EMC announced today that the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) replaced its outdated, paper-based system with an extensive online contract management solution based on the EMC Documentum enterprise content management (ECM) platform. Consequently, the United States' premier labor union representing actors in film, television, industrials, commercials and music videos, has dramatically improved service to nearly 120,000 members while saving SAG personnel time, lowering operational costs, increasing efficiency and reducing the risk of misplaced or lost information. "Managing and accessing millions of paper-based contracts, legal documents, resumes, payment schedules, photos and other information was not only time-consuming, but also resulted in duplicate efforts, excess costs and inefficient, error-prone processes," said Beverly Kite, SAG's Chief Information Officer. "We worked with EMC to develop an electronic repository of information and intellectual capital that improves the way we do business to better serve our dues-paying constituents." SAG realized that a new, dynamic corporate Web site would enable personnel to manage all types of content including documents, web pages and rich media. Members are now empowered to access their personal information seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. After researching leading content management solutions, SAG chose the EMC Documentum ECM platform as the foundation for this web portal. EMC Documentum's direct integration to the BEA WebLogic Portal delivers out-of-the-box content management capabilities directly in the portal to allow SAG employees and members to securely access, contribute and interact with content. Using EMC Documentum Web Publisher, SAG developed XML-based templates that enable authors in the corporate office and branch offices to publish web content without knowing HTML. Additionally, Documentum workflow capabilities automate the review and approval process for SAG's Corporate Communications department, so web content can be rapidly pushed to the SAG Web site. For the contract management system, SAG integrated Documentum with Input Accel from Captiva Software Corporation to scan and save documents directly into the Documentum repository. "We were confident the Documentum solution could address all our content management issues, from web content management to contracts management and digital asset management, and that it would meet our current needs and position us well for the future," said Kite. "The new website has been a huge success and dramatically improved service for all SAG members. Now, with instant access to critical information, members can manage personal, professional, and business chores at home and be more productive on the set." The new SAG Web site is used regularly today by SAG members to keep informed of news and events, find answers to contract questions, check residuals, pay dues and update their profile information. The contract and knowledge management application is currently being accessed by 280 SAG employees. Using five scanning stations, the SAG Document Center staff scans approximately 1,000 historical documents each day. SAG is currently evaluating the Documentum platform to support its online casting services, claims and case management processes.