ECM Cloud Hosting
Your ECM platform deserves a hosting environment that is secure, governed, and actively managed, not just moved to the cloud and left there.
Moving an ECM platform to the cloud should reduce the burden on internal IT, improve governance, and give your organization a more flexible, supportable environment over time. But the path matters. A standardized vendor cloud limits your ability to customize and adapt. A DIY approach shifts the management burden without reducing it. And staying on-premises means your team continues to carry costs and risks that grow over time. DataBank helps organizations move their ECM environment to the cloud in a way that actually improves how the platform is governed, supported, and managed, not just where it lives.
Where ECM Cloud Hosting Starts to Breaks Down
Where Are You Feeling This?
- Your ECM platform runs on aging on-premise infrastructure that IT struggles to maintain.
- You moved to the cloud but still own more of the management burden than expected.
- Platform updates are delayed because internal resources are not available.
- Support response times from your current provider are slower than your operation requires.
- Governance and permissions have drifted since the original implementation.
- IT is spending time managing the ECM environment instead of higher-value work.
What This Looks Like in Daily Operations
This looks different depending on how far the hosting environment has modernized.
In more manual or on-premise environments:
- IT manages server hardware, storage, networking, and updates internally.
- Backup and disaster recovery are manually maintained and inconsistently validated.
- Upgrades are deferred because the effort required exceeds available IT capacity.
- System downtime affects operations because recovery depends on internal staff availability.
In hybrid or DIY cloud environments:
- The platform lives in AWS or Azure but IT still owns configuration, scaling, and monitoring.
- Cloud costs fluctuate and are difficult to predict.
- Teams manage ECM application health alongside cloud infrastructure simultaneously.
- Support depends on internal knowledge that may not be consistently available.
In vendor-managed cloud environments:
- Changes happen on the vendor's timeline, not yours.
- Customization is limited by a multi-tenant environment.
- Support escalations move slowly through a transactional relationship.
- Integration changes require vendor involvement even for routine adjustments.
Across all of these, the pattern is the same:
The platform is hosted, but not actively governed, optimized, or supported in a way that keeps it performing reliably under real operational pressure.
Why This Happens
The hosting and management decisions get made separately
Organizations choose a cloud environment based on infrastructure needs, then discover that platform governance, support, and optimization require a separate ongoing commitment that was not planned for.
Vendor-managed environments prioritize standardization over flexibility
Hyland's cloud is built for consistency at scale, which limits how quickly individual configurations, integrations, and support requests can be addressed.
DIY cloud shifts the burden without reducing it
Deploying OnBase in AWS or Azure gives maximum control but requires IT to own everything from security and monitoring to updates, often without dedicated ECM expertise on staff.
Governance drifts without active oversight
Permissions expand, retention weakens, and integrations age. Without a managed oversight model, ECM environments become harder to trust even when they appear to be running normally.
What this leads to:
- Platform updates are delayed, and the environment falls behind supported versions.
- Internal IT spends disproportionate time managing ECM infrastructure.
- Governance and compliance controls erode without active monitoring.
- Support issues take longer to resolve than the operation can afford.
How We Help Your ECM Environment Perform Over Time
Step 1
Assess the Environment
Know your environment before choosing a path.
What this looks like:
- Review hosting setup and governance state.
- Identify integration and compliance gaps.
Step 2
Plan & Migrate
Move without losing governance or control.
What this looks like:
- Map data, metadata, and integrations.
- Validate the environment before go-live.
Step 3
Govern the Platform
Environment stays trusted after migration.
What this looks like:
- Monitor performance, storage, and access.
- Enforce retention controls over time.
Step 4
Support the Operation
Respond quickly when something needs attention.
What this looks like:
- Direct ECM expertise, not a general support queue.
- Proactive monitoring and disaster recovery readiness.
Ways We Support
Manage
Host, govern, and manage your ECM environment so the platform stays trusted and operationally stable.
What Changes:
-
Moving to the cloud is only part of the work. DataBank manages the full hosted environment on an ongoing basis, handling platform updates, integration health, user access governance, retention enforcement, and support. This is the difference between a platform that is hosted and one that is actively maintained by a team with direct ECM expertise.
Real World Example
A state environmental agency managing permitting and compliance records statewide.
The Challenge:
Oklahoma DEQ relied on Zip file storage and freeform fields, leaving records inconsistent, hard to retrieve, and difficult to govern across divisions.
Inconsistent Records
No Standardized Processes
Migration Complexity
The Impact:
DataBank implemented OnBase as a centralized platform, built 55 standardized workflows, and migrated years of content. The agency is now transitioning to The DataBank Cloud for managed hosting, upgrades, and ongoing compliance support.
Centralized Governance
Accelerated Approvals
Managed Hosting Path
Moving to The DataBank Cloud for ongoing platform oversight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes DataBank's ECM cloud hosting different from other vendor-managed options?
Most vendor-managed cloud environments are built for consistency at scale, which limits how quickly individual configurations, integrations, and support requests can be addressed. DataBank’s hosting operates on a private cloud model with more flexibility to customize workflows and integrations, faster and more direct support, and ongoing hands-on governance rather than a transactional support relationship.
We are still running on-premise. How do we know if moving to the cloud is the right next step?
The right time to move is when the cost and effort of maintaining your current environment is growing faster than the value it is delivering. Common indicators include deferred upgrades, IT staff spending disproportionate time on ECM maintenance, governance drift, and integration requests that cannot be addressed without significant internal resources. DataBank can assess your current environment and help you understand what a cloud move would actually require and what it would change.
What does "fully managed" mean in practice?
DataBank handles platform updates, integration monitoring, access governance, disaster recovery readiness, and support so internal IT does not own those responsibilities.
What level of ongoing support does DataBank provide after the migration is complete?
DataBank’s managed hosting model includes ongoing platform updates, integration monitoring, performance oversight, user access governance, disaster recovery readiness, and direct support from a team with ECM expertise. The engagement does not end at go-live. DataBank remains accountable for how the environment performs over time.
How does DataBank handle disaster recovery?
Disaster recovery readiness is part of the managed hosting model, including regular validation of backup and recovery processes.
We roll up our sleeves to solve your greatest challenges.
See where your ECM hosting environment is creating risk and what to address first.