AIIM Knowledge Center Blog

Why not Test Drive AIIM’s 6 Certificate Programs? Worth $450

The AIIM Certificate programs have grown to become the leading training programs to help you find, control and optimize information with 8,500+ course attendees in 2,5 years. Classes are available as online courses, scheduled public courses, or private/in-house courses on request.

This is  your chance to test drive a module from our certificate programs;

• Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Practitioner – Module 9 Classification
• Electronic Records Management (ERM) Practitioner – Module 12 Digital Preservation
• Business Process Management (BPM) Practitioner – Module 8 BPM Technologies
• Information Organization and Access/Search (IOA) Practitioner – Module 7 Introduction to Access
• Email Management (EMM) Practitioner – Module 8 Email Technologies
• Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0) Practitioner – Module 5 The Worker Module

Go to www.aiim.org/testdrive sign in or register and enter the campaign code X1YZA and follow the enrollment instructions.

For further information on AIIM Training go to www.aiim.org/training

Partner Feedback: WinTec Consultancy, Ltd.

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong and join AIIM Training Partner Stephen Lui of WinTec Consulting in an ECM Master class. Here is an excerpt of our conversations.

Bob: Stephen , I want to thank you for allowing me to interview you and for the record, can you provide me with a description of your company and your role with the company?

Stephen:  Bob, I really appreciate of you flying a long way to Hong Kong and conducting the ECM master class this week, as usual, we received a high appreciation from the class attendees of your professionalism and the course has over-achieved everyone's expectation.

I am the Director and Principal Consultant of WinTec Consultancy Limited in Hong Kong. Our company focuses on teaching companies in Hong Kong how to manage information/content by providing ECM consulting and training services. 

Bob:  When did you get the idea to make AIIM Education part of your training focus and what were the drivers for the decision?

Stephen: First of all, I myself have been an AIIM member for more than 10 years. I believe one of the critical success factors of ECM system implementation is to provide training and education to ensure everyone within an organization is up to the same level of understanding of the organization's issues and what tools and methodologies can be used for successful deployment as far as content management is concerned. This is much more useful than providing a good technological solution. 

This is where AIIM education and training come into the picture. AIIM is the best known (also in this part of the world) as an independent association for information management and has the creditability of providing the methodologies and best practices on how to implement ECM system.   

Bob:  What do you see as a benefit for you and future attendees of these programs?

Stephen: The benefit of attending AIIM's programs are two fold; first is you can learn the emergent ECM technologies, currently existed and proven methodologies, to deploy ECM systems. Personally, you can earn the certificate proving you have the necessary skills to manage an ECM program.
 

Bob:  For the future, how do you see the role of AIIM education evolving in relation to your customers?

Stephen: We are still in a pilot phase of doing these programs in Hong Kong which I am certain there is a demand. My plan is to roll out these programs pervasively to most organizations in this region no matter if the attendees are from an end-user organizations or solution providers. Having said that, I hope to work closely with AIIM and localise these programs to tighten the focus on more of the local requirements.

Bob: I want to thank you Stephen, for taking time to talk with me and for sharing your valuable insights and perspectives with our readers. I look forward to a long and growing partnership.

Bob Larrivee -- AIIM

AIIM Student Feedback: Simon Smith of the United Kingdom

I had an opportunity to talk with Simon Smith of GOSS Interactive recently. Here are a few excerpts from our conversation.

Bob:  Simon , I want to thank you for allowing me to interview you and for the record, can you provide me with a description of your company and your role with the company?

Simon:  No worries, my name is Simon Smith and I currently work as a Business Development Manager for GOSS Interactive,  GOSS is primarily focused on providing Web Content Management Solutions to organisations across the UK.  GOSS has a significant presence with the Public Sector with nearly 50 Local Councils using the GOSS Solution.  I am responsible for account management of some of the client base as well as working with new clients in a wide variety of verticals. 

Bob:  When did you get the idea to make AIIM Education part of your training focus and what were the drivers for the decision?

Simon: I have always considered the AIIM Organisation as a major voice in the Information Management arena and have attended a number of conferences in my time and found them to be informative and focused.  As for why an AIIM ERM Course, my company recognised the continued convergence of technologies involved in the ECM arena and it was felt that as a company we needed to gain a clear and unbiased understanding of some of the processes and procedures involved in ERM.

