Welcome to the final post on our ECM/ Laserfiche Myth Busting series! We hope you’ve enjoyed our list and found some of it helpful.
ECM Myth #6- We’ll need an entire IT department for support if we buy ECM, and we don’t have an IT department
Right. Well, Laserfiche comes in a few deployment options. An on-premise Laserfiche solution might require a part of a systems analyst’s time during the week but not all of their time. Some of our clients have third-party IT, and Laserfiche is owned and supported by someone in the City Clerk’s Office; they manage beautifully as long as the assigned person is an advocate. Luckily, the ease of use of Laserfiche causes many users to become champions. Another approach for an IT-less organization is to procure Laserfiche’s Cloud Solution. Generally, the cloud solution is easily supported by the organization’s Laserfiche Partner, so there’s little burden on the user.
ECM Myth #7- Laserfiche is a good product, but implementation is difficult because of the complexity
Interestingly, I’ve only ever heard this from IT departments. In my experience, a successful Laserfiche deployment starts with the RFP and LF Partner selection process. Frankly, compared to an ERP or CRM implementation, Laserfiche implementations are pretty straightforward. And I never hear about an ERP/CRM implementation halted because ERP/CRM is complicated to roll out. Additionally, I’ve listened to complexity complaints about other ECM vendors (SharePoint, Hyland, OpenText, etc.). I think ECM is only as complicated as the organization “thinks” it is.
Ok, here’s my IRL advice—get whoever is nominated to “own” the system some project and change management help and ensure they are heavily involved in training. The product owner should embed themselves in your user community and get their view because if they are involved, they will embrace it. If they are not involved, how can the ECM align and support what they do?
When someone tells me ECM is too complex, here is what I think they mean. ECM complexity is self-inflicted. Most knowledge workers understand the concepts of information management when it is presented within the scope of their duties and responsibilities. The primary responsibility of the project owner is to understand their users and to discuss ECM in their terms.
ECM Myth #8- I can’t have Laserfiche; I am a department of one
Please see Myth #6. There are plenty of single-user clients in small businesses, financial services, and special districts. If the business or agency operates in a highly-regulated environment or finds itself frequently embroiled in litigation, ECM will prove quite valuable, even if it’s just for one.
