Access Info From Anywhere: Using Mobile ECM Solutions

If your customers can use their cell phones to track the location of their friends, upload embarrassing pictures to Facebook or download and listen to music, why do your employees have to leave information behind when they’re on the road or working from home? Shouldn’t they be able to stay as connected as their average customer?

Now they can.

Many key decision makers spend a lot of time on the road or out of the office. They need access to real-time information from their mobile phone so they can make informed decisions wherever they are. And we’re not just talking about access to emails or the Internet. They need to interact with their work processes, and to do that, they need to view documents and all the pertinent information that surrounds them.

Today’s leading enterprise content management (ECM) applications are capable of extending their solutions to mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, so managers can make important decisions outside of the office with all the information they need at their fingertips. By simply extending your ECM solution, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, you just take it with you.

The Business Process Perks of Mobile ECM

Here’s how mobile ECM solutions help keep business going when you’re not there:

  1. Staying connected to documents and information
  2. Keeping processes moving, quickly and accurately
  3. Accessing transactions to stay current

By giving employees access to their daily processes wherever they are, you’re able to keep key processes like loan approvals, account maintenance requests and customer/member inquiries moving forward. As a result, your institution isn’t at risk of losing them to a competitor who answers questions quicker. And with mobile access to transactions, everyone stays in the loop. Processes continue to move forward even when key personnel are out of the office. Business continues to run as efficiently as possible, regardless of where you or your employees are.

Of course, not all mobile ECM solutions are the same. Here are a few things to look for to ensure you get the most value along with the business benefits your employees need to get work done faster and more accurately:

  • Applications built specifically for each individual device so users have a good experience – no matter what device they use
  • Seamless integration with mission-critical workflow processes, giving users direct access to their step in processes
  • Convenient search capabilities to access documents from anywhere so employees can quickly and easily find what they need and keep processes moving forward
  • User friendly and easy-to-use applications that let users immediately see the information they need and act upon it quickly so processes keep moving quickly and accurately

As mobile applications continue to play a larger role in all industries, using them makes your employees more productive, resulting in higher levels of customer and employee satisfaction. Mobile applications are no longer a “nice to have.” Your customers are demanding them. And your employees need them.

Need more information on content management software? Check out our comparison of leading platforms in the Top 10 Enterprise Content Management Software report. You can also browse exclusive Business-Software.com resources on CMS and ECM by visiting the content management research center.

Michelle Harbinak-Shapiro: Michelle Shapiro brings more than a decade of experience in the banking industry to her role as Financial Services Industry Expert at Hyland Software. Her mission is to share best practices and evangelize the power of ECM as a tool for banks, credit unions and lenders to help automate paper-based processes and proactively manage regulations.