Do electronic content management (ECM) applications drive strong return on investment (ROI)? One US analyst company claims it uncovered an average ROI of $US6.12 returned for every dollar spent, conducting research it conducted on behalf of ECM solutions provider Digitech Systems.

Nucleus Research says its analysis of 37 recent  case study audits indicates increased competition and more cost-effective cloud options driving down software prices and deployment costs.

"There are few large companies that have not already made at least one content management technology investment by now. With the rise of increasingly economical cloud-based solutions for electronic content management, both small and large companies can gain benefits from content management initiatives that would have previously been too expensive to justify implementing and hosting on premise," said Rebecca Wettemann, Vice President of Research, Nucleus Research.

Nucleus has found that the second and third-generation content management investments deliver increasing ROI through more streamlined processes and greater productivity. With the expected changing dynamics of ECM pricing, usability, delivery, and business and regulatory requirements, large areas including the digitization of health care records, government documents, and the continued growth of ECM in small and medium-sized businesses will continue to incent companies to invest in content management applications.

Although organisations often focus on cost savings as a motivation for investment in ECM, productivity and other indirect benefits are also common. In the analysis of Nucleus case studies, 62% of all returns came from direct benefits such as reduced paper or avoidance of staff or service bureau costs. Another 38% of returns came from indirect benefits, such as productivity.

The full research note is available at NucleusResearch.com