I believe that ERM  has a long future yet to play in the Public Sector here in the UK. Hardly a day goes by when that vast quantities of information are lost due to poor policies, processes and procedure with little or no controls. Its true certain organisations have implemented some projects but with limited impact and success, indeed many of the reasons as to potential failure were covered in the course.   

Bob:  What do you see as a benefit for you and future attendees of these programs?

Simon: I feel that for me and my organisation the course I attended has allowed me to talk with greater authority and understanding on the subject of ERM and more widely on ECM as part of my day to day role, this greater understanding has value to clients and prospective clients alike.  As for others, as I have mentioned previously, I believe that ERM will become a major force to be reckoned with in the years to come as more and more information is stored by organisations across the world.  It is vital to these business that they will need a strategy to gain control on their information.

Bob:  For the future, how do you see the role of AIIM education evolving in relation to your position or others in your company?

Simon: For us this is a difficult question, the ERM course was slightly outside our comfort zone but we do recognise the real value it has brought.  As for how AIIM needs to evolve its educational programmes?  I would probably say, more of the same, look at how technology is evolving, how  corporate knowledge and information is fast changing and becoming more of a consumable item.  It is vital for organisations to be made aware of how to safeguard their knowledge and how to maximise it's value to the company, thats where AIIM comes in.

Thanks again for a great course, I would recommend them to anyone who has an involvement in corporate information management, at all levels.

Bob: Thank for your support and for taking time to share your views about AIIM Education with our readers.

Bob Larrivee -- AIIM

What if?

What if the world stood still for just one hour? Would we lose the gravitational effect and find ourselves floating endlessly and uncontrollably out to space?

What if the sun did not shine and the earth was left in darkness for 30 days? Would we find ourselves rapidly in a deep freeze and all vegetation as we know it begin to vanish?

What if your company or organization could not keep up with the demands and changes being placed on it by customers, regulators and employees? Would you survive or slowly fade away into the memories of time?

While we cannot do anything about gravity or the sun, AIIM can help you stay ahead of the curve through training. AIIM provides educational training programs that are designed to both inform you and prepare you to immediately gain benefit as a result applying what you learn in the areas of:

• Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
• Electronic Records Management (ERM)
• Business Process Management (BPM)
• Information Organization and Access (IOA)
• Email Management (EMM)
• Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0)
• PDF/A

In this challenging world of rapidly changing rules, demands and technology, you can prepare yourself and your organization to move forward and meet the challenge head on. Why wait? Contact AIIM today and learn how AIIM's training programs can help you.

www.aiim.org/training

Bob Larrivee - AIIM

Free Test Drive of the Enterprise 2.0 Practitioner Training Program

AIIM, the industry association, has developed an Enterprise 2.0 training course in best practices for using Web 2.0 technologies to improve collaboration and knowledge management within an enterprise. This vendor neutral training program was developed by AIIM based on learning objectives defined by an advisory panel consisting of some of the industry's foremost thinkers on Enterprise 2.0.

The new Enterprise 2.0 (E2.0) Certificate program provides students with an understanding of industry best practices and existing and emerging technologies for Enterprise 2.0.  Course attendees receive access to supporting online courses and exams, and are awarded the AIIM E2.0 Practitioner, Specialist and Master designation after passing the online exams (and case study for Master candidates).   Students learn about the evolution and definition of Enterprise 2.0 technologies; frameworks and concepts; worker models for Enterprise 2.0; risk and control vs. collaboration and innovation; assessing organizational readiness; and best practices for implementing Enterprise 2.0.

AIIM has classes scheduled across North America and provides online courses for attendees’ convenience. For more information about the AIIM training program, visit www.aiim.org/training.

You may test one of the online training modules of this new training program for free by using the campaign code X3B4C below your login on the AIIM website (right side). You do this by first going to www.aiim.org/training, then logging in or creating a new profile on the right side, enter the campaign code, and then press Your Courses.

E2.0 Practitioner Certificate Program has the following modules;

   1. How to Position Enterprise 2.0 in Relationship to IM, BI, KM and Web 2.0

   2. Enterprise 2.0 Techniques

   3. Enterprise 2.0 Frameworks and Concepts

   4. Business Drivers for Enterprise 2.0

   5. Worker Model for Enterprise 2.0

   6. Evolution and Definition of Enterprise 2.0 Technologies - Enterprise 1.0

   7. Evolution and Definition of Enterprise 2.0 Technologies - Enterprise 1.5

   8. Evolution and Definition of Enterprise 2.0 Technologies - Enterprise 2.0

   9. Overview of Enterprise 2.0 Extensions

  10. State of the Enterprise 2.0 Market

Your free test drive is for E2.0 Practitioner Program Module 5: Worker Model for Enterprise 2.0. Please contact training@aiim.org if you have any questions or would like to register for the full course.

