Enterprise content management (ECM) is a software application that helps organisations create, organise, manage, integrate, secure, preserve, distribute, and publish unstructured content, such as Word, PDF, PPT, XLS, images, videos, and audio files. An important element of an effective ECM system is its integration with business applications, allowing users to work collaboratively within the context of the business process across the enterprise. ECM allows organisations to categorize and structure content in a meaningful, searchable way, improving the user experience and providing important analytical capabilities to drive better decision-making. Robust ECM solutions also provide strong records management capabilities to help lower costs and reduce compliance risks. Software-as-a-service–based ECM applications are commonly referred to as content services.