GODALMING, England, September 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterprise Content Management ( http://www.thecontentgroup.co.uk/ecm_technologies.aspx) (ECM) specialist - The Content Group http://www.thecontentgroup.co.uk - has released a White Paper on the benefits of document management ( http://www.thecontentgroup.co.uk/ecm_technologies.aspx) and information governance (http://www.thecontentgroup.co.uk/ecm_technologies.aspx) thorough ECM strategies specifically for the Housing Association market. The White Paper was produced after Gartner stated that by 2010, 80% of organisations would be using Microsoft's SharePoint content management solution.

Most housing associations struggle to access requisite information in a timely and efficient manner, with information typically stored in various forms across multiple business applications and even physical locations. Whilst some organisations operate capable business suites that provide efficient information governance and integrated financial, HR, payroll and housing management applications, most are still struggling to connect the wealth of supporting information that traditionally lies outside the housing association business suites (e.g. email, correspondence, paper etc).

The White Paper from The Content Group discusses that by utilising a document management solution internally, companies could achieve a common, easy to use interface to all of the business information without embarking upon expensive, customised integration. By converting paper-based tasks into electronic format, organisations can be far more efficient, more compliant and provide the management information required to measure and improve performance.

John Chilton, Solutions Specialist at The Content Group, comments, The latest version of SharePoint from Microsoft provides a company with a totally integrated business platform that includes portal, Intranet, document management, information governance, workflow, legacy business application integration, email integration, collaboration and business performance reporting capabilities. With this depth of functionality, housing associations can use SharePoint to manage all content not contained within the existing business suite.

Chilton concludes, Leveraging Microsoft SharePoint to create an integrated infrastructure that maintains all content and correspondence relating to each individual property and customer will enable housing associations to reduce the burden associated with regulatory compliance, improve customer service, enhance staff satisfaction and reduce the risk of errors and litigation.

For more information or to download a copy of the Housing Association White Paper on Enterprise Content Management, please visit The Content Group website.

About The Content Group

The Content Group is a technology agnostic Enterprise Content Management (ECM) consultancy and solutions provider whose proven ECM Expert best practice methodology ensures successful ECM projects such as in document management and information governance for their clients across the globe.

Recognised as a leading expert in the field, The Content Group works with its clients in the education of ECM, development of ECM strategies including document management and information governance, implementation of ECM strategies and the design of ECM maturity blueprint's for ongoing measurement of organisational ECM effectiveness.

Drawing on its best practice methodology, The Content Group is leading the development of the first ever Publicly Available Specification for ECM with BSI British Standards.

The expertise and best practice methodology of The Content Group's ECM Expert ensures its clients receive unbiased advice combined with Best by Design technology recommendations resulting in unparalleled ECM project success.

The Content Groups works with clients from the SME and Enterprise sector. This work covers new Enterprise Content Management initiatives, including document management and also information governance, and also existing ECM implementations where organisations are looking to leverage the true value of their ECM investment.

For further information, please contact: Will Gardiner Itpr Tel. +44(0)1932-578800 Emily Thorpe The Content Group Tel. +44(0)1483-523890

SOURCE: The Content Group

CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Will Gardiner, Itpr,Tel. +44(0)1932-578800; Emily Thorpe, The Content Group, Tel.+44(0)1483-523890.