Bob Larrivee - AIIM

AIIM Student Feedback: Chad Rickaby, Petro Canada

I had an opportunity to talk with Chad Rickaby, a recent AIIM ECM Student, about his views on the AIIM Education Programs. Here is an excerpt of our conversation.

Bob: Chad, I want to thank you for allowing me to interview you and for the record, can you provide me with a description of your role at Petro Canada?

Chad: I am a member of the IS (Information Services) group whose focus is on the sustainment of applications after they have been turned over to us from our IS project group. Typically our group takes on support of an application during the final phases of roll out. Currently I provide second level support for a few different applications utilized by our Oil Sands Business Units Engineering and Information Management Teams with the bulk of my time supporting an ECM system with around 1200 users.

We anticipate that as the projects continue to grow we could see a peak of users sitting around the 3000 mark. Due to our ever changing needs I am also involved in initiatives to address a version upgrade of our current ECM platform and front end.

Bob: When did you get the idea to make AIIM Education part of your training focus and what were the drivers for the decision?

Chad: I have been an AIIM professional Member now for just over a year, and was introduced to the organization by a co-worker of mine from our East Coast Business Unit. I guess the light bulb went off to incorporate some AIIM training in my portfolio when I was looking through the ECM Toolkit provided as part of my professional membership. I could see that there was so much more to the world of Content Management than my current understanding of the concepts, and I felt I needed to better understand how other organizations within the industry viewed the management of information.

Bob: What do you see as a benefit for you and future attendees of these programs?

Chad: It is a professional goal of mine to become a subject matter expert in ECM systems and methodology within my company. I recognize that this can lead to excellent opportunities to be involved in corporate wide initiatives to consistantly manage information. My intent is to prepare myself to achieve that goal. I feel that by being trained by the industry leader in ECM, my goals are within reach. As for the benefit to future attendees, the AIIM certificate programs can help any individual in any circumstance within their organization. Not only do we learn the ways of implementing a new ECM system, but the training reinforces the need to constantly evaluate a company's utilization of the tools that they have for information management.

It is important to try and stay ahead of the curve in this industry, especially considering the fact that as the industry grows the options for ECM will continue to change and grow with it.

Bob: For the future, how do you see the role of AIIM education evolving in relation to your position or others in Petro Canada?

Chad: I personally feel that the training I have received is invaluable respective to my current position. It has afforded me the ability to network with industry professionals around the globe. By having access to such a broad perspective it puts me in a position to daily bring to the table industry best practices. As I perform the duties specific to my role I am confident that I have the tools needed to be efficient and effective at my job. Additionally due to the variance of courses offered by AIIM, I feel that should my role expand or change I have access to the training required to fulfill my duties.

At Petro-Canada we always strive to attract the most qualified individual for the job. As the industry builds I can see AIIM certification proving to be a very important asset within our organization. In fact since coming back from the training last week, I have spoken to some of my co-workers and suggested they too look into the training programs that AIIM provides. The more individuals that we have in our organization that are trained in ECM the better positioned we will be for the future.

Bob: I want to thank you for your support and for taking time to talk with me and share your views on AIIM Education with our readers.

Bob Larrivee - AIIM

Spirit Group: Bringing BPM to the Caribbean

While participating in a recent, well attended BPM training in Barbados, I had the opportunity to talk with Ms. Diane Bertrand of the Spirit Group, host of the training session and an AIIM training partner focused on bringing education and technology advancement to the Caribbean market.
Here are a few excerpts of our conversation.

Bob: Hello Diane, I want to thank you for allowing me to interview you. For the record, can you provide me with a description of your role at the Spirit Group?

Diane: I am the Principal Consultant/CEO of the company.

Bob: The concept of providing training of this type as part of an ongoing service is looked at by some as being on the leading edge. When did you get the idea to make this part of your offerings and what were the drivers for the decision?

Diane:  Bob, the idea of providing this training within the Caribbean region with AIIM was born way back in 1996 within a strategic planning session.  The idea was born because as the region began to implement the technology, there emerged a need to educate and develop the human resources within the organizations, to create a state of readiness to effectively use the technology.

