Bringing Records Management to the Enterprise
A recent cartoon features an executive's office, in which the subordinate is saying, "Good news, chief, a computer virus has destroyed all our documents." What's not so funny is the realization that many executives would indeed consider it a boon to be relieved of the anxiety of figuring out which records to keep, for how long, where to keep them and who should have access. And how much time and money will it take to find the needle in the haystack when called upon to do so for legal discovery or to meet regulatory requirements? While there is no magic bullet that will guarantee a good night's sleep, there are well-established guidelines that will mitigate risk and minimize costs. This article talks about two real-world considerations that are often overlooked:
(1) Legal discovery may affect any content whether declared as a business record or not; and
(2) While a scalable records management system is a must, migrating all content items that become records from their multiple, disparate repositories to a single, centralized repository isn't always necessary and may not be feasible.
Coping with Legal Discovery
In addition to managing the normal record lifecycle, most organizations will be required at some point to engage in discovery—the process of collecting, processing and reviewing information that might be pertinent to a regulatory request or litigation. And it is virtually certain that there will be a requirement during discovery for content that was not declared as a record and not housed in the records management system. The most famous example is the innocuous e-mail that says, "Let's have lunch," which could potentially be evidence in a fraud or harassment case. Legal discovery is expensive and time consuming. Years of e-mails and other documents are difficult to restore, filter and produce according to case or investigation criteria. Many organizations have been fined or forced to settle because they were not able to produce the records required for legal discovery, or because they could not find the key content that might have decided the case in their favor. The problem is compounded by the fact that the needed information is not just in the records management system, but in content management systems, databases, e-mail applications, file cabinets and scribbled notes.
Enterprise-wide Records Management
In a recent survey, 43% of companies had more than five content repositories and 25% had more than 15. Should you consolidate content in a single repository? Maybe. Robust, scalable repositories like Mobius's ViewDirect TCM can manage thousands of terabytes of diverse content. But there may be business advantages to keeping content in its current repository or it may simply not be practical to move it. For example, country jurisdictions may prohibit moving content across borders. Further, since there is no rule that mandates that all records must be stored in a single records management system, many organizations have multiple systems: a corporate system, usually controlled by a corporate records management group, and multiple operational records management systems used and controlled by departments or divisions. With content and records dispersed throughout the global enterprise, it becomes clear that a single record repository isn't always necessary or feasible. The ideal solution provides the best of both worlds:
1. A highly scalable repository that houses all records that can be moved; and
2. The ability to apply records management functionality to records in their original repositories while maintaining the ability to manage those records via a single system. This next-generation, enterprise-wide records management solution offers compelling advantages:
- Lifecycle management for all content: Functionality for declaring, managing, retaining and disposing of records can be applied to a wide variety of content including application-generated content, desktop documents, e-mail and paper;
- "In-place" records management: Content can remain in its original repository or it can be migrated to an inactive repository at the end of the active phase of its lifecycle, while maintaining lifecycle management and user access; and
- Content and records integration: Advanced search and retrieval across all disparate repositories from a single point of entry facilitates legal discovery as well as business operations.
This vision for enterprise-wide records management is being realized by vendors who have a strong heritage in integrating and accessing diverse content and who have a clear understanding of the technology implications of legal and regulatory requirements. For example, Mobius's ViewDirect TCM offers maximum flexibility in deploying an enterprise-wide records management solution. ViewDirect TCM integrates all records and content across the enterprise in two ways: in the world's most scalable repository and/or by applying records management functionality to records in their original repositories and managing those disparate repositories through a single system. This solution breaks new ground in addressing real-world records management issues.
Bassam Zarkout has 15 years of professional experience in enterprise content management, specializing in records management, e-mail archiving, document imaging and document management. He has helped companies around the globe define and implement corporate file classifications and retention schedules. Bassam can be reached at bzarkout@mobius.com.
Mobius is the leading provider of software solutions for total content management. The ViewDirect® TCM suite includes integrated e-mail and records management as well as facilities for Web content management, business process management, and content integration across the enterprise. For more information, visit: Mobius.