Electronic Records Management
ISO standard 15489: 2001 defines Records Management (RM) as the field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records.
Records management has gained increasing prominence over the past few years. From high-profile court cases, to new legislation and regulations, it has been dragged blinking from the archive basement where it traditionally resided into the blinding spotlight of center stage. Electronic records management systems have also matured, gaining in functionality and depth, and with adoption moving from government and regulated industries to all types of organizations, across all sectors. Yet even with this new high profile, it is not at all clear who is responsible for the management and preservation of the corporate memory or for the increasingly sophisticated mechanisms now available for managing records.
RM is the practice of maintaining the records of an organization from the time they are created up to their eventual disposal. This may include classifying, storing, securing, and destruction (or in some cases, archival preservation) of records. Most information is created digitally, by some sort of computer or system application and stored on personal computers, network drives and PDAs, reaching terabyte storage levels and beyond. It is vital that organizations understand that information and records are assets of the organization, not the individual and as such need to be managed actively and properly. The incorporation of Electronic Records Management Systems (ERMS) and practices provide structure, consistency, security, and control over these records.
- Retention and disposition rules
- Security and access controls
- Digital rights management
- Information sharing
- Findability