Once an organisation has developed a vision and strategy for achieving a digital workplace, the technology platforms they use to achieve this are the main focus point. Without the right choices and approach, an organisation will thus face a digitisation fiasco.

In its simplest form, going digital as an organisation means eliminating paper, often called paperless working. Therefore, the most critical aspect of the digital workplace from a technology perspective is the way the organisation manages its documents, content and other information. A workplace cannot be a digital workplace if paper and manual processes are still the norm. The way information is stored, managed and shared is the basis of the digital workplace. From this starting point, an organisation can reap great benefits, if handled correctly.

The journey from paperless to intelligent information management

In the 1990s, every organisation wanted to become 'paperless'. Yet a large number of companies still rely heavily on paper:

• 65% of people make printouts to obtain signatures or to take to meetings (source: AIIM)
• The average employee uses 1,000 sheets of paper per year (source: EPA)
• 66% of organisations have an initiative to reduce paper consumption (source: IDC)

This brings to light a rather worrying problem. How are these paper copies managed? Where are they stored? How do people find and share them? How do organisations ensure that employees have access to the correct version of a paper document?

In the 00s, the focus shifted to organising and managing documents digitally. But how effective are organisations at this today?

• 52% of organisations use four or more content systems/platforms (source: AIIM)
• 70% of organisations have a poor content strategy (if they have one at all) (source: Forrester)
• 25% of poorly managed documents will never be located or reused (source: Gartner)

The last statistic of the above three is the most critical. Despite the fact that organisations are implementing tools and systems to enable employees to find and manage information electronically, something still goes wrong. Adding more technology and more content systems only seems to exacerbate the problem.

Since 2010, the demand for process digitisation increased sharply. However, one might wonder to what extent organisations that still lean heavily on paper, with information also spread across multiple silos, are ready to optimise business processes. While at the same time, the demand for mobile work is growing, security and compliance requirements are increasing and market pressures are mounting.

IIM is a verb and not a noun

You have already seen several terms pass by, which probably only lead to confusion. From DMS to ECM to Content Services, and now Intelligent Information Management. So what is the difference now?

Here is a useful extract from a recent AIIM report that explains the difference well.

"Enterprise Content Management was no longer a covering description of all the things organisations now do with content and information, not to mention all the new things they need to do to remain viable.

AIIM has long seen "ECM" as more of a verb (something organisations do) than a noun (a characterisation of a market segment), but in the long run, the definition of ECM became more associated with the latter than the former. 

AIIM believes that "Intelligent Information Management" is a better "verb" to describe what organisations are trying to "do" with content and information than ECM. IIM is not a technology segment".

IIM therefore represents a change in mindset and difference in approach in the way an organisation manages information. In my view, it consists of three critical components:

• Metadata-driven
• System neutral
• Intelligent

Metadata-driven

Folders just don't work anymore. It is an old-fashioned concept that worked for paper, but there is no reason to use it when it comes to managing information digitally.

Instead, manage information by describing what it is, rather than where it is stored. A simple example is an employee creating and storing a sales proposal. First, in which system does he store that document? Does it go in the CRM system, document management system or on a shared network drive? Or in all places at once? Once a decision is made, does it go to the customer folder, the proposal folder, the sales team folder? By the way, there is no right answer - that document can absolutely be stored in any of those locations. How do you ensure that not only you but also your colleagues know where to find this document? How do you ensure that duplicate copies are not stored in multiple locations? How do you ensure that you send the latest and correct version of the proposal to the client? The answer is that you can't.

With metadata, you can classify that document as a proposal, relating to that client, that project, that team, etc. Instead of searching for the location of that document, you or your colleagues can search for terms related to that document, and there will always be only one version and the correct one.

System neutral

Employees do not want to be limited to working in a single system. Perhaps an organisation uses network folders, file share services (Google Drive, Dropbox), document management systems or shared network drives.

It should not matter where a piece of information is stored. It should be possible to search and manage using metadata to provide the same user experience, regardless of where that information is physically stored.

An important part of the digital workplace is to ensure that information can be accessed from any system and with any device at any time. This prevents people from having to print paper copies to take with them to meetings, for example.

Intelligent

It is important that any technology deployed in a digital workplace makes employees' lives easier. Using intelligent services to automatically classify information streamlines the process of information management and ensures consistency and compliance within an organisation. Not only does a user no longer have to think "where should I store this document", he now does not even have to think about "how should I classify this document" or "what metadata should I apply", as artificial intelligence can help automate this process.

Deploying an information management platform can be a crucial part of making the digital workplace a reality, but the way it is approached needs careful consideration to mitigate risks and costs and ensure that employees embrace the new way of working. Because without the right system and approach, an organisation will run into a digitisation fiasco in no time. This is where the importance of an Agile platform and a Agile project methodology coming to the fore.

 

Bastiaan Brefeld
Intelligent Information Management Specialist
bastiaan.brefeld@geone.nl