Archiving and Document Management Trends 2022

Archiving and Document Management Trends 2022

In addition to the standardization of document-based processes and cost savings, the coming year will also be about reducing the data and document footprint and getting rid of unnecessary ballast. Against this backdrop, specialists in archiving and document management predict four key trends for 2022.

1. Sustainability means "delete

In recent months, the topic of "Green IT" has picked up steam again. Because advancing digitization is accompanied by rising energy and resource consumption, and the mountains of data waste consume vast amounts of electricity, a trend reversal will take place here. The reason: Only those who regularly delete their data and create a single point of truth (SPoT) for documents will act sustainably. Therefore, flexible data and document management is also a consideration when migrating to S/4HANA, which around 69 percent of SAP customers are planning according to the SAP Quarterly Statement. Those who "clean up their basement" before migration can significantly reduce their own data and document footprint and save costs thanks to intelligent archiving.

2. Renting instead of buying: Archive services on the rise

The numbers speak for themselves: cloud computing revenue has risen from €8.3 billion in 2019 to €12.1 billion in 2021. This trend will continue. Cloud-capable solutions are also gaining in importance in data and document archiving.

importance. In addition to the technical, organizational and tax advantages that cloud-based solutions can bring, the change in cost distribution is also significant and is particularly attractive for small and medium-sized enterprises. A rental model can thus lead to a modernization of document archiving very quickly and without major upfront financing.

3. The cloud is becoming even more important  

Companies are currently facing particular challenges: New user requirements, increasing competitive pressure and digital business processes. The migration of certain applications and storage systems to the cloud is therefore a high priority for IT decision-makers. SAP's move to the cloud is just one of many indicators of this. According to the latest Lünendonk study, 87 percent of SAP customers would like to have completed the rollout to S/4HANA by 2025. A large proportion of these plan to use a hybrid cloud - a combination of on-premises, private and public cloud. In this context, the CMIS interface standard is attracting more and more attention. This can be used to create an "intelligent document" that can access a wide variety of applications. A cost-intensive ECM system is thus no longer required.

3. Rethinking document-based processes 

RISE with SAP is known to almost everyone in the SAP community. SAP's idea of creating a holistic concept that goes beyond the S/4HANA transformation is one of the trends of 2022. Why? Document-based processes continue to gain importance and should help ensure transparency and efficiency along the value chain. Historically grown document silos, which impair the efficiency of digital business processes, are to be replaced for good. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce end-to-end processes and eliminate manual, paper processes or processes in parallel systems.