Competency C

Understand the evolution of information recordkeeping systems in response to technological change.

Introduction

Records have origins in oral communication, later written by scribes, but now they are in our technically inclined hands—hands that wish to explore the many ways technology can promote our cultural records while maintaining a semblance of security. Unfortunately for every development in how humans record their history there is one constant, the struggle between the free proliferation of knowledge and the need to protect the information by securing it in one way or another. To see this we need only look to Martin Luther and the good timing of the printing press. Today anyone with a computer stands a good chance at gathering most any information he or she wants. The question is how much will an individual pay? Information Governance has come to face the challenge of controlling the mass spread of information. According to www.EPIC.org, “90 percent of the data in the world today has been created in the past two years.” And “In 2012, data was forecasted to double every two years through the year 2020” (EPIC, n.d.). It is up to the Records Managers and Archivist to make sure whether this information is public, private, or potentially catastrophic. Their challenge is to assess each situation and recommend the best information governance policy for a wide range of organizations. While technology will continue to provide storage via external servers, record managers are tasked with the development of governance systems. The means we need to look at systems that are more automated thus reducing the time it takes to direct records to their proper storage or disposition. The use of a cloud computing servers and external dedicated hosts, like Iron Mountain, shows potential to provide access to records at a faster rate.

Supporting Evidence

University Electronic Records Management

My first choice sets the tone and helps to support my conclusion that in order to have a strong records management system, its importance must be recognized by all levels of staff–especially senior management leaders who can direct staff to follow through with their expected tasks. The results of this study show how Archives and Universities Electronic Records Management Systems (ERMS) shows how over a period of four years record managers will have to come up with more robust ERMS. This is a good example of Record Managers that are looking at changing trends to discover better standards and strategies to help institutions to deal with the increasing need for digital repositories.

Information Assurance Article Review

The second piece of evidence is a review of the article, Taking a Holistic View for Information Assurance. Throughout the article, author Guy Bunker states that it is the responsibility of everyone in an organization to assure that the information with which they are dealing with is secure.

IG Book Review

I will finally share with you a book review that evaluates Selling Information Governance (IG) to the Business written by Sunil Soares. In this review I illustrate the depth in which Soares goes into creating an instructional book that helps varying size organizations develop IG programs that will fit your distinct organization. In all three I stress the need to be inclusive of staff especially from the executive branch.

Conclusion

In order for me to best show my understanding of the changing trends of technology and how important it is for us to look for ways to develop ERMS that are solid and set up in a way that is not an intrusion to the organizations staff or functionality, I felt the need to show that I know where to go to get the information I need at the time I need it. That Is why I chose the assignments I did. They show not only that I am able to come into any organization and develop a record system that will protect them from litigation or business failure but also that they, too, can they develop a system that will be work best for them. For each organization it is important to secure, control, and utilize the information flow by using current technological tools that work for everyone in the organization not just the IT department or those responsible for creating the data in the first place. The trick is to not create an IG system in a vacuum. Involve as many departments as one can from the organization and let them know the success of this program is on their shoulders too. Note that staff may be doing more work and credit that with at least acknowledgments.

References

EPIC, (n.d.). Big Data and the Future of Privacy. Retrieved from https://epic.org/privacy/big-data/