Eat the elephant one bite at a time

I ended up discussing a few days ago how to implement ECM for an organization that has approx 100Tb of content. Some of the content is in databases but most of it is in fileservers with little or no control. Where do you start?

First step should be to develop a corporate information management strategy. We usually start this process by developing a Concept of Operations document that describes your current situation, vision, and the new environment that needs to be in place to support the vision. I described this in my “What are your benefits of ECM” post, and I would also recommend you to take a look at my previous post “What are the necessary components of ECM”.

As with most large projects or initiatives, we propose then that you ‘Eat the elephant one bite at a time.’ Go for specific projects, one at a time, say every couple of years, each one to address a portion of ECM and produce business value. Start with something nutritious, not small and convenient, and produce a business case for each of these projects separately. And I would also suggest that you take a look at my previous posts “How to implement ECM” and “Why go for ECM instead of point solutions”.