This report analyzes the trends and development of enterprise content management (ECM) technologies within Asian banks. The findings are derived from a survey conducted by Financial Insights covering 23 banks across six countries.

ECM refers to technologies used to capture, manage, and deliver content and documents related to organizational processes. Banks in Asia are realizing that adopting ECM technologies is an initiative that increases the efficiency of processes which in turn adds more value to business operations. Figure 1 indicates the current perception of the importance of ECM within banks.

Abhishek Kumar, senior research analyst for Financial Insights' Asia/Pacific IT Benchmarking Service, notes, "Enterprise content management in Asia's banks has been increasingly utilized across multiple lines of businesses. It is heartening to see Asian banks realizing the positive impact of ECM on their bottom line in addition to the usual operational-side advantages."

Kumar concludes, "ECM initiatives in these banks are moving towards standardization on an enterprisewide platform and will only reach its full potential until they are well established. Ultimately, this technology will aid banks in streamlining operations and enhancing productivity, resulting in a higher quality of customer service. Therefore, financial institutions should not overlook or delay ECM-related initiatives."