Authored by: Zach Tabor
The amount of content that organizations manage is steadily growing. However, using different tools to manage this content can create disconnects, productivity losses, and even potential errors. As a result, businesses often turn to content services platforms (CSPs) to solve these challenges but find that selecting the right solution isn’t always straightforward.
What should you look for in a solution? What should you avoid? And how should you best evaluate your options? To help guide your decision, here are the most important factors to consider when choosing a content services platform.
Five Areas to Consider When Shopping for a Content Services Platform
As you search for a solution, you’re solving a specific problem. Maybe it’s the need to retrieve documents more efficiently or collaborate more easily and automate workflows. Whatever the situation, I’d encourage you to look at your immediate problem and all of the issues a CSP can solve (both inside and outside your department). As you do that, here are five critical areas to evaluate:
- Flexibility. Choosing a solution that is flexible enough to grow with you in the future is important. I often see organizations use band-aid together various apps, but this way of working isn’t flexible enough to scale as the business expands.
- Stability. As more work happens anywhere in the world, it’s critical that regardless of where and when employees work, they can access the necessary programs and content – and do so consistently. Ensuring stability helps avoid unexpected workflow disruptions and outages.
- Usability. If a solution isn’t easy to use, employees will find workarounds. For example, employees might revert to using spreadsheets, note pads and saving documents to network shares, offering less control and security.
- Security. Security is likely at the top of your list for evaluation, but it’s not only about choosing a secure solution. It’s also about making sure employees use it. A CSP should provide an intuitive user experience and have robust safeguards to ensure that only the right people can view the right content at the right time.
- Integration. And lastly, ensure that a potential solution integrates easily with your other business-critical tools. Integration prevents employees from needing to jump from system to system, which can create slowdowns and productivity challenges.
And one last tip: Ask a potential CSP provider to connect you with existing customers to learn about their experiences. Then, ask questions related to the above five factors. When we connect our existing customers with prospects, we find it helps them gain clarity around the best path forward.
Avoiding potential pitfalls
Saving time, saving money, and improving productivity are all great reasons to use a content services platform. However, I often see companies make an investment in a CSP and then overlook a critical area to ensure its successful adoption: Internal resources.
A content services platform isn’t a set-it-and-forget-it project. It requires ongoing management to ensure you get its full value. And that means investing in people to manage and grow that platform. A potential CSP partner can walk you through what this looks like for your organization, the steps for successful implementation, and how to ensure you get the most value from your platform.
Focus on the ‘now,’ but don’t lose sight of the future
As you chart the best path forward and narrow down your CSP options, look at where you are today and where you’re headed. With innovation moving quickly, it’s far too easy to outgrow your technology, which is expensive. So, achieving a solid ROI requires your CSP to stay relevant for two years, three years, and further into the future.
Knowing the best factors to evaluate, speaking with existing customers, and determining how a CSP can solve your most pressing problem – and others in the organization – ensures you’re better positioned for long-term success.
Do you want a little extra guidance in selecting the best content services platform for your business? Contact us, we’d love to help.