Infonomics: Bob, you’ve just returned from AIIM’s
quarterly board meeting in Miami. What happened?
ZAGAMI:
This was our budget meeting, and we emerged with an extremely positive and
upbeat consensus that this year will be a reasonably good one for our industry,
despite the recession. The products and services our members offer provide
clients with a very reliable and justifiable return on investment.
Another important piece of business is a new program we’ve just announced for
AIIM’s 34 chapters nationwide, which will allow them to resell many of the
products, services, and training courses offered by AIIM.
We added the Western Canadian Chapter, based in Calgary, in 2008, and they
are a tremendous addition, very active and highly motivated. The energy they
inspire, through their outstanding programs and leaders, is really exciting to
watch. I am also proud to note that three more chapters will be joining the AIIM
family in 2009—the AIIM Alaska Chapter, the AIIM Nevada Chapter, and the AIIM
Columbia River Chapter, serving Oregon.
Infonomics: How is AIIM changing? How will it be
different at the end of your term, one year from now?
ZAGAMI: I can answer in two words: education and
infrastructure. We have developed an incredible education program that provides
online and classroom certificate training in six critical areas every business
is going to have to address in 2009. We just added the Enterprise 2.0
certificate program last year–which has proven to be extremely popular–and we
are constantly evolving these programs, refreshing and updating each one at
least every three years. We will be adding mini-courses to our portfolio next
year–we’re calling these “AIIM Essentials”–to provide three-tofour- hour courses
on very specific topics of concern to our community. We hope by the end of the
year to introduce 15 courses in the “AIIM Essentials” series.
The board has also approved the most significant capital investment in the
information management infrastructure in the history of the organization. This
will allow us to better customize the information and services we provide to the
vast community we serve.
Infonomics: Let’s talk about what many would
describe as The 800 lb. Gorilla in the Room: Microsoft SharePoint Server.
ZAGAMI: The association has been criticized at times for
talking about SharePoint and educating end users. But here’s the critical thing:
unlike many organizations, AIIM is completely agnostic about Share- Point, just
as it is with any other software or technology solution. We can’t ignore The 800
lb. Gorilla. It’s there, and our community wants more information about it. And
that’s what we provide, just as we provide information on hundreds of other
technology solutions each year in our publications, our programs, and on the
AIIM and Infonomics websites (www.aiim.org and Infonomicsmag.com, respectively).
Personally, I don’t believe SharePoint is a dirty word, because of what it
has brought to hundreds of thousands of small- to medium-size companies that are
now realizing the benefits of document imaging. Every company that owns
Microsoft products is talking about SharePoint, and we at AIIM want to be the
ones talking with them about best practices and helping them scan their paper
into SharePoint repositories.
Infonomics: Readers are hungry for insights on
leadership and keys to success. Please tell about your business, Bob.
ZAGAMI: Databank IMX was formed in 2005 under the direction
of two industry veterans, Dick Aschman, chief executive officer, and Chuck
Bauer, president and chief operating officer. We’re privately held with over 500
employees. I’m general manager of the New England Region. We’re a very flat
organization without layers of management; I report directly to Dick as do all
of our general managers, who have total responsibility for sales and production
in their respective regions. Our management team is sales oriented. We spend as
much time as possible every day in front of our clients and prospective clients.
Databank is a unique company focused on providing document solutions and
conversion services to enable in-house solutions. We also provide Web-hosted
storage and retrieval as well as software as a service (SaaS) solutions. We’re
highly focused on vertical markets: government, healthcare, shared services
(accounts payable, accounts receivable, and human resources), and higher
education and financial services. Understanding a client’s application needs is
paramount to us.
Infonomics: Can you give us an example?
ZAGAMI: Sure. For colleges and universities, we totally
automate the admissions and financial aid process, functioning as a digital
mailroom and document processing center. Most of these institutions already have
the software; we show them how to get the information into their systems faster
for internal processing. But we can also help by installing workflow and
document management software that will allow them to do more with less people
and do it faster and more effectively.
