Enterprise workflow automation: Streamlining processes for faster outcomes

In enterprise content marketing, small problems don’t always stay small. If you’re manually copying and pasting blog content between third-party editing tools, for example, a minor formatting issue might delay publication, which means a product doesn’t get supported, which leaves customers confused, which hinders engagement, and so on. 

Even when you’re not tackling detail-heavy challenges, dependence on manual tasks can leave skilled marketers, editors, and content creators chained to keyboards for hours, when their time and focus would be much better spent elsewhere. 

All those inefficiencies add up to significant burdens, especially at the enterprise level, where content publication typically involves complex, multi-team workflows, across multiple brands, regions, and languages. 

In that context, efficiency isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a critical component of business success — which is why workflow automation should be a priority for every enterprise brand seeking to optimize content creation.

In this post, we’re going to discuss that. We’ll explore how enterprise workflow automation software helps large organizations streamline complex content tasks, the challenges that entails, and how Contentful enables automated workflows at enterprise level. 

Let’s dive in.

What is enterprise workflow automation?

Enterprise workflow automation is the practice of reducing or removing time-consuming manual tasks from workflows in large organizations. It necessarily entails the integration of automation tools with the goal of boosting efficiency, accuracy, and execution speed. 

It’s important to note that “workflow automation” isn’t the same as “basic task automation.” That’s because it involves the efficient interconnection of people, business processes, and technologies — in other words, the complex workflows that power business outcomes within a company. 

Why does enterprise workflow automation matter?

In enterprise contexts, workflows inevitably get really complex because business infrastructure can be so vast, spanning multiple different departments, brands, websites, regions, and even languages. 

If we’re talking about content marketing, for example, manual friction quickly affects efficiency. The need to copy and paste content between different tools introduces errors and fractures brand voice. Manual handoffs and dependencies between different teams can cause delays and bottlenecks. Content formatted for websites may not fit mobile app templates and need to be adjusted by an engineer. Messaging for audiences in one part of the world may not resonate for audiences in another and need to be translated or localized — the list goes on.

Now imagine dealing with those problems at scale across sprawling ecosystems, with complex business processes, where websites quickly become cluttered with duplicate, inaccurate, or out-of-date content, and where factors like regulatory compliance, brand reputation, and global deadlines are critical.

How does workflow automation help?

Replacing manual effort with automated processes isn’t an end in itself. Finding the right enterprise workflow automation solution is a means to sidestep or even eliminate the stress, cost, and waste of manual workflow friction.

Measurable ROI

The speed, efficiency, and control that workflow automation delivers translates to measurable ROI gains thanks to the streamlining of resources and reduction of costs. In fact, workflow automation multiplies ROI because skilled workers get to use those freed-up resources, along with their own focus and time, on value-adding strategic tasks. 

Faster execution of tasks

Focusing on teams and day-to-day execution, the most tangible benefit of workflow automation is the speed boost it delivers for tedious, repetitive tasks. Where these tasks previously meant long hours at the keyboard, switching between numerous third-party apps, annoying copy-paste errors, and the subsequent need for remediation, automation can get that work done in minutes, or even seconds, at the click of a button.  

Stronger governance

Workflow automation delivers stronger oversight of the content production process for editors and marketers. From dashboards displaying real-time progress on content in the workflow, to role-based access and publication scheduling tools, automation offers a more responsive level of control at every stage of the content lifecycle.

Better collaboration

The automation of frontend content tasks, such as image tagging, translation, and localization, makes it easier for members of different content teams to collaborate. Not only does that frontend flexibility allow them to work together more efficiently, but it reduces technical dependencies, so they can get content published without needing to involve developers.

Faster time to market

The removal of manual handoffs between teams means that individual pieces of content move faster through the publication workflow, reducing time to market significantly. Content teams can also integrate specific workflow tools, such as “brand consistency” checks to help manage high volumes of similar content.

Easier scaling

For enterprise organizations with digital ecosystems that span multiple channels, websites, brands, and languages, workflow automation is a foundation for efficiency scaling. The compounding efficiency benefits not only expand the organization’s capacity to generate content, but ensure that it doesn’t compromise on content quality, or undermine its brand voice or messaging as it grows. 

How does Contentful help?

Knowing what the benefits of workflow automation are and actually implementing them for your business are two different things. 

While legacy content platforms offer all-in-one, out-of-the-box functionality, that kind of monolithic architecture can prevent content teams from keeping pace with the constant evolution of enterprise-level marketing. That lack of responsiveness means that legacy platforms typically aren’t friendly to brands that need to refresh their tech stacks, adapt to new audiences, or integrate the latest innovations.

Contentful does things differently, leveraging microservice, API-first, cloud, and headless (MACH) architecture to support brands as they develop and implement automated workflows across their infrastructure.

Our platform is built to deliver on the efficiency, accessibility, and flexibility promises of workflow automation, giving enterprise teams the power to launch new campaigns or new websites quickly, integrate new tools into the tech stack seamlessly, and scale to produce content for new audiences without compromising quality. 

How do we do that?

Structured content

In Contentful, content is modeled as modular, reusable building blocks. Content teams can retrieve these structured components to spin up new pages, campaigns, or digital experiences in minutes — without having to recreate assets from scratch, and without having to spend time formatting the content for its new environment. 

Workflow complexity

Whether managing multiple websites or publishing in multiple languages, Contentful provides intuitive, dedicated content spaces which serve as content repositories, and that feed into workflows seamlessly. Content can be shared across different spaces to maintain consistency while still allowing autonomy for local content teams where needed.

Localization, translation, and personalization

Contentful streamlines content localization and translation by enabling teams to manage and automate those workflows directly. Similarly, Contentful streamlines personalization: Editors can leverage customer data within the UI to tailor content to specific segments at the click of a button. 

Role-based permissions

Contentful extends workflow automation to content governance, with role-based permission features that clarify content ownership and streamline editorial approvals. Using the Workflows tool, for example, content teams can apply unique permissions to content based on its completion status, and set automated publication dates for individual pieces of content or batches of content.

Extensibility

The inherent extensibility of the Contentful platform means that brands have a wide scope of automation possibilities, and can add new capabilities to their tech stacks without compatibility concerns. That means backend integrations like translation tools, digital asset management (DAM) platforms, product catalogs, and more, can be swapped and upgraded seamlessly as needs change. 

Agile work

Contentful facilitates agile workflows, which means technical and non-technical teams can work together in parallel, without creating bottlenecks. With technical dependencies removed, editors and marketers can make necessary changes to content, while developers can test out new functionalities and features without disruption or downtime. 

AI-powered automation

Contentful’s AI Actions feature builds native automation into the content editing process. From keyword generation and meta-tagging to bulk translation, AI Actions streamlines the content management and SEO processes from end to end. Teams can automate using a range of templated Actions, or customize with their own prompts for more specific tasks. 

Enterprise challenges, enterprise solutions

Enterprise workflow management inevitably entails enterprise complexity, but that doesn’t mean your content creators, editors, and marketers need to struggle.

Automation is more than a speed boost for your content tasks; it’s a value-adding strategy that can knit your workflows together, smooth out friction, amplify ROI, and create meaningful change for employees. 

Freed from the keyboard and looming deadline pressure, your writers, designers, editors, and marketers can focus on what they do best: producing compelling digital experiences that deliver your brand’s message clearly and consistently, drive engagement, boost conversions, and strengthen customer relationships. 

You can find out how enterprise organizations are using Contentful to transform their content workflows, explore the full range of AI Actions demos, or talk to our sales team to discuss how the platform can change the way you work. 

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