharePoint, which enabled them to tailor their content management to their specific needs and preferences. We helped them achieve better content management and business outcomes.
A Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery (BCDR) solution was developed to ensure their data was always available, secure, and compliant. This leveraged a backup strategy that enabled them to backup their data in the cloud, using geo-redundant storage and encryption. Allowing them to restore their data quickly and easily, using the built in tools within SharePoint or the cloud backup solution that stored files with a trusted third party. SharePoint also integrated with other Microsoft 365 applications, such as OneDrive, Teams, Outlook, and Exchange, enhancing their data protection and recovery capabilities.
By developing a BCDR strategy our client was able to properly backup their company data. They reported improved data availability, security, and compliance, as well as reduced downtime and costs trying to manage files in an archaic way. They also expressed satisfaction with the user-friendly and customizable features of the SharePoint intranet, which we developed for each department within their organization.
BUSINESS OUTCOMES
By partnering with Cloud Matrix IT our client leveled up their document management process, file security posture, collaboration within the entire organization, and gained a number of enhancements to boost productivity. This solution was also easy to maintain and secure.
ENHANCED COLLABORATION
We helped them use the integrated tools within M365 to collaborate effectively, streamline processes, and ensure consistency. Integrating with other tools such as Outlook, OneDrive, Team, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other tools within the M365 environment. It was easy to share file with their own department, or share to different departments within the organization. Securely.
DOCUMENT SECURITY
Developing them in SharePoint allowed them to manage permissions effectively, securely, and easily. We helped them improve their content management and business performance.
ELEVATED PRODUCTIVITY
The ECM allowed them to store, manage, and access their content in the cloud. Helping them improve their accessibility, security, and performance. Every employee was able to easily access their files from anywhere, anytime, and any device.
TIME & COST SAVINGS
This system saved them countless hours each week searching, editing, sharing, or collaborating on documents. This amounted to a staggering amount of time saved across the entire organization. The time each employee saved can now be spend doing their job.
BCDR Solution
This ECM system provided them with a comprehensive data backup solution, ensuring their data was always backed up, recoverable, and protected. We helped them improve their file management and operational resilience.