There once was a firm in Nantucket......

There once was a firm in Nantucket
That stored all their content in a bucket
Until a Lawyer came through, citing discovery rules
"Did you search in every storage pocket?"

I know, this is not what you thought it would be but it got your attention, which well it should. Even though you may think things are in great shape because you store everything in a "repository", do you have a consistent structure with access controls and audit trails in place to prove your position? Is your repository an actual ECM system or is it the network storage infrastructure?

These are issues you need to be considering in relation to content, records and especially correspondence via email. All of this and more is open to discovery. All of this may be stored in a repository but it can also be in places outside of the repository like thumb drives or local drives. Even if you have everyone using a central repository and not other devices, is the structure and terminology used to store and manage consistent?

If your information management and gathering effort is called into question, you may be asked to prove that you have policies and procedures in place that are followed by your employees, using a consistent structure and taxonomy for storing and managing information that is also tracked for purposes of auditing and reporting.

Perhaps you are just starting out on your journey to address this or you may have something in place and are seeking ways to enhance your current environment or methodologies. AIIM Education is a great place to turn. The Enterprise Content Management (ECM), Electronic Records Management (ERM), Business Process Management (BPM), and Information Organization and Access (IOA) programs are for you. Comprehensive and concise, these programs deliver a holistic approach you can use immediately. So why wait? Contact AIIM today. www.aiim.org/training

Bob Larrivee - AIIM