Integrated future the message of the day as RMAA event opens
Integrated future the message of the day as RMAA event opens
Sep 12, 2005: Enterprise records management is rapidly shifting for a standalone technology to a component of a wider enterprise content management (ECM) suite.
That was the main message delivered by Robert Markham, principal analyst at Forrester Research, during his keynote presentation on the opening day of the 22nd Annual RMAA (Records Management Association of Australasia) International Convention, which is taking place in Perth.
Around 420 delegates gathered at the Perth Convention Centre to hear Markham talk about the best practices in technology, organisation, implementation and planning for records management in the government sector.
Noting the shift in the records management sector away from the traditional hard copy documents towards more electronic recordkeeping, Markham commented: "IT is most definitely in the driving seat when it comes to the selection of ECM vendors."
He discussed the importance of proper information risk management (IRM) within an organisation, and explained the process as "comparing the cost to protect information to the value of that information to the organisation."
He went on: "You must place information appropriately within your infrastructure."
Turning his focus to the Internet, Markham said that "government organisations and private sector organisations alike need to start thinking about archiving the content of their websites", so that they have something to refer to should the situation arise where they have to explain something that appeared on their website but has been since archived or removed.
He added that to establish controls, a combination of people, policy, process and technology is required, as well as pointing to one of the most talked about problems in the records management sphere at present - that of formats for long-term storage of records.
"One of the biggest technology challenges we face right now is deciding upon a record format for long-term storage. It is one of the biggest debates and one which must be addressed if we are to go forward."
Related Article: