If you are looking for an objective way to demonstrate that confidence you have in your electronic content management system is well placed, check out ANSI/AIIM 25 that provides methodology for assessing ECM systems to determine if they are reproducing reliable and accurate renditions of information originally put into the system.
ECM Systems are way more than just a file cabinet for your electronic files. Today almost all of our business documents are created electronically, as well as transmitted, acted upon, edited and stored in an electronic format. In many cases “documents” never reach a physical or paper form – the entire lifecycle is spent in electronic format. ECM systems allow for work flow as well as storing and maintaining records.
Investing in and installing the hardware/software and scanning your business documents and storing them electronically doesn’t automatically mean you have a trusted ECM system. As ANSI/AIIM 25 sets out, a trusted ECM system encompasses all aspects governing the lifecycle of the data from creation or ingestion through destruction and special focus must be placed on the policy and procedures governing the human factor that interacts with the ECM technologies.
Without policies and procedures implemented, the best technology in the world cannot be deemed a trusted system. For example, failing to have and follow a policy that specifies the retention schedule may put into question the reliability of your entire system. If, in a litigation situation, a well-meaning manager testifies that although your organization “may” have a retention schedule s/he has his own methodology for when to destroy or retain documents – the credibility of the entire organization to be able to say it has a reliable method for storing and maintaining electronic records may be thrown into question. That means the best technology in the world has not provided your organization with a trusted system. However, if your organization has policies and a documented training program allowing you to demonstrate that manager is an outlier, you should be able to overcome this challenge to the reliability of your ECM system.
Following ANSI/AIIM 25 can help an organization identify all the areas that need to be addressed in order to establish that you have a trusted and reliable system for managing your electronic content.
