European Companies Fail to Unlock the Value of Unstructured Content

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READING, UK   03-DEC-2007 12:01 AM    With unstructured content on the increase, leading European businesses are failing to invest in a strategic solution, according to a survey of leading European enterprises conducted by Oracle in partnership with International Data Group, the world's leading technology media, events and research company. According to the report, two-thirds of senior IT decision makers across Western Europe claim to have unstructured data adequately managed, or are making significant inroads to do so (43 per cent). Yet this is countered by the fact that when it comes to making decisions, 60 per cent of enterprises polled admit to either having too much information, or the information they need to make decisions is buried in irrelevant data.
The understanding of the term "unstructured content" is also widely misunderstood among leading enterprises surveyed in Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

However, of those that claim to understand the term, it appears that many have adopted a piecemeal approach to content management, with the average number of content management systems per organisation being 4.28, with just over half (58 per cent) looking towards a consolidation plan to deliver post-implementation strategic value. This raises the question as to whether European organisations actually understand that unstructured content is an enterprise-wide issue that requires a strategic enterprise-wide solution. If the respondents that are currently piloting/planning content-management systems are taking an enterprise-wide approach to content management, which roughly two-thirds claim, then they will begin to realise real competitive advantage from unstructured content if this is combined with best-practice procedures and processes.

Of concern is that 63 per cent of European enterprises consider email as the primary source for managing unstructured content, with 86 per cent admitting that email is used as the primary source for sharing content. Surprisingly, email is the source of information to which people are most likely to turn when making decisions.

"This survey just goes to show how varied the attitudes, perceptions and approaches towards content management vary across Europe," said Javier Cabrerizo, Senior Director, Enterprise Content and Collaboration Services, Oracle EMEA. "What the report shows is that half of European companies see that managing unstructured content in its multiple formats is critical for their business continuity and productivity. At the same time it shows that there are very clearly identified barriers today: email is overused for managing content; a departmental approach to content management creates difficulties for sharing content between groups; flexible web 2.0 type of tools are seen as very relevant for dynamic environments. Oracle's task is to show companies how a strategic and infrastructure-based approach to content management, as opposed to a piecemeal or departmental approach, can provide significant benefits in the form of increased productivity and better risk control - after all, you don't buy five different ERP systems or CRM systems. Only with a single infrastructure such as Oracle Universal Content Management can companies aim for a truly collaborative environment that involves and benefits all departments."

The pan-European study was based on 527 telephone interviews with senior IT decision makers (75 per country) in Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. All respondents were responsible for decisions on the implementation of company-wide strategies and systems such as ECM, CRM or ERP. Each interview lasted 15-20 minutes and was conduced in local language.

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