Enterprise Content Management (ECM)

In brief: Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is the umbrella term for the methods and systems a company uses to capture, manage, store and deliver all its content. PIM, CMS, DMS and DAM are specialised areas within ECM.

What ECM includes

• DMS: Documents such as contracts, invoices and manuals, with version control and archiving.
• CMS: Content for websites and portals.
• DAM: Images, videos and other media files.
• PIM: Structured product information for marketing and sales.
• Records management and archiving: Compliant, audit-ready retention.

ECM and PIM

ECM systems excel at document management, storage and compliance, but are not designed for the structured management of product attributes, variants and channel-specific output. Conversely, a PIM system does not replace a document archive. In practice, the two work together: the PIM system links products to documents from the ECM system, such as declarations of conformity or operating instructions, and distributes them to the relevant channels.

See also

• Document Management Systems (DMS)
• Content Management System (CMS)
• Digital Asset Management (DAM)
• Master Data Management (MDM)
• PIM