DataBank has nine production facilities strategically located throughout the
country. We are best defined by the experience of our management team, each of
whom has over 25 years of experience in the industry, having moved from
microfilm into digital imaging. And we are one of the few conversion companies
that have both SAS 70 Type II and PCI DSS security certifications. Our nine
facilities are totally integrated and secure. Compliance is critical to our
operations; our sites are monitored 24/7, 365 days a year.
Infonomics: Now we're into the heart of the
interview: data security. What do those standards signify, and what should every
AIIM member know about them?
ZAGAMI: They address process
controls and document and data security. As identity theft grows, and
governments and industry create more regulations, this has become critical. SAS
stands for Statement on Auditing Standards.
SAS 70 Type I says that you have a process and it is documented. But there
are no checks and balances. In Type II, however, there is a secure chain of
custody for the entire process, and DataBank is certified by a nationally known
independent auditing firm.
It’s hard to believe, but just 10 or 20 years ago, if you signed a contract
to digitize paper, you simply showed up with a truck and the organization handed
you, say, several thousand boxes of medical information, credit card data, or
financial information, and you loaded up and took off. Oftentimes nobody even
asked you for identification, much less to prove a chain of custody. But those
days are gone forever.
With SAS Type II certification, you must not only pick up and return the
documents in a secure manner, but that information must be maintained at all
times during processing in a secure facility, with no one granted unauthorized
access. Our access is monitored locally and nationally, and visitors sign
confidentiality agreements and are escorted at all times. The customer’s
information is protected along the entire chain of custody, every step of the
way, until it is returned to the customer in a secure fashion. These stringent
controls apply to the clients’ information whether it is in hard copy or
electronic form, so there is a tremendous, continuing effort by us to design and
harden our IT systems.
PCI DSS stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and it
stipulates a similar chain of custody for credit cards and financial
information. When we look at identity theft, privacy of medical records, and
protection of critical data, corporations and enterprises want to do business
with solution providers that have installed security processes that are SAS 70
Type II certified and PCI DSS certified.
Requirements for data security certifications are already cropping up in
contract language, and eventually firms that do not offer them will not be able
to find work. That is the future, and it is a unique opportunity for AIIM.
Infonomics: When did you first join AIIM, and
why?
ZAGAMI: I first become involved with the New England
Chapter around 1975. In those days it was difficult to win respect from a
prospective customer if you were not involved with AIIM, which was then known as
The National Microfilm Association (NMA). I worked in microfilm in those days,
and you’ve got to remember that in the mid- to late 1970s, microfilm enjoyed the
stature and relevancy in corporations and institutions that document imaging and
document solutions enjoy today.
Infonomics: You’ve given a lot to AIIM over
many years. What has it given back?
ZAGAMI: I simply would
not have enjoyed the degree of success that I have without AIIM. AIIM is a small
nonprofit; the real heavy lifting is done by our end users, because they are the
face of AIIM, the people who buy our solutions and our education programs. And
when you are intimately involved with the process, you learn a lot.
Infonomics: Tell us about the AIIM board
structure.
ZAGAMI: The board is a comprised of 20 members
who are fully representative of the AIIM community, with trade members, service
companies, and end users. It is a leadership opportunity for those who really
want to serve the industry and those committed to change. Members typically
serve in chapter and committee leadership posts before appointment to the board.
Infonomics: What changes do you foresee over the
coming 10 years in ECM?
ZAGAMI: There are going to be huge
changes. We will see a continued movement toward SaaS and Web-hosted solutions.
In these challenging times, companies will opt for Web-hosted solutions that
offer all of the functionality of in-house solutions, but without the need to
buy and maintain hardware and software.
Another major trend will be the continued movement of our solutions down the
economic scale to small- and mediumsized businesses. Document imaging and ECM
solutions are much more affordable now, and AIIM is going to bring new customers
to its trade members.
Next is perhaps our greatest trump card: Green ECM. Everybody in the world is
talking about green solutions; well, AIIM was green before Kermit the Frog.
We’ve been offering green technology before the term existed.
We provide the tools that help corporations, institutions, and companies of
every size capture, index, store, manage, retrieve, and distribute information
electronically. We are providing the green solutions that save millions of trees
each year–and we haven’t even scratched the surface of our full potential.
The other huge growth market for us is data security, as addressed above.
Benjamin L. Herring is
editor-in-chief of Infonomics.