Artikel von Martin Waldron zum Thema Records Management und den Unterschieden zur traditionellen elektronischen Archivierung. Er war maßgeblich an der Entwicklung des MoReq Standards der Europäischen Kommission beteiligt. Martin Waldron ist als Senior-Berater für PCI PROJECT CONSULT International Ltd. in England tätig.
Records are created by the day-to-day activities that take place in corporations and government. They need to be captured, managed and safeguarded in an organised system in order to retain their value. Records have traditionally been managed as paper or microfilm however the ubiquitous use of information and communication technology is transforming the way work is carried out, leading to records being predominantly being generated electronically.
Most organisations, large and small, do not currently have in place the controls and infrastructure to effectively manage these electronic records which increasingly are being received via e-mail and accessed from the Web, as well as being generated internally. The result? Documents are printed and managed as records using existing paper-based systems with resulting inefficiencies and delays in access and resulting in poor service levels and often in the creation of an incomplete record.
Electronic Records Mis-Management
Companies have by ignorance or design let the move to records being held electronically be poorly managed with limited guidance on shared, private and corporate "drives" and filing schemes being poorly prescribed. There has however suddenly been recognised a need to develop a corporate strategy for classification