Next Generation Records Management Defined:

Transformative solutions combining innovative technologies and disruptive records management policies to manage the lifecycle of all recorded information in the Cognitive Era of Information Technology.

Next Generation Records Management Philosophy:

• Records management has never been more critical to the success of our organizations than it is today.
• The over-retention of information is the IT challenge of our time and only trained, qualified Records Management professionals can solve it.
• Rapid advances in technology pose a virtually continuous stream of new, unprecedented information lifecycle challenges that must be addressed with proactive, innovative records management policies.
• Most old information lifecycle management methods no longer apply to the work we do.

8 Rules of Next Generation Records Management:

1. Debating whether an item of information is a ‘record’ or ‘non-record’ is no longer relevant. E-discovery makes all recorded information – regardless of format – a ‘record’.
2. Perfect records management solutions are impossible to create.  Solutions that are ‘good enough’ are good enough.
3. Information lifecycle requirements that apply to structured content are no different than the requirements that apply to unstructured content.
4. Massive record volumes require massive simplification.
5. Hardware and software obsolescence issues must be addressed and consistently reevaluated over time, for long term records retention to succeed.
6. Cloud computing is an inevitable component of most organizations’ information technology strategies and records management must be included in its design and implementation.
7. Social media, mobile computing and ‘The Internet of Things’ will become primary sources of many organizations’ newly created information and forward-thinking records management policies must be in place to manage it.
8. Legacy electronic records management functional standards have failed and must be replaced by new standards and industry best practices that move beyond the paper-based records management paradigm.