How to Capture Digital Documents
If your organization is like most, you have digital documents pouring into it from a variety of sources, including office documents such as Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as email and instant messages. These documents need to be managed.
Capture is the process of getting the information assets you have created or received into a central information management system and recording their existence so that you can track them. This task involves removing duplicates, backing up your files, collecting files in a repository, and adding metadata.
How to Capture Metadata Automatically
When it comes to capturing metadata, people are just not very good at it. They transpose digits, select the wrong values, and misspell things. Sometimes, they just don't do it at all because they forget or simply don't care.
When it comes to mundane and repetitive tasks, machines do a much better job than people. They're quicker, make fewer mistakes, and are much more consistent with classification and decision making. You’ll probably agree that capturing metadata qualifies as a “mundane and repetitive task,” so why not give that job to automation tools?
How to Conduct a File Share Cleanup Initiative
Most organizations use file shares or network shared drives to store and collaborate on documents. The challenge with file shares is that solid information management practices are rarely applied. This often leads to messy environments full of redundant, outdated, and trivial information.
If you shudder every time you think about retrieving a file in your organization's shared folder, it's probably time to conduct a file share cleanup initiative. Doing so will help reduce risk and improve operational efficiency.
How to Conduct a Successful System Migration
A lot of planning goes into a system migration. You’ll need to identify the purpose of the migration, the stakeholders involved, and any issues that may affect the migration. To plan for the migration, you’ll need to consider some general logistics – such as communicating with stakeholders, drawing up a schedule, and establishing the scope of the migration.
If you're gearing up for a system migration and want to avoid all of the common pitfalls, you're in the right place.
How to Conduct a System, Information, and Process Inventory
When you’re aware of the systems, information, and processes in your organization, you can minimize risk and make sure that everything is running smoothly. When you're not, it's time to conduct an inventory! After all, you can’t optimize and secure things you don’t know about.
The last thing you need is a rogue or shadow IT system that was put in place by some well-meaning employee, exposing you to unnecessary risk.
How to Create and Nurture a Digital Workplace
The working world is rapidly changing, with more and more of us working in distributed ways. With that comes an increased need to be able to collaborate across locations and time zones.
Creating a truly digital workplace means using tools that allow knowledge workers to be more effective, no matter where they are physically working. So, what’s the best way of setting this up, from an information management perspective?
How to Decommission Legacy Systems
Do you have a system that no longer meets your organization's needs or isn't being supported by the vendor any longer? Legacy systems can cause all sorts of headaches. Perhaps it's time for it to be decommissioned.
Before you pull the plug, let us show you how to create a decommissioning plan and decide what to do with all of the information on the system.
How to Determine The Appropriate System of Record
Your organization’s system of record is its single source of truth – the authoritative place where your core information is held and kept up to date. If there’s ever any doubt about the accuracy of a piece of information, one should only need to consult the system of record.
Your organization probably has dozens of systems storing information. So, how do you choose the most appropriate system of record for your unique use case?
How to Develop a Data Privacy Strategy
Your organization has a responsibility to its staff, customers, clients, and other stakeholders to protect the privacy of their personal data. Failing to do so can lead to legal liability, regulatory sanctions, and irreparable damage to your organization's reputation.
Developing a data privacy strategy and putting privacy practices into place can protect your organization before a breach occurs.
How to Develop a Digital Preservation Strategy
The pace at which technology changes is fast and getting faster. Your organization is likely changing quickly too. What happens when that amazing system you implemented a few years ago is on the fast track for decommissioning? Or that file type that you standardized is no longer being supported?
It's critical that your organization has a plan in place to ensure that you maintain the ability to display, retrieve, and use your digital information long term. You need to develop a digital preservation strategy.
How to Develop a Digitization Strategy
There are many inherent issues with physical documents, like paper, microfiche and photographs, in a business setting. They're expensive to store, difficult to catalog, and nearly impossible to collaborate on. To work effectively, information needs to be available in a digital format.
While digitizing things isn’t always an easy process, having a strategy in place will move the process along and makes sure that nothing falls through the cracks.
How to Develop a Migration Strategy
Do you have a migration in your future? Maybe you're consolidating systems, decommissioning an outdated one, or finally moving information to the cloud. Migration projects can be complicated because it's not just files that you're moving. It's workflows and business logic, templates, metadata, and much more. If you want it to go smoothly, you're going to need a migration plan.