What is Enterprise Content Management?
Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is the latest software technology which main functions are to capture, store, preserve and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. ECM tools and applications facilitate the management of an organization's unstructured information and contents scattered in different departments and business systems so that authorized person can obtain the needed information without the limitation of working locations. Unstructured information can be used to develop new business models, improve organizational efficiency, and improve customer service, etc.
Specific Enterprise Content Management (ECM) application solutions can help enterprises meet the above needs and gain competitive edge in the marketplace.
ECM solution is composed of three major software technologies, namely Content Management, Collaboration Platform and Portal.
Internally, ECM helps an enterprise establish a common work platform for information sharing and business collaboration among employees. The platform eliminates information isolation and departmental barriers leading to improvement of team work. It enables each employee to maximize the use of enterprise's valuable data assets in a timely and simple way.
Externally, ECM facilitates the establishment of an interactive Web 2.0 e-business platform which effectively networks business operations of customers and partners with the enterprise. The platform provides instant and customized service to customers and partners, making the enterprise more competitive.
What is Enterprise Portal?
Enterprise Portal, also known as Enterprise Information Portal (EIP), is a web-based platform for integrating information, people and processes across the enterprise and eliminates organizational and departmental boundaries. It provides a single point of entry, often in the form of a web-based and personalized user interface tailored to different users' roles and functions, and is designed to aggregate information through application-specific portals.
Core Functions:
1.        Integration-the connection of functions and data from multiple systems into new components and portals. Enterprise Information Portal (EIP) goes beyond traditional data management and general purpose website. It integrates various information management and e-business applications. The increasing demand for knowledge and information by enterprises is the primary driving force for Enterprise Portal.
2.        Single Point of Entry -enterprise portals can provide single sign-on capabilities between their users and various application systems. This requires a user to be authenticated only once. An access control list manages the mapping between portal content and services over the portal user base.
3.        Personalization-users can customize the look and feel of their business and specialties. Enterprises can make use of their EIPs to design and edit their web sites as illustrated by the specific content and services which can represent their unique characteristic and style.
Benefits:
1. Integration of all information of enterprises;
2. Safe, personalized, transparent information searching, processing and providing;
3. Enterprise application framework based on business collaboration;
4. Capabilities of maintenance and processes management applicable for various business operations.
Extended Functions:
-Knowledge Management (KM);
-Decision Support Systems (DSS);
-E-commerce/E-government affairs;
-Distribution Resource Planning.
What is Collaboration?
Collaboration is a structured process or ability which coordinates two or more than two different resources or individuals to work together toward a common goal. Such software which facilitates collaborative processing is called collaboration software. From a conceptual point of view, collaboration is not something new; it is a natural development alongside with the evolution of human society.
As a new focus of software development, collaboration has a much wider and deeper significance. Its function is not just collaboration among individuals but also collaboration among different application systems, databases, terminal units, application environments, human beings and machines, science and traditions, and so on.
What is Collaboration Software?
Collaborative Software is software application designed to help a team of people involved in a common task to achieve their shared goals. Collaborative software is the basis for computer supported cooperative work. Collaborative management tools facilitate and manage group activities. Examples are: workflow systems, projects management, and all kinds of communication channels, such as e-mail, instant messaging, VoIP and so on.
The Three Levels of Collaboration:
Collaboration groupware can be divided into three categories according to the level of collaboration: communication tools, conferencing tools and collaborative management (co-ordination) tools.
Communication can be simply put as unstructured interchange of information. Telephone call or IM Chat discussions are two common examples. Conferencing (or collaboration level, as it is called in the academic papers that discuss these levels) refers to interactive work toward a shared goal. Brainstorming or voting is an example of this. Co-ordination refers to complex interdependent work toward a shared goal to realize the interactive communication and collaboration with enhanced efficiency of management like OA, business collaboration software, and government affair collaboration software.
The Three Applications of Collaboration:
From aspects of software application, it is applied mainly in three parts:  business administration, e-business and e-government affairs.
It is most widely applied in general business administration like document circulation, calendaring, notice sending, data filing, information sharing, etc. Traditional e-business software is basically for managing established business processes with emphasis particularly on planning and calculating figures and dollars. Collaborative e-business software is for dynamic work procedures management, emphasized especially on communication and collaboration of business processes. Application of e-government affairs has been changed from the emphasis on work recording to communication and team collaboration.
What is Office Automation (OA)?
Office Automation refers to the various computer equipments and software used to digitally create, collect, store, manipulate, and relay office information needed for accomplishing basic tasks and goals. Raw data storage, electronic transfer, and the management of electronic business information comprise the basic activities of an office automation system. Office Automation helps in optimizing or automating existing office procedures.
The backbone of office automation is a LAN, which allows users to transmit data, mail and even voice across the network. All office communication functions, including dictation, typing, filing, copying, fax, Telex, microfilm and records management, telephone and telephone switchboard operations, fall into this category.
What is Software-as-a-service?
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is a software application delivery model where a software vendor develops a web-native software application and hosts and operates the application(either independently or through a third-party) for use by its customers over the Internet. Customers do not pay for licensing fee of the software itself but rather for actual usage in terms of number of users and/or actual usage in terms of time or transaction or other chargeable usage units. The term SaaS has become the industry preferred term, generally replacing the earlier terms Application Service Provider (ASP) and On-Demand.
Key characteristics of software delivered by SaaS:
The key characteristics of SaaS software include:
-Network-based access to, and management of, commercially available software;
-Activities that are managed from central locations rather than at each customer's site, enabling customers to access applications remotely via the Web;
-Application delivery that typically is closer to a one-to-many model (single instance, multi-tenant architecture) than to a one-to-one model, including architecture, pricing, partnering, and management characteristics;
-Centralized feature updating, which obviates the need for downloadable patches and upgrades.
SaaS applications are generally priced on a per-user basis, sometimes with a relatively small minimum number of users. SaaS revenue streams to the vendor are therefore lower initially than traditional software license fees, but are also recurring, and therefore viewed as more predictable, much like maintenance fees for licensed software.