The Case for Enterprise Content Teams to Standardize on the Microsoft Azure Ecosystem

People involved with creating, managing and publishing enterprise content face multiple challenges to ensure content strategies support business objectives. With many cooks in the content management kitchen, from subject-matter experts to content architects, line of business managers and graphic designers, each plays a crucial role in creating and executing enterprise content assets that influence target audiences and contribute to the bottom line.

Fortunately, enterprises are identifying the wider Microsoft Azure ecosystem powered by Azure OpenAI to help make the necessary investments to modernize their IT operations infrastructure, support their ability to optimize internal processes, and execute a successful content strategy where content preferences and consumption vary by individuals and their specific use cases.

With Microsoft Office 365 arguably the most widely adopted productivity application of choice for global organizations, content teams have a plethora of opportunities to create impactful content that is personalized and can be securely delivered via multiple channels instantly. And they can do this without changing the way they work while eliminating the complexities and unnecessary costs that are typically associated with legacy approaches to creating and publishing business content.

In today's AI-powered digital transformation era, every organization is on a different migration path to leveraging the cloud. Some organizations are 'all cloud' while others have adopted a 'hybrid model' that allows businesses to manage certain workloads on-premise and others via the cloud. What is undisputed is organizations that are migrating workloads to the cloud are putting trust in Microsoft Azure. It's been reported that 4 out of 5 Fortune 500 companies rely on the Microsoft Azure platform for cloud services. This growth rate will only continue to surge with Microsoft Azure's OpenAI enterprise capabilities.

So how do enterprise content teams responsible for creating and publishing content benefit from Microsoft Azure? Let's count the ways.

1. Automation. Leveraging Azure supports your team's ability to streamline content creation, management and publishing workflows through the power of an automation process. For example, our Quark Publishing Platform (QPP) NextGen ECLM solution integrates with Microsoft's Power Automate to enable no-code, end-to-end automation of content workflows. It does this by connecting business systems like Salesforce and SAP, project management tools, and many other essential applications into the enterprise content lifecycle process. This drives efficiency and ensures seamless automation across multiple platforms with accurate, optimal content output.

2. Scalability. The Azure infrastructure can scale to support evolving content strategies. This includes any content type while ensuring published content is personalized. Tailored to support your business needs today and into the future, Azure streamlines content management, fuels team collaboration, and optimizes data processing to support your organization's ability to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing digital landscape.

3. Security. Azure features the most robust security features and compliance certifications, ensuring that published content meets regulatory standards that vary by industry and geography.

4. Collaboration. Azure creates the framework to foster seamless collaboration with every member of the enterprise content team. Content team members can collaborate on content within their familiar environments and reach stakeholders in their native Office 356 apps - where they spend the majority of their day - or notify via Microsoft Teams if time sensitive action is required. For example, Quark's content automation enhances collaboration and productivity by ensuring content creation and editing processes happen within existing Office 365 tools, minimizing disruption to content workflows.

5. Analytics. Access to analytics helps businesses better understand what content is of most value to target audiences, down to the specific section of a content asset. Your business can better understand if content created is supporting your goals and make smarter decisions as to what content should be reused or retired.

6. Omnichannel publishing. Content teams can ensure fast and reliable content delivery with the power to create content once and publish to any digital output instantly.

7. Integration. Azure seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft productivity tools your enterprise teams already use and love. Content teams can benefit from the ability to tap into an entire ecosystem where productivity tools are all connected across the entire business. The integration framework ensures your content teams are using the most accurate, compliance-controlled data in your content lifecycle.