Today’s ECM/Document Management a Boost for Clients and an Opportunity for Dealers

There’s no denying the impact of the buy-in, particularly when the subject centers on a mid-catalog dealer category such as enterprise content management/document management (ECM/DM). It’s about rallying hearts and minds to fully embrace the notion that a given offering’s growth within a current book of business can play a role in the dealership reaching its top-line and bottom-line revenue goals. Yes, we’re looking your way, account executives.

Having confidence in the ability to thrive in the ECM/DM is half the battle, and the buy-in is an impact weapon within the arsenal. It’s not enough to incent your reps for these sales or to set rigorous quota standards. They need to believe in the value that ECM/DM can add to a proposal. And more than anything, they need to believe in the value it brings to your customer base.

Your valued clients need the automation, efficiency, accuracy and security of information that ECM/DM yields. This month’s State of the Industry report on the subject contains testimonials from dealers with extensive experience in the field. They’ve watched the evolution of ECM/DM, and they’re fully aware of the investments of time, resources and expertise required to effectively deliver on the technology’s promise.

Leveraging Automation

There’s an irony on the surface that Josh Britton finds noteworthy. Print volumes continue to dwindle and organizations typically don’t want to increase them—this we know. But Britton, the president of imageOne in Oak Park, Michigan, points out that high-volume printing is, in part, a symptom of manual and inefficient processes. Dealers are tasked with identifying and implementing efficiency gains for clients, which often results in fewer clicks. Dealers that fail to help clients remedy efficiency issues can jeopardize their existing print relationships, and there are competitors waiting in the wings to capitalize on such opportunities.

This is why imageOne has evolved beyond traditional print-centric solutions, investing significantly in document and content management as a critical aspect of its broader automation strategy. It’s no longer enough to just store documents digitally, Britton notes, and the focus has shifted to processes surrounding the docs and the ability to leverage data to produce smarter business decisions.

“Advances in intelligent document processing—leveraging machine learning, large language models and agentic AI—are enabling organizations to transform documents into usable, structured business data,” he said. “This significantly reduces the need for labor-intensive manual tagging or indexing while unlocking greater efficiency, insight and value from their information.”

AI is certainly leaving its fingerprints on documents, so to speak. However, the enhancements can be offset somewhat by decision makers being influenced by the cautionary calls to have an “AI strategy,” Britton notes. It’s more important, he feels, to define the challenges prior to identifying the proper technology to address them.

Advances in intelligent document processing—leveraging machine learning, large language models and agentic AI—are enabling organizations to transform documents into usable, structured business data.

– Josh Britton, imageOne

While document management has experienced its share of changes, Britton points out that the core business drivers behind purchasing decisions (compliance, security concerns and labor constraints) have remained fairly static, particularly during the last 10 years. Organizations are keen on addressing rising labor costs and improving their ability to hire and maintain talent. Operating faster and more efficiently via increased automation is paramount.

The dealer offers both department-driven and industry-centric solutions. imageOne’s tech stack incorporates ingestion, storage, workflow and integration, with blended AI technologies bolstering and extending those capabilities.

“This approach allows us to deliver flexible solutions that align with specific departmental needs or industry-specific workflows, while supporting broader process automation initiatives across the organization,” Britton remarked.

ECM and document management systems have become more turnkey, in Britton’s estimation. But technology isn’t a cure-all; organizations must be prepared to dedicate internal resources to owning and optimizing the solution to realize its potential. Subject matter experts (SME) who can quarterback projects and elude common tripping points can be difficult to source. Britton notes that technology advances in tandem with SME guidance have allowed imageOne to complete projects in half the time. But the process could take considerably longer without pre- and post-sale support, which can hamper a project’s ability to reach full potential.

“In our experience, the most successful and highest-value implementations combine more turnkey technology with expert configuration and ongoing guidance,” he said. “This approach consistently results in faster deployments, better adoption, and solutions that are architected correctly from the outset to support long-term business goals.”

The Commitment

Blue Technologies has enjoyed a bird’s eye view of ECM’s transformation during the 25 years the Cleveland-based dealer has offered the solution. It’s accompanied the journey from on-premises systems to cloud/private cloud environments and now flexible hybrid models. At every step along the way, notes Lauren Hanna, president of Blue Technologies Smart Solutions, it’s continuously raised the expectations bar for information management and security.

Growing from a vehicle to digitize and organize paper into a strategic business platform that supports security, compliance, automation, analytics and AI readiness also required Blue Technologies to evolve. It’s that commitment to the space that has provided optimal results for the dealer.

“We invested in deeper process expertise, governance and system integration capabilities,” Hanna said. “ECM shifted our role from being a technology provider to being a long-term partner that helps organizations modernize how they work.”

Of all the triggers driving client purchasing decisions, compliance resonates the most with Blue Technologies’ accounts. These organizations’ must-haves range from stronger control over information to improved auditability and the assurance that data is being properly curated, particularly in regulated environments.

We even have an entire division dedicated to legal and professional services with our iManage team. That team understands the complexities those businesses face, from governance and confidentiality to adoption and risk, and that depth of understanding makes a meaningful difference.

