AWS Cuts Search Time by 80% with Enterprise Content Management

Learn how 70K member non-profit organization modernized its content management, publishing, and collaboration by replacing legacy systems with a cloud-based ECMS across multiple business units.

Overview

AWS Achieves Content Centralization & Modernization with Cloud-based ECMS

Founded in 1919, AWS is a non-profit organization, committed to advancing the science and application of welding. With over 73K members and more than 300 technical publications, AWS sets industry standards and provides vital resources. As AWS serves welders across every major industry from aviation to construction, centralizing content operations across the enterprise became a massive challenge. To manage resources, publish new collaterals, and develop new assets, business units leveraged multiple homegrowns platforms to get the job done.


Learn how Icreon helped AWS to build a cloud-based Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS), that helps the organization in centralizing its content operations, modernize content creation and publishing.

The Challenge

Legacy System with No Centralized Content Repository, Management, and Distribution Processes

AWS faced a complex digital challenge: managing vast amounts of unstructured content spread across 13 distinct business units, each operating independently. Over time, the organization accumulated ten terabytes of redundant, siloed data stored in disparate systems, including homegrown platforms, SharePoint sites, and various digital asset management (DAM) tools. This fragmented approach hindered cross-department collaboration and made content difficult to search, share, and manage effectively.

 

AWS’s content was central to its mission of supporting welders across industries with essential standards, certifications, educational materials, and government regulations. However, without a centralized repository, it struggled to create, maintain, and distribute content efficiently. The lack of role-based permissions led to issues with data security and access control, as all content was publicly available without restrictions. This presented a risk not only for the organization but also for the proprietary and regulatory content they managed.

 

The AWS aimed to implement an Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) to streamline content operations, reduce redundancy, and establish a single source of truth. They needed a solution that would not only consolidate content but also enhance security, enable role-based access, and improve the overall efficiency of content creation, distribution, and consumption. Additionally, AWS sought to modernize its content delivery system to align with its broader digital transformation goals, ensuring a better experience for both internal teams and external members.

The Solution

Development of a User-Friendly and Scalable Enterprise Content Management System

When the project started, the Icreon team performed an in-depth analysis of the existing legacy system and content workflows, like how content is created, stored, and shared amongst staff and end users. This comprehensive audit revealed multiple issues: content was scattered across various platforms, there was no central repository, and content sharing lacked the necessary access controls, leading to inefficiencies and security risks. Additionally, the absence of a unified source of truth hindered collaboration and resulted in redundant, unstructured data spread across the organization.

 

With these findings, Icreon designed a tailored digital roadmap aimed at building a robust Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS) powered by Sitecore Content Hub. The ECMS centralized content operations, allowing AWS to manage all content from a single platform. Key features included metadata tagging for better content classification, enhanced search capabilities, and collaborative content creation workflows. Role-based access controls ensured that content could be securely shared with specific users or departments while restricting access to unauthorized parties. This solved the previous issue of public content sharing without permissions.

 

In addition to the structural improvements, Icreon introduced time-limited access to certain types of content, ensuring that data could be shared only when necessary. This provided AWS with much-needed agility in managing digital assets and enforcing compliance. By leveraging headless content delivery through APIs, the ECMS allowed seamless integration with external systems, further extending the organization’s digital reach. The final solution not only improved operational efficiency and security but also supported AWS’s mission to provide up-to-date resources and standards to its members across multiple industries.

Our Approach
The Result

AWS Modernizes Content Management Across 13 Units, Cutting Search Time by 80%

The creation and implementation of ECMS resulted in significantly streamlined content management processes for AWS.

 

Unified 250,000+ Digital Assets Across Departments for Centralized Access

By implementing the Enterprise Content Management System (ECMS), AWS centralized over 250,000 digital assets into a single, organized repository. This unified system allowed teams across all 13 business units to seamlessly access, share, and collaborate on content from one location, eliminating redundancy and improving communication across the organization.

 

Enabling enterprise-wide content discovery and recommendations

The new system facilitated enterprise-wide content discovery and recommendations, allowing users to easily find relevant information and receive tailored content suggestions, thereby improving access and engagement.

 

Reducing content development efforts by 15% within the organization

By centralizing content management, AWS reduced development efforts by 15%, optimizing processes and enhancing productivity. The streamlined workflows and efficient resource management contributed to significant time and cost savings.

 

Assets search made easy with semantic & metadata tagging

By using semantic and metadata tagging, asset searches were greatly simplified, allowing users to locate and access relevant content quickly. This enhanced search functionality improved overall efficiency and user satisfaction.

 

AI-based image tagging for better organization of content

Icreon implemented AI-driven image tagging to enhance content organization by automatically categorizing and tagging images. This advanced feature improved management and retrieval, streamlined content workflows, and significantly boosted content discoverability.

Harness the Power of ECMS to Unify and Streamline Your Data Today!