Selecting an appropriate technology to manage electronic records is a key aspect of any system. The functionality to support creation and capture of records is essential for user acceptance.
Functional specifications are well developed and known, so the critical evaluation criteria are more technical aspects and the ability to automate business processes. These characteristics may make the difference between a successful or a failed implementation
Information is increasingly locked up in different business systems and business unit silos, distributed or controlled at different levels of an organisation and fragmented across different technologies - websites, intranets and shared drives. The lack of information architecture and integrated systems makes it difficult to share and re-use information or provide trusted business intelligence. Some organisations have been slow to recognise their recordkeeping system as a core business system. Until now, the cost of EDMS has been prohibitive, in particular for small to medium size enterprises. This is changing quickly. There are a wide range of options now emerging in the market. With the range of applications and configuration options on the market, users can be overwhelmed by choice, or risk spending their entire budget on product selection.
Electronic document and records management systems (EDRMS) aim to improve corporate control and support business automation by ensuring the creation, capture and control of records. We understand the core functionality required to meet regulatory standards and business requirements.
We assist clients to make informed choices based on our up to date knowledge of products in the market. We can help organisations make strategic purchase decisions that don't require exhaustive specifications that will take a month of Sundays to evaluate. The key to selecting a good EDMS is an understanding of what is essential to meet recordkeeping requirements, and the opportunity to use the emerging technology in clever and innovative ways, to support business processes, automation and customisation, or making systems more user intuitive.
We fiercely maintain our vendor independence. We receive no commissions or fees to influence our recommendations.
Systems migration and implementation
Recordkeeping Innovation have the skills and experience to ensure smooth installation, configuration and roll out of EDMS systems. Our experience in HP TRIM, Filenet, Objective, SharePoint, RecordPoint, Documentum and Oracle's URM ensures achieving best industry standards within budget and on schedule. We go beyond the functional requirements of software selection to use the best recordkeeping tools, using EDMS to their full potential. Our philosophy of managing 'born digital' records enables organisations to manage the increasing volumes of information and records through classification, tagging and using the metadata standards to capture and preserve a record's context - essential for authenticity and integrity of the records and for future migrations between systems.
An EDMS should be capable of receiving content from a wide variety of sources, scanned images, pictures, voice and video etc. It should be content agnostic and independent of the source system, so when the source system changes or is replaced, records from the business process have been captured and can be viewed in a non-proprietary format.
We ensure the best return on investment by using systems to their fullest capacity.
Beyond the implementation phases we work with clients to ensure smooth project and change management - critical for success implementations.
Project management
Successful implementation projects start with a clear scope of work and a detailed project plan. Our experience of implementing EDMS in hundreds of organisations means that we know the tasks and deliverables, understand the dependencies and anticipate the change management issues that arise when introducing new technologies and work practices. EDMS can be a disruptive technology, impacting staff at all levels of the organisation. It's important to ensure adequate and appropriate communication, to manage people's expectations and introduce changes in stages.
Using our proven project management and governance methodology, we have a strong track record in delivering EDMS projects on schedule and within budget. We also work alongside clients to help them manage their vendor relationships and provide the interface between the business and the technologists.
Change management
EDMS implementations usually impact staff at all levels, and have significant impact on how business is conducted. This means changing approval processes, day to day practices, expectations and productivity, accountability and the level of staff engagement with corporate reporting systems.
Implementing change at this level requires careful planning and stakeholder engagement. Recordkeeping Innovation has a strong track record of successful EDMS implementations based on our change management practices. This starts early in the design phases of the EDMS, with requirements gathering, understanding business processes and classification schemes.
We work with clients to identify opportunities for system integration and automation, and have developed application interfaces that enable business systems to create records automatically in the EDMS.
Change management involves raising awareness of the nature and impact of proposed changes, explaining what to do in the new system, devising training strategies and materials, and encouraging staff to acceptance and embrace changes. With a strong focus on providing enough knowledge to undertake and embed changes into normal operation, our change management strategies are a key component of successful EDMS implementations.
Integration with business systems
Many records are created in business systems that manage the creation and links to business very effectively. With an information architecture approach we provide value added means of ensuring that these records are protected over time for as long as they are required, and managed as a part of the organisation's ongoing resource base.
We have implemented different approaches from leaving records in business systems, to interfacing with EDRMS via full integration or linked approaches. We advise clients on the most cost effective strategy suited to the risk profile of their digital records.
ICA functional specifications for EDMS
http://www.adri.gov.au/products.aspx#
Guidelines for planning eDRMS - Queensland State Archives
http://www.archives.qld.gov.au/downloads/eDRMS.pdf
Retention and Disposal Guidelines Policies and Procedures Email and network chaos Business Process and Taxonomy EDMS Systems Assessment and Selection Moving? Training Paperless Office Standards and Development Information overload Records and Information Strategies Metadata Management Archives Planning Training and Events Mergers, Acquisitions & Amalgamations Innovation
