We all have rules we live by. Some we don’t like and others we can easily abide. The plain fact is we need rules, especially in business. Rules give us guidance on what is acceptable practice and they set the standards by which we interact. In information management, we have rules, or governance, over our information. Where it is used, how it is used, who can use it, and so on. It is this information governance (IG) that ensures we are in compliance with regulatory, legal, and industry guidelines.
Driving Forces
Information governance has gained momentum and notoriety, as a result of the increased number of security and information breaches. The type and number of breaches spans across every industry from healthcare to governments. AIIM’s recent Industry Watch report titled Automating Information Governance – Assuring Compliance, shows that the top three information governance failure risks are excess litigation costs, loss of intellectual property, and loss of customer confidence.
Which of the following do you consider to be the biggest risks to your company from a failure of information governance?
In My View
We must be aware of compliance requirements in order to avoid the risks outlined in the AIIM survey. This is where rules, rule and information governance dominates. IG is one of those areas where many organizations feel they have control. Fact is, while there are measures in place, there are also ways to improve. One such improvement is the automation of document capture. My reference of capture here includes both paper and digital documents. Granted the act of capturing paper, scanning, is a manual process managed by humans, but the application of metadata and classification, can be automated. Digital documents are different in the sense that when it is saved, the metadata can automatically be applied. In fact, if you use templates for document creation the template itself has embedded metadata to align with your information management practices and adhere to your information governance program.
Beginning Today
Look at your processes and content related to the process. Determine the compliance issues related to that content and assess how automating the capture, classification, and metadata application of that content can be managed. The best approach is to capture content as early in the process as possible, and automate bringing it into the repository, with appropriate metadata applied. Auto-classification, recognitions technologies, and workflow are all tools that can be used to automate and enhance the capture process, in support of your IG program. Build on what you have, and automate as much as possible.
And don't forget to download a copy of the latest Information Governance research now!
What say you? Do you have a story to tell? What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you have a topic of interest you would like discussed in this forum? Let me know. If you are looking for some great research information from our industry, feel free to visit our research site and download some of our Industry Watch Reports today at www.aiim.org/research
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 and delivering training at the following events:
• 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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