Consonance - OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management Integration and Automation

Common Integration Use Cases Between Consonance and OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management

Consonance and OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management complement each other well in publishing environments that need both strong workflow control and formal records governance. Consonance manages the creation, editorial development, production, rights, and metadata lifecycle for books and related assets, while OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management provides compliant records declaration, retention, and disposition controls. Together, they help publishers improve operational control, reduce compliance risk, and create a defensible audit trail across the publishing lifecycle.

1. Automatic declaration of final publishing records

When a title reaches publication, Consonance can send final approved manuscript files, cover artwork, metadata snapshots, contracts, and production sign-off documents to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management for formal declaration as records. This ensures the authoritative version of each publishing artifact is preserved with retention rules applied.

• Direction: Consonance to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management
• Business value: Creates a compliant record of what was published, when, and by whom
• Operational benefit: Reduces manual filing and eliminates gaps in recordkeeping

2. Rights and licensing agreement retention

Consonance tracks rights and permissions for titles, authors, territories, and formats. Executed rights agreements, amendments, and termination notices can be pushed into OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management as controlled records with retention schedules aligned to legal and contractual obligations.

• Direction: Consonance to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management
• Business value: Supports legal defensibility for rights exploitation and expiration decisions
• Operational benefit: Gives legal, rights, and editorial teams a single governed archive for agreements

3. Editorial and production approval audit trail

Editorial briefs, copyediting approvals, proof approvals, and production sign-offs managed in Consonance can be archived in OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management as formal evidence of review and authorization. This is especially useful for regulated content, sensitive publications, or titles requiring strict approval controls.

• Direction: Consonance to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management
• Business value: Provides a complete audit trail for internal controls and external audits
• Operational benefit: Simplifies retrieval of approval evidence during disputes or compliance reviews

4. Retention management for superseded title assets

As manuscripts, metadata records, and production files evolve in Consonance, older versions can be transferred to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management for retention and eventual disposition. This helps publishers keep working systems lean while preserving historical versions according to policy.

• Direction: Consonance to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management
• Business value: Reduces storage risk and ensures obsolete content is disposed of appropriately
• Operational benefit: Prevents teams from using outdated files or metadata

5. Contract and royalty support documentation governance

Consonance manages royalty-related workflows and title metadata, while supporting documents such as royalty statements, payment approvals, and supporting correspondence can be declared into OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management. This creates a governed record set for finance, rights, and audit teams.

• Direction: Consonance to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management
• Business value: Improves transparency for royalty disputes and financial audits
• Operational benefit: Centralizes evidence needed for payment validation and reconciliation

6. Preservation of publication metadata snapshots

At key milestones such as acquisition, prepress, release, and out-of-print status, Consonance can send metadata snapshots to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management. These snapshots preserve the exact title, edition, format, territory, and distribution details that were active at each point in time.

• Direction: Consonance to OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management
• Business value: Maintains a historical record of published content and commercial status
• Operational benefit: Supports audits, catalog disputes, and long-term title history management

7. Legal hold and disposition coordination for publishing records

When litigation, regulatory review, or contractual disputes arise, OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management can place legal holds on records originating from Consonance, preventing deletion or disposition. Once the hold is released, retention policies can resume automatically.

• Direction: OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management to Consonance
• Business value: Protects the publisher from accidental destruction of evidence
• Operational benefit: Ensures publishing teams continue working without compromising legal controls

8. Cross-team access to governed publishing records

Consonance users in editorial, production, and rights can continue working in their operational workflows, while compliance, legal, and records teams access the same content through OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management as governed records. Integration can synchronize identifiers and links so users can move from a title record in Consonance to the official archived record in OpenText.

• Direction: Bi-directional reference and metadata synchronization
• Business value: Aligns operational execution with compliance oversight
• Operational benefit: Reduces duplicate filing and improves discoverability across departments

In practice, the strongest integration pattern is to use Consonance as the system of work for publishing operations and OpenText Extended ECM - Records Management as the system of record for governed retention, legal hold, and disposition. This combination helps publishers maintain speed in editorial and production workflows while meeting formal records management requirements.