I'm the first to admit that we have too many acronyms in our world. Way too many. And now we have the new language of texts: BRB. WRT. TTFN. Oh - that last one was Tigger-speak, not cell phone text-speak. In any case, I'm guessing you agree that acronyms are a challenge to decipher. So why would we add another one? E-C-R-M? Well, we found that the software industry was inadvertently causing some organizational pain for our clients with their acronyms as they tried to sort through their information and technology management solution, so we decided to help broaden the definition of ECM (Enterprise Content Management) and ERM (Enterprise - or Electronic - Records Management) to something more holistic: ECRM (Enterprise Content and Records Management).

Enterprise Content: This is the information we create and use all day. Some of it is transient - meaning that it will live a short life of utility and then no longer be relevant or useful. Some of it has a very long life as reference information, starting points and templates, web content...you name it! In the best case enterprise content is the stuff that helps workers stay productive in their daily work. It should be managed well.

Enterprise Records: We all have 'em, but sometimes we aren't sure what to do with 'em. Sometimes we have a hard time understanding when content becomes a record. We need programs that help our organizations identify, use and manage records efficiently AND in ways that comply with the regulations governing us.

Guess what we have found? These things (Content and Records) are best managed if an organization's program and scope address both, not just one. This helps organizations obtain the benefits of worker productivity and efficiency AND the benefit of complying with appropriate rules and regulations. So there we are: Enterprise Content and Records Management. ECRM. A new acronym for our toolkit. CUL (C U Later)!