(ERM, Enterprise Report Management) The capture,
archiving and publishing, in digital form, of (typically
mainframe generated) documents such as accounting and
financial reports. ERM often replaces systems based on paper
or
microfilm.
ERM usually captures data from print streams and stores it
on hard drives, storage area networks or
optical disk
drives. The data is indexed and can be retreived at the
desktop with a
web browser or a
fat client. ERM systems
are part of enterprise content management or electronic document management.
An example application is
PearlDoc QuickFile Information Management System (IMS).
An early replacement for greenbar printed reports was
Computer Output on Microfilm (COM, not to be confused with
Microsoft's
Component Object Model). This was superseded
by Computer Output to Laser Disk (or Disc - COLD) which used
optical media.
In 1999 the
AIIM renamed COLD to ERM/COLD to reflect the
variety of media in use. This was promoted, in 2002, by Mason
Grigsby - widely reputed as "The Father of COLD" for his
seminal work with INSCI in the late 1980s. Judging from
their web site, AIIM don't seem too sure whether ERM is
"Electronic", "Enterprise" or both.