The opportunity to partner with AIIM and to deliver this training presented itself in 2006 and I grasped
the opportunity. The drivers for the decision remain the same as when it first appeared within my strategic plan.  I wanted to develop the knowledge and understanding of ECM technology, its implementation methodologies and its assimilation within our organizations in the region to produce radical transformation and contribute to our competitiveness.  This AIIM partnership has allowed us to begin the process.

Bob: As part of the class, I often ask the attendees what they expect to gain from attending and the response is often varied with some common themes like better insight and understanding of industry trends and best practices related to the BPM environment. What do you see as a benefit for the attendees and also for the Spirit Group?

Diane:  The attendees of the class firstly meet individuals from other organizations who are grappling with similar problems.  The value of the networking and cross fertilization of ideas and experiences cannot be quantified.  One of my participating companies sent 12 participants.  This group agreed to form a BPM User Group within their organization to drive change from the bottom up.  This to me is a tremendous achievement of the forum that we have provided, my company and AIIM both.

Another benefit is the demystifying of the technology and the concepts within the classroom.  This translates into providing a more receptive customer, so the inherent suspicions about my company
over-selling services or products are removed and appropriate solutions can be developed to solve the customer's real problems on an even playing field.

Bob: For the future, how do you see the role of this type of education evolving in relation to the Spirit Group and the Caribbean as a whole?

Diane: I would like to establish a consistent schedule of training in the three business hubs across the region; Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica offered to the general public.  I also want to establish a focused stream of training specifically customized for specific business sectors e.g. Financial, Government, Commercial and Manufacturing.  If that can be done effectively over the next five years, I would feel pleased with the achievement.

Bob: On behalf of AIIM, I want to thank you for taking the time to talk with me and for sharing with our readers and fellow bloggers, your insights and perspectives in relation to the importance and role of education for the Caribbean marketplace.

Bob Larrivee - AIIM

Feedback

Tracie Sewell, Senior Business Analyst with the Cayman Islands Government, attended some time ago the AIIM ECM Certificate Program, and she has kindly agreed to provide us with some feedback on the course . The interview was done by Thedra White, Director, AIIM Global Education Services.

Thedra: Why did you take the AIIM ECM course?

Tracie: I had previously taken the AIIM ERM Master course and was impressed with the delivery, professionalism and the structure of the training.  The ECM course was the next natural step in cementing my knowledge in ERM/ECM technologies, methodologies and project planning.  AIIM is a recognized body in the industry that provides training in a non-vendor specific way and the training is more about the methodologies rather than the products used.

Thedra: Which features of the ECM course were most useful and why?

Tracie: I was particularly interested in learning about the recommended Governance structure for ECM projects and how this applies to our Organization.

Thedra: What are the main challenges you face in your projects and what will you do to overcome these?

Tracie: Like in many organizations, there is a general reluctance to changing procedures and processes and their current ways of working, in particular to thinking about content as an information asset. We plan to overcome this by demonstrating the improvements in productivity and ease of use to users and managers and re-educate them to show how the new approaches not only make data more easily available and accessible but also searchable whilst also avoiding duplication in retaining content.

Thedra: What would you like to see from AIIM in the future?

Tracie: I would like to see AIIM to continue to offer up to the minute training on new concepts and ideas within the Industry and ensure their certificate program is internationally recognized within the Industry.

Tower Software: Taking Education Seriously

I was recently a participant at Tower Software 's TRIM  User  forum (www.towersoft.com) held in Mesa, Arizona where I found an extremely high level of commitment and partnership between consumer and supplier. My level of participation was one of delivering an AIIM Practitioner class to a mix of Tower Software  customers and staff. When finished, I had the opportunity to talk with Krista Curtiss. Here is an excerpt of our conversation.

Question: Krista, I want to thank you for allowing me to interview you and for the record, can you provide me with a description of your role at  Tower Software.

Krista: I’m the Marketing Director for TOWER Software.  My role is to spread the word about our successful customers into the market and provide tools for our customers to stay current with their TRIM Context implementation and the changes in our industry.  We keep our customer informed through our customer Extranet, our  online User Forum, SDK wiki, the TOWER Software blog and our annual TRIM User Forum (TUF).

Question: The whole concept of providing training of this type as part of an annual User Forum is looked at by some as being on the leading edge. When did you get the idea to make this part of your event and what were the drivers for the decision?

