Enterprise Content Management Definitions

This glossary explains the meaning of key words and phrases that information technology (IT) and business professionals use when discussing content management and related software products. You can find additional definitions by visiting WhatIs.com or using the search box below.

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  • A

    Adobe Sign

    Adobe Sign is a cloud-based service that lets an individual or organization send, secure, track and manage e-signature processes.

  • B

    black hat link building

    Black hat link building is techniques used to drive traffic to a website by exploiting website loopholes, enabling a site to rank higher than it should through organic search means.

  • brandjacking

    Brandjacking is an act that allows an individual or company to assume or exploit a brand's identity to undermine that brand.

  • C

    clickbait

    Clickbait is a negative term that describes links to frivolous content whose only goal is to improve the original web page's clickthrough rate.

  • cloud content management

    Cloud content management is the process of collecting, delivering, retrieving, governing and managing information within a cloud-based hosting environment.

  • collaboration platform

    A collaboration platform is a category of business software that adds broad social networking capabilities to work processes.

  • content aggregator

    A content aggregator is an individual, organization or tool that gathers web content and applications from different online sources for reuse.

  • content analytics

    Content analytics is the act of applying business intelligence (BI) and business analytics (BA) practices to digital content. Companies use content analytics software to provide visibility into the amount of content that is being created, the nature of that content and how it is used. 

  • content automation

    Content automation is a digital marketing strategy that focuses on removing the need for human intervention in the content lifecycle.

  • content management (CM)

    Content management (CM) is the process for collection, delivery, retrieval, governance and overall management of information in any format.

  • content management application (CMA)

    A content management application (CMA) is the front end component of a content management system (CMS). The CMA interface allows users to create, publish, edit and remove corporate or website content.

  • Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS)

    Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) is a specification for allowing users to share and access data across multiple content management (ECM) systems. 

  • content management system (CMS)

    A content management system (CMS) is a software application or set of related programs that help create and manage digital content.

  • content services platform

    A content services platform is cloud-based SaaS software that enables users to create, share, collaborate on and store text, audio and video content.

  • content sprawl

    Content sprawl is a condition of an organization’'s content assets in which proliferation and unmanaged growth have led to an unwieldy mass that is difficult to manage.

  • content-based security (asset-based security)

    Content-based security, also known as asset-based security, is a gerneral term for security features that are embedded within enterprise content. Content-based security is a departure from traditional enterprise content management security measures that focus on restricting access to a static repository or network, or on securing specific devices or applications.

  • cost per like (CPL)

    Cost per like (CPL) is the amount a company pays to receive a new fan for a Facebook page, through paid advertising and sometimes through earned media.

  • D

    dark social

    Dark social is a term used by marketers and search engine optimization (SEO) specialists to describe website referrals that are difficult to track. 

  • decoupled CMS (content management system)

    Pioneered, in the early 2000s, decoupled CMS is an approach to web application deployment for enhancing the performance and security of WCM systems.

  • digital asset management (DAM)

    Digital asset management (DAM) is a business process for organizing, storing and retrieving rich media and managing digital rights and permissions. Rich media assets include images, video, audio and other multimedia content.

  • digital customer experience delivery platform (DCED platform)

    A digital customer experience delivery platform is software that helps create, manage and measure cross-channel digital customer experiences.

  • digital experience (DX)

    Digital experience (DX) is the combination of interactions and overall sentiment that consumers have with an organization's digital touchpoints.

  • digital workplace

    The digital workplace is the concept that businesses should use digital transformation (DX) to align technology, employees and business processes to improve operational efficiency and meet organizational goals.

  • document capture

    Document capture is any one of several processes used to convert a physical document to another format, typically a digital representation.  

  • E

    e-signature

    An e-signature (electronic signature) is a digital version of a traditional pen and ink signature.

  • enterprise collaboration (EC)

    Enterprise collaboration is a system of communication among corporate employees that may encompass the use of a collaboration platform, enterprise social networking tools, a corporate intranet and the public Internet.

