Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
Continuing in my recent theme of information governance and trusted information including enterprise content, we know that unstructured information (or enterprise content) is inherently different and requires a slightly different approach within the traditional data/information governance context.
Organizations need to take 4 key steps to include the unstructured side of things:
Identify and designate trusted ECM Repositories of record
Create, control and maintain trusted content
Consume, leverage and exploit trusted information
Govern the information lifecycle including archiving, recording and preserving information and evidence of transactions, processes and events
Why these 4 items? Imagine that you are the General Counsel of a publicly-traded firm who is the defendant in a major lawsuit.
What if …
You can’t find the information you are obligated, under court order, to produce?
You can find the information … and it actually exonerates you … but it can’t be trusted as an accurate representation of the facts (spoliation) and can’t / won’t be admitted as evidence.
How can you prove you behaved in a compliant and/or lawful manner if you can’t use your own information to defend yourself because it isn’t trustworthy?
This is just one example that illustrates the 4 necessary steps to enable ECM to participate in information governance initiatives. Do you agree with all 4 steps? Share your comments.