The IT industry is braced for significant change over the next 10 years. But what will be the day-to-day impact of these developments, especially on enterprise content management (ECM) systems and processes?

In its recent research paper Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2020, global advisory firm Gartner outlined its vision of the years ahead.

By 2023, analysts predict most organizations will be heavily focused on building trust and strengthening their operations in security, risk, compliance, privacy and ethical business practices.

Increased investment in key technologies and new operating models will also enable businesses to grasp the full opportunities of the digital economy by becoming fast, scalable and well-connected.

Three of Gartner’s anticipated trends look set to have a particular impact on ECM systems and processes.

Hyper-automation

Hyper-automation – the comprehensive application of machine learning, off-the-shelf software and other automation technologies – will deliver significant advantages. While automation already exists in many areas, hyper-automation takes the speed and effectiveness to new levels.

Hyper-automation is likely to be particularly effective where there is a need to connect new processes and systems (ERPs, portals, archives) to existing content services platforms. This will accelerate the automatic creation, signing and management of documents, simultaneously freeing up capacity across the workforce and reducing costs.

Developing trust and transparency

Data transparency and traceability are critical elements in enhancing a company’s relationship with its partners and customers. Only by embracing an ethical document management system that fully guarantees data privacy will companies thrive in the 2020s.

It is crucial, therefore, that content services platforms are designed to protect the personal data and confidential information held within documents. Reducing the number of people involved in the collection and storage of personal data will only increase trust and transparency. It will also ease staffing and management burdens.

Integrated approaches to IT

Future ECM systems will need the flexibility to update and increase functionality in line with legislative changes. This is likely to lead to an increased demand for a single, scalable platform being able to work with different operators, accounting systems and archives.

At TerraLink, we have more than 25 years’ experience in document and content management. We have successfully completed hundreds of projects serving more than 200,000 users, while our globally recognized and award-winning expertise continues to deliver successes across three different continents.

We believe Gartner’s trends, forecasts and analysis to be correct. Do you?