  • enterprise document management (EDM)

    Enterprise document management (EDM) is a strategy for overseeing an organization's paper and electronic documents so they can be easily retrieved in the event of a compliance audit or subpoena.

  • enterprise information management (EIM)

    Enterprise information management (EIM) is the set of business processes, disciplines and practices used to manage the information created from an organization's data as an enterprise asset.

  • What is enterprise content management? Guide to ECM

    Enterprise content management (ECM) is a set of defined processes, strategies and tools that allows a business to effectively obtain, organize, store and deliver critical information to its employees, business stakeholders and customers.

  • F

    file-sharing applications

    File-sharing applications are Web services that facilitate storing and sharing of content through the cloud.

  • FinnOne

    FinnOne is a web-based global banking product designed to support banks and financial solution companies in dealing with assets, liabilities, core financial accounting and customer service.

  • G

    Google +1 button

    The Google +1 button is a feature that users can click to easily recommend and share Web content within their Google network.

  • Google circles

    Google circles are groups of people in the Google+ social platform created to enable easier, more targeted content sharing that are meant to more accurately represent real-life information sharing.

  • H

    headless CMS (headless content management system)

    A headless content management system (CMS) delivers back-end capabilities for editing, organizing and storing all types of digital information, without regard to how that content is published, displayed or used.

  • Hootsuite

    Hootsuite is a social media management system that gives users an integrated user interface from which to manage their social interactions.

  • I

    information rights management (IRM)

    Information rights management (IRM) technologies help control, secure and manage content from unwanted access.

  • K

    Klout score

    A Klout score is a measure of a social influence that aggregates one's reach on various social media platforms.

  • knowledge management (KM)

    Knowledge management is the process by which an enterprise gathers, organizes, shares and analyzes its knowledge in a way that is easily accessible to employees.

  • M

    Microsoft FAST Search

    Microsoft FAST Search is the search engine for Microsoft's SharePoint collaboration platform.

  • Microsoft Flow

    Microsoft Flow, now called Power Automate, is cloud-based software that allows employees to create and automate workflows and tasks across multiple applications and services without help from developers.

  • Microsoft MyAnalytics

    Microsoft MyAnalytics, formerly Delve Analytics, is an application designed to help employees and their managers gain insight into how workers spend their time, with the goal of optimizing tasks and making them more efficient.

  • Microsoft Office 365 Groups

    Microsoft Office 365 Groups is a cloud collaboration feature for communication, coordinating group efforts and exchanging information.

  • Microsoft Office Delve

    Microsoft Delve is a discovery and collaboration tool within Office 365 that uses machine learning to help users work more efficiently.

  • Microsoft Office Graph

    The Microsoft Office Graph is a back-end tool in the Microsoft Office 365 Suite that facilitates search across integrated applications and applies machine learning to organizational content use.

  • Microsoft Planner

    Microsoft Planner is a project management application developed by Microsoft that allows teams to create, assign and organize work visually.

  • Microsoft Power BI

    Microsoft Power BI is a business intelligence platform that provides nontechnical business users with tools for aggregating, analyzing, visualizing and sharing data.

  • Microsoft Power Platform

    Microsoft Power Platform is a term used as a collective for three Microsoft applications.

  • Microsoft PowerApps

    Microsoft PowerApps enables developers and nontechnical users to build mobile applications from selectable templates without having to know code, and to host these apps on Microsoft Azure.

  • Microsoft SharePoint

    Microsoft SharePoint is a document management and collaboration platform that helps a company manage archives, documents, reports and other content that is vital to its business processes.

  • Microsoft Sway

    Microsoft Sway is a presentation tool in Microsoft’s Office suite of its business productivity apps. Sway is designed as a more flexible tool that could replace Microsoft PowerPoint for visual presentations and storytelling for a more digital audience.

  • N

    newsjacking

    Newsjacking is the practice of aligning a brand with a current event in an attempt to generate media attention and boost the brand's exposure.

  • O

    OCR (optical character recognition)

    OCR (optical character recognition) is the use of technology to distinguish printed or handwritten text characters inside digital images of physical documents, such as a scanned paper document.

