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Preservation: An Ancient Lesson

By Bob Larrivee posted 04-30-2014 19:28

  

My wife and I had the opportunity to explore the ancient ruins in Rome, Athens and Ephesus. It was amazing to see the architectural accomplishments and how these structures have survived these many years. When you are standing amongst the ruins and see major portions of these ancient buildings still standing, knowing that the design was by human not software. The writings and carvings found within these structures, having been interpreted so that all can understand their meaning, makes it all the more impressive. This led me to think about our current times and the question of what will it be like centuries from now, and what will remain of our existence?

50 Years from Now

 Will the infrastructure stand up to the tests of time? Will our information stores still be available and more importantly, accessible? The ancients documented many things through stone carvings, etchings and paintings that have endured the tests of time and they provided keys to unlock the mysteries of their meaning through translation tools like the Rosetta Stone; so what of your technology infrastructure and format? Are you planning for information preservation?

In my view

The ancient civilizations were well aware that in order to preserve their history and transfer their knowledge to future generations, adaptation and translation to emerging languages was essential. Long-term preservation of their information with a means to translate to a common form was part of the plan, thus the creation of the Rosetta Stone.

Beginning Today

Think in the same way as the ancients, in that years from now, information that is vital to your organization must not only be made available but accessible. You need to look toward the future and prepare for transitional migration to newer formats and media. Preservation is an essential part of any ECM environment and should be part of yours. If as an organization, you are ready to move forward with preservation planning but are not sure where to begin or what to do next, seek professional assistance and/or training to get you started. The key to the future, lies in the past.

 About the Author

Bob Larrivee is Director of Custom Research at AIIM, and an internationally recognized subject matter expert and thought leader with over thirty years of experience in the fields of information and process management. Bob is an avid techie with a focus on process improvement, and the application of advanced technologies to enhance and automate business operations. 

Bob Larrivee, Director of Custom Research – AIIM
Email me: blarrivee@aiim.org

Follow me on Twitter – BobLarrivee
www.aiim.org/training  

 

I will be speaking at the following events:

•   Fusion 2014, May 5-8, 2014 in Dallas, TX

•   Share 2014, June 18-20, 2014 in Johannesburg, SA

•   AIIM Forum UK, June 25, 2014 in London UK

•   NIRMA 2014, August 10-13, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV

 



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