– Lauren Hanna, Blue Technologies

Efficiency is another critical driver. Departments including AP, HR and contract management still rely heavily on manual processes. The resulting inefficiencies are quite conspicuous at a time when teams are seeking to become leaner operations. In addition, the rise of hybrid work has fostered the need for secure, anywhere access to data without running afoul of governance or security regulations. Hanna also notes that ECM is directly tied to AI readiness; clean, structured, well-governed data is a must-have.

“What we’ve learned is that specialization matters,” she added. “A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. We’ve built significant strength in compliance-driven organizations, legal environments and departments such as AP and HR. We even have an entire division dedicated to legal and professional services with our iManage team. That team understands the complexities those businesses face, from governance and confidentiality to adoption and risk, and that depth of understanding makes a meaningful difference.”

Today’s ECM platforms are definitely more turnkey in Hanna’s estimation: deployments are faster, the user experience has markedly improved and many core capabilities come standard. It also ratchets up the need for dealers to differentiate. As such, Hanna believes Blue Technologies’ value proposition goes beyond the out-of-the-box solution.

“We don’t try to force customers into a predefined box. Instead, we design solutions around how they actually operate,” she said. “That means layering multiple technologies and integrating the ECM platform into their existing systems, such as ERP, accounting, HR and other line-of-business applications, so information flows naturally across the organization.”

The deeper the dealer involvement, the more its value to the customer bubbles to the surface. “Clients rely on us not just for implementation, but for strategy, governance, change management, adoption and ongoing optimization,” Hanna remarked. “The technology may be more accessible than ever, but making it truly effective still requires deep understanding of systems, processes and long-term business goals.”

ECM’s Journey

Having offered ECM/DM for nearly 20 years, Proven IT has witnessed significant changes in the landscape. The Tinley Park, Illinois-based dealer has watched as it progressed from simple document storage to a strategic automation platform, notes Mark Ellickson, director of business process automation. Today’s systems are cloud-based, AI-enabled and woven into the fabric of ERP and CRM integrations in addition to other core applications.

“This evolution has compelled dealerships to transition from hardware-centric models to consultative solution providers, offering implementation, training and managed services alongside traditional offerings,” he said.

Of all the drivers on the document management front, Ellickson points out that operational efficiency and AI readiness have climbed into the foreground of priorities for many end-users. He notes that Proven IT has helped streamline and optimize accounts payable departments within hundreds of organizations.

“Additionally, we’ve developed numerous vertical and department-driven processes that can be adapted to fit the unique needs of each organization partnering with Proven,” he added.

Additionally, we’ve developed numerous vertical and department-driven processes that can be adapted to fit the unique needs of each organization partnering with Proven.

– Mark Ellickson, Proven IT

The maturation of ECM/DM platforms as cloud-based, modular and integration-friendly has helped make deployments faster and easier. Ellickson notes that pre-built connectors and low-code/no-code customization has reduced complexity, an aspect he feels has been a game changer. Still, there’s no fear of Proven IT seeing its value proposition erode, as clients still require guidance on migration, compliance configuration and user adoption. Perhaps equally as important, the dealer earns its stripes by educating the client on the possibilities that abound.

ECM/DM has grown past its humble beginnings as a simple storage outlet, and AI has played a role in the maturation. It’s enabled smart capture and the classification of documents, predictive routing for approvals and escalations, natural language search for faster retrieval, and automated workflows that minimize bottlenecks. This dovetails with AI’s overarching value as a tool for automation.

“This shift simplifies facilitating processes, freeing staff for strategic tasks and improving quality,” Ellickson stressed.

Giant Steps

Another dealership that found ECM/DM to be an optimal fit is Doing Better Business of Altoona, Pennsylvania. As longtime clients became focused on effectively digitizing their files, the dealer mobilized to grow beyond traditional office technology needs, according to Marc Segal, solutions specialist. The many technology advancements within the discipline informed Doing Better Business’ own evolution.

“The industry went from primarily optical disk storage 30 years ago to now a strong reliance on the cloud and data centers,” Segal noted. “Supporting that change requires a complete overhaul in training and backend systems.”

While document management has been influenced by the need for compliance and labor constraints, Segal points out that efficiency is currently the main driver for ECM/DM adoption. The workflows are designed specifically for various departments, from accounts payable to data entry.

“Businesses are looking to do more with less staff, and we can automate a great deal of front-end business processes with ECM through workflow design and AI,” he added.

As the AI indexes your files over time, it learns and recognizes your types of files, invoices, etc. Some clients are hesitant about adopting AI tech into their businesses, while some are trying to be proactive.

– Marc Segal, Doing Better Business

Although efficiency benefits have freed clients up to reallocate or modify personnel duties, Segal says that modern ECM/DM tools are far less turnkey. The upshot is Doing Better Business’ critical functions in pre-sales and post-sale support and design.

AI’s sphere of influence can, at times, be opaque to the end-user. Segal points out that AI is running in the background of certain tools, and many users aren’t aware they’re using them. He notes that the self-learning component of AI is “supercharging workflow automation and efficiency.”

There’s some trepidation, along with some trust issues, that need to be overcome, but progress is being made. “As the AI indexes your files over time, it learns and recognizes your types of files, invoices, etc.,” Segal added. “Some clients are hesitant about adopting AI tech into their businesses, while some are trying to be proactive.”