There are four kinds of content management and your company or you, as an individual, may require one or more of them. The four kinds are: Web Content Management, Document Management, Digital Asset Management and Record Management.

A Web Content Management System, which might be called a WCM, a WCMS or a WebCMS, is a system used to control and manage a large collection of HTML documents and everything that goes along with it, to include images. It is basically used to manage a web site and allows less-than-geeky users to easily navigate, make changes to, author and design brilliant web sites. Most WCMSs will provide templates for presentation and will use a database in which to store content. A WCMS may require a professional in order to code and set up the original requirements, but this system is primarily a site maintenance tool for those who have little technical expertise.

Document Management Systems (DMS) are utilized for the purpose of storing documents or images of documents and to manage and control them. The components of a DMS include:

Metadata, which is normally stored for each document and might include the date the document was stored and the identity of the person that stored it. Other means of searching for stored documents are also utilized and more than one option should be available in a DMS. For example, the user may be able to input keywords or even to input “extracted text” in order to find the document in question. The key is to have a system that is user friendly and offers the simplest means of finding the required document or image.
Integration should allow the user to make changes to the retrieved document and to store it with the changes without ever leaving the DMS application. The ease with which this is done and also the permissions given to staff, according to position or clearance, are the most important considerations when looking at a DMS system.
Capture is basically the process by which an image is captured and processed by the DMS. In addition to scanners or multifunction printers, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) or Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) software may be required. These may be integrated into the hardware or can be a stand-alone software program and can greatly affect the cost of the DMS or be an additional cost to bear. You may also want to be sure that your capture component also includes the acceptance of electronic or computer-based files.
Indexing makes it easier to retrieve files. Especially in large companies, there will be file sharing by many persons and there needs to be an easy way to identify files. You may choose to have a means to internally identify documents in the form of a unique document identifier or through another means. The most critical aspect of indexing and rapid retrieval is the creation of an index topology (which is basically a roadmap to where the document can be found)
Storage will include not only the actual storage, but the management of the document in terms of where it is stored, how long it may be stored, the ability to move it from one storage place to another and the eventual destruction of the document.
Retrieval is the act of being able to pull the document or image from storage. This all falls into line with indexing, storage and the metadata aspects of a particular application.
Distribution is the means by which the document or image will go from one person to the next and in such a way as to make alteration of the document difficult. If the integrity of any of your documents is in question, not only should a “master” document be archived for comparison to a finished product, but the systems that are being used for the exchange of the document or images must be quality endorsed. In other words, the hardware and software of both systems must work seamlessly, and if more than two systems may be involved, they all need to work in concert and be validated to do so.
Security is the final sticking point. Everyone knows that for every security feature in place, there is a hacker somewhere that will eventually be able to get past that security feature. This, of course, will depend upn the security required and the set of complex instructions that are required in order to safeguard documents getting into the wrong hands. Security of your DMS should be checked regularly and the system you use should have regular updates to security features. If it doesn’t…beware.

A Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) does everything the other systems do, but with digital files such as photographs, music, videos and animations. You can also have many of the aspects of Digital Asset Management within another content management system. This includes a protocol for rating, grouping, downloading, exporting, renaming, optimizing and maintaining digital files.

By the same token, the Record Management System (RMS) manages and controls a record, which is a document or other physical or electronic unit that provides and serves as proof of a transaction or activity performed by an organization and that requires storage for a specific time period, if not indefinitely. A good RMS will determine what types of documents should be considered a record, will determine how documents that become records should be handled; it determines retention of records in order to meet regulatory or legal requirements and will be part of a system that manages records in a non-intrusive, cost-effective and user-friendly manner.

So, your first task in determining what type of CMS to use, is to understand what type of data requires management and then to choose the company that enables you to do what needs to be done in a way that won’t break the bank and that once in place, will offer you the support and technical advice and a means of content management for a long time to come.

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