  • OpenText ECM Suite

    OpenText Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Suite is a bundled group of content management software made by Open Text Corporation, whose programs include document management, record management, email management and web content management.

  • P

    paperless office

    The paperless office is an umbrella term for business practices that improve the workplace by reducing reliance on paper.

  • R

    records information management (RIM)

    Records information management (RIM) is a corporate area of endeavor involving the administration of all business records through their life cycle.

  • records management

    Records management (RM) is the administration of records and documented information for the entirety of its lifecycle, which includes creation, maintenance, use, storage, retrieval and disposal.

  • records retention schedule

    A records retention schedule is a policy that depicts how long data items must be kept, as well as the disposal guidelines for these data items.

  • right to be forgotten

    The right to be forgotten is the concept that individuals have the civil right to request that personal information be removed from the Internet.

  • S

    search engine marketing (SEM)

    Search engine marketing (SEM) is an approach to advertising that helps companies' content rank higher in search engine queries.

  • Secure File Transfer Protocol (SSH File Transfer Protocol)

    SFTP is a term that refers to either Secure File Transfer Protocol or SSH File Transfer Protocol, and is a computing network protocol for accessing and managing files on remote systems.

  • semantic network (knowledge graph)

    A semantic network is a knowledge structure that illustrates how concepts are related to one another and how they interconnect.

  • SharePoint administrator

    A SharePoint administrator manages an organization's installation of the Microsoft SharePoint collaboration and content management platform.

  • SharePoint farm

    A SharePoint farm is a collection of servers that work in concert to provide a set of basic SharePoint services to support a single site.

  • SharePoint sprawl

    SharePoint sprawl occurs when end users create a new site to categorize content that could have been stored in an existing site, or categorize content poorly so it's difficult to find later on.

  • Slack software

    Slack software is a cloud-based collaboration software suite. Originally founded in 2009 as a chat tool for a now-defunct gaming technology, Slack has gained currency among enterprises and is broadening into a collaboration platform with capabilities beyond just messaging.

  • snackable content

    Snackable content is website content that is designed to be easy for readers to consume and to share.

  • social business (social enterprise)

    Social business is an umbrella term used to describe an organization that includes social media as part of its business plan.

  • social media dashboard

    A social media dashboard is a social media management tool that individuals or companies can use to coordinate a social media presence across multiple channels or accounts, through a single interface.

  • social media metrics

    Social media metrics refer to the measurements that companies use to gauge the impact of their efforts on social media platforms, and the impact of social media activity on a company’s revenue.

  • social media ROI

    Social media ROI refers to the return on investment a company can expect to make from its investment in social media technologies.

  • T

    take-down request

    A take-down request, also called a notice and take down request, is a procedure for asking an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or search engine to remove or disable access to illegal, irrelevant or outdated information.

  • taxonomy

    Taxonomy is the science of classification according to a predetermined system, with the resulting catalog being used to provide a conceptual framework for discussion or analysis.

  • technology-assisted review (TAR)

    Technology-assisted review (TAR) uses software to search and sort through documents that are relevant for the purposes of e-discovery.

  • V

    vanity URL (vanity uniform resource locator)

    A vanity uniform resource locator is a truncated URL that extends an organization's brand.

  • W

    web content management system (WCMS)

    A web content management system (WCMS) is a type of content management system (CMS) that provides an organization with a way to manage digital information on a website through creating and maintaining content without prior knowledge of web programming or markup languages.

  • web development framework (WDF)

    A web development framework is a set of resources and tools for software developers to build and manage web applications, web services and websites.

  • white hat link building

    White hat link building strives to drive traffic to a website through search engine optimization techniques, such as relevant linking to other, relevant content that enhances users' experience, generation of quality content and more.

  • WordPress

    WordPress is free, open source publishing software that can be installed locally on a web server and viewed on a proprietary web site or hosted in the cloud and viewed on the WordPress web site.

  • workflow automation

    Workflow automation is an approach to making the flow of tasks, documents and information across work-related activities perform independently in accordance with defined business rules.

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