Krista: Many of our long time customers originally purchased their TRIM solution for a physical records management system over a decade ago.  Our product has grown from a robust records management system to a full Enterprise Content Management solution.  The first AIIM class was offered to help our customers who wanted to start the ECM journey to learn the vocabulary and some structure to the process.  We have about a 60/40 split of customers to staff in the classes.  We think it is important for our expert services team members to have the AIIM certifications and the industry vocabulary instead of just our own internal terminology. The ECM session was so well received the first year that we decided to do the ERM version this year.

The eMail Management course looks like strong contender for next year but we’ll survey the customers and see what their driving need is before we decide.

Question: As part of the class, I ask the attendees what they expect to gain from attending and the response is often varied with some common themes like better insight and understanding of industry trends and best practices related to the ERM environment. What do you see as a benefit for the attendees and Tower Software?

Client Mike  – “The AIIM training is a great idea, as it will help me advance in both the industry and my job.”

Client Emilie  – “This course solidified what I already knew.  It was easy to connect the dots because we use TRIM and it fits AIIM’s model”.

Staff Brenda  - “It provides a good introduction to the main pressure points surrounding ERM. A great way for the new IM professional to get a handle on what could be facing them in their foray into ERM products and how to organize themselves in order to be properly prepared to automate. It is particularly solid in presenting the latest standards in the field of RIM.”

Staff Peter - “There are many benefits to come from my attendance at the course, and they are from differing perspectives. Firstly, as a consultant that believes in delivering the best solution to his customers, it avails me with information from the industry on “best practices” around the subject matter, in this case, Electronic Records Management (ERM).

From a personal perspective, it helps solidify, or in some cases, highlight inadequacies in the approach that I take when developing and delivering a solution. The most valuable outcome for me though is the ability to sit in an open learning environment with our customer base, who in a lot of cases have never worked with me, or even with TOWER for deployment and configuration tasks, and learn what their understanding is of the subject matter, what issues they are facing, and what avenues they intend to undertake to address those issues.

In some cases, it involves TOWER getting involved, but to a large degree, the opportunity for them to discuss the situation and gain input from our staff as course attendees rather than paid consultants is all that is required, and I believe, highly valuable. This is the second such course I have attended as part of our TUF program, and I look forward to attending again in the future.”

Staff James – “From my view it was great to get a complete understanding of ECM on the whole as a sales person it really helps me understand what my clients business is about and the challenges they face.”

Question: For the future, how do you see the role of education evolving in relation to Tower Software?

Krista: TOWER Software has always supported using best practices in our industry.  Why struggle and try to reinvent the wheel? When best practices align as well as TOWER Software’s do with AIIM’s we all benefit from leveraging these classes.  It provides a third party validation that we have a process that works.  When a AIIM students hear about the TOWER approach they recognize it is based on the same principles.

An AIIM educated prospect makes the sales process move along a lot easier.

Thank you Krista.
Bob Larrivee - AIIM

PDF/A Training Courses Scheduled in Chicago, Silver Spring, and San Diego

AIIM announces the introduction of a new training course on PDF/Archive. Beginning in April, this two day training focused on PDF/A (ISO 19005-1) and its use as a file format for archiving and preserving electronic data will be available as either web-based, public or private class offerings. This course will enable the person attending to speak more knowledgeable about PDF/A as well as know how and when to apply the use of PDF/A in their organization. With the ever growing number of electronic documents being used today, PDF/A will allow organizations to preserve their critical documents without the need of printing them for scanning prior to storing.

AIIM is the leading authority for PDF standards responsible for the majority of the PDF family of standards which includes PDF, PDF/E, PDF/UA, PDF Healthcare and PDF/A. The concept of PDF/Archive began as an AIIM stnadards committee and went directly to ISO for publication. Our experience in developing the PDF standards gives AIIM the expertise necessary to be able to provide reliable, accurate training for the PDF/Archive standard.

Day 1:

• Introduction to PDF/A
• Digital Preservation
• PDF/A: The Standard
• Preservation Metadata

Day 2:

• PDF/A Indepth - Part 1
• PDF/A Indepth - Part 2
• Using and Creating PDF/A Files
• PDF/A Implementation Issues

Location & Dates:

• May 21-22, 2008 Chicago, IL
• June 3-4, 2008 Silver Spring, MD
• June 24-25, 2008 San Diego, CA

Contact Betsy Fanning (bfanning@aiim.org or 301-755-2682) to register or schedule a private class for your organization. The online courses will be available April 1, 2008.

By Atle Skjekkeland.