I'm back....

It's been a while.....not sure why really - but wasn't really sure of the relevance of the blog anymore - and I have been blogging a lot at the CMS Watch site - but there is so much going on in the industry in general I thought it was time for a return :-)

I have said it so many times its become a mantra - but ECM without BPM is a lame duck. Of course the counter is not I have said it so many times its becoming a mantra - that ECM demands BPM - without it ECMnecessarily the case - BPM can happily exist without ECM - but viewing the process as central to the project is the issue. Sadly few consider the process to be the central concern in an ECM project - result, lots of nice technology running on servers - nobody using it.

So - BPM (always my pet topic) - the training course is nearing completion and is now officially launched. A couple of weeks back I ran a train the trainer session in Washington and it gave me a chance to see the course in it's entirety (seeing the wood from the trees and all that) - I think I can honestly say we have done a great job. The course for those interested is designed for the consultants (internal or external) that will work on business change projects (for example any ECM project) - its highly practical and covers a lot of ground - students are going to have a tough but worthwhile time! The online version is pretty smooth, but if you want the message from the horses mouth then you need to sign up for one of the classroom sessions.

Secondly I am off to Kuala Lumpur to speak and run a workshop at the ECM Event there in a week or so's time. I'm really looking forward to this for a number of reasons:-

1: I always love to find out what ECM means in a new country - how it is interpreted and used there - teaching is as much a learning experience for me in these situations as it is for the attendees. I will be blogging about that at a later point.

2: Running workshops is a great opportunity for me to interact with users and buyers of technology.

3: I have never been to Malaysia before - but love the far east region

If you are in the region take a look at the conference and as always say hello (to repeat I am not as unapproachable as I look.....)

Work is starting soon on V2 of the ECM Suites Report - feedback from V1 most welcome - we got some wonderful testimonials from readers of V1 but there is always room for improvement - what worked for you and what didn't??

Longer - more focused blog entries in the coming week or so - but for now ciao :-)

BPM and ECM again.....

Its now sort of official so I can talk about it here - I am currently developing a training scheme on the topic of BPM (Business Process Management). Business Process change and workflow have long been my first love (work wise at least!) and so this is something I am enjoying very much.

It is in the handling of business processes - that ECM projects stand or fall. As I have said often, the failure rate for ECM is staggeringly high - and the reasons for this are manifold. Poor selection techniques, under budgeting etc etc - but at core its the business processes. ECM exists to help you manage information and information is always related to a business process. Yet as we know all too often ECM systems often become expensive static vaults.

In researching for the training course, I am frankly shocked at the level of consulting and analysis skills in the marketplace. When I myself was doing this kind of work in the mid to late 90's every business analyst knew how to accurately capture requirements, model processes etc etc. But so many of those skills seem to have fallen into redundancy in the past 10 years.

My hope is that this course in some small way can provide some hardcore skills training to the marketplace - and though its certainly important to talk about BPM technologies (and the course does) its more important ultimately to talk about the skills to manage processes - these are as much ECM as BPM in nature.

A Buzzing UK event

I have just returned for a short but very intense visit to London. I was there primarily to speak at Internet World, but had the good fortune to see a lot of things at the show, and talk to many people.
I am writing this up whilst its still fresh in my mind (on the plane) and this trip has left me full of somewhat conflicting thoughts. Top of mind was the conclusion (not just based on this quick visit) that the UK is currently in the early throws of a technology boom, and it looks set to last. What European people were taking for granted at the show, struck me as a level of buzz, interest, excitement and confidence that I have not seen in a long while. And frankly it was in stark contrast to what I have been seeing in the US over the past couple of years.....
Another observation was that the UK tech start up's are looking to expand into Europe and Asia (and in that order) - yet just a few years back the US would have been the first place outside of home that they would have targeted.
Yet another sideways observation was the level of interest in the vibrant and open French Presidential debate held this week - Brits interested in French politics ?!?! - First time in my lifetime for sure...
I am English and live in and love the US. So I am happy to see such vibrancy and Joie de Vivre in Europe, yet equally pained to exchange my lowly Dollar for strong Sterling.
Its not based on much but there seems to be a growing distance between Europe and the US, and it is to the US's detriment - the Europe I see a few times each year, just gets stronger and more vital each time - a long way from the 'Old Europe' I hear described to me by others.

The ECM Twilight Zone

This industry just gets stranger:

http://www.cosmicbaseball.com/usarchecmgame.html

Any ideas what the heck this is - and why I play third base (Tony tells me I must have a strong right arm).....??

I would love to know!

ECM for Re-Engineering - AIIM Expo 2007

Back in my office after a week at AIIM I am exhausted but elated. We had a great week there, launched the ECM Report, ran a pre-conference workshop, panel discussion etc. We also published a press release on the market turbulence that caused some ire with the vendors. Lots to do then, but so much also to learn.

On the one hand, it would have been easy to take a swipe at the AIIM conference and Expo - as some observed there was no wow factor, no new funky technology. But from my perspective there was a lot of new things (we already have more than enough technology) - there were new thoughts around:

• ECM SasS models
• Skills shortages and the training required to fill them
• More OpenSource ECM options in the pipeline
• The re-discovery of the importance of business process management in ECM
• The recognition that paper is not going away and the ECM systems need to work holistically in that hard copy environment
• More recognition of the difficulty (impossibility) of long term electronic archiving

For me the most important thing maybe is the reawaking of ECM tools as tools of change. ECM should be a toolset to re-engineer your business, and discussions at AIIM this past week brought me to the conclusion that organizations small and large are recognizing this fact. The idea that people will spend huge sums of money on ECM to meet compliancy needs or simply to provide an electronic filing capability is being debunked, and we are getting back to the core value set of ECM (and DM & Workflow) before it - changing the way we do business.

I'm back!

I am back - reviewed the draft final for the ECM Report - 378 pages! It's looking good - and what a painful but wonderful experience this has been. Hopefully you will all rush out and buy it now, and make the effort worthwhile :-)

Announcements:

I am running a half day workshop at AIIM next monday on how to procure an ECM system - if you are planning to be at AIIM please come along, it should be fun - and I think/hope of value whether you be a buyer, an SI, a consultant or a vendor.

Also at AIIM I am hosting a panel on when E means Enormous - and I have some great panelists lined up - so that should also be a fun and thought provoking session.

In May I will be keynoting the wednesday ECM session at Internet World in London - again as always come up and say hello - my stern and mean demeanor is all a front, I am a softy underneath :-)

We have some big announcements at AIIM regarding some new work we are undertaking - work that I am very excited about......

Also, check out my blog post (will be there today or tomorrow) on CMS Watch - regarding Salesforce.com - one I will be looking into much more over the coming months as that evolves into a true ECM product.

Lot's to write about - lot's to share - a busy year ahead. I'm back - and just wanted to say I have been amazed at the traffic to this blog, even though I have had to neglect it recently. Stay tuned, I have some stuff to annoy, amuse and argue with you about :-)