5 elements of a good correspondence management solution

In our last post we looked at reasons for migrating to electronic correspondence management. This time we focus on some of the capabilities required within a good correspondence management platform.

The ability to effectively capture, track and manage various types of enterprise correspondence is what defines good correspondence management practice and its associated solutions. Correspondence management solutions are used to track all incoming and outgoing correspondence relating to a specific project, or even a whole organization, and make them available to relevant company employees based on their roles and access rights.

While there are numerous correspondence management offerings from different vendors available, the question remains – what makes a good correspondence management solution? In this post, we will explore the building blocks of a sound enterprise-scale solution.

Capture and track the entire correspondence flow within a central repository

Incoming and outgoing correspondence within organizations comes in many formats – electronic, physical, formal etc. This poses a big challenge for organizations who want to effectively capture, track and manage their correspondence assets. One of the most crucial building blocks of any good correspondence management solution is its ability to effectively capture all correspondence items into a centralized repository and enable users to easily locate and access any communications information they are looking for. This ability will ultimately help you optimize your communication processes, save time, reduces delays and eliminate risks associated with lost correspondence items such as emails and paperwork.

Track relationships between contacts and content

The chaotic nature of today’s business communications makes it difficult to effectively keep track of the relationships between business contacts and content. A good correspondence management solution brings orderly flow to unstructured content and provides the capability to associate correspondence items with their corresponding business contacts. Bringing structure and context to your contact database and content assets will not only streamline the correspondence management process, but will ultimately save you time and reduce errors.

Native integration with your existing Enterprise Content Management system

When selecting a correspondence management solution, having native integration to your existing Enterprise Content Management system is crucial. With business stakeholders looking to build on their existing investment, selecting a vendor that covers the essential elements and integrates well with your existing ECM platform makes a sound investment. If you’re already using OpenText Content Server to manage your corporate information, then ProjectVault’s Correspondence Management Suite is an ideal example of such a solution.

Manage controlled and confidential correspondence in a compliant manner

Almost every business nowadays is a subject of some form of regulation. If you’re operating in highly regulated industries such as energy, government and life sciences you are likely subjected to various internal and external regulations regarding management of formal correspondence. In these instances it is essential that your correspondence management solution is able to manage confidential correspondence in a compliant manner, without compromising efficiency. In these instances, the automated creation of audit trails outlining received or sent correspondence is a must-have capability.

Industry standard information security

Information is the backbone of every business, therefore it’s security needs to be of highest priority for stakeholders. Considering the sensitive nature of some business correspondence assets, especially within governmental organizations, the risks of using a solution that doesn’t comply with the highest information security standards is not a risk worth taking.

If you need help to manage your correspondence within an OpenText environment then get in touch with us and we’ll show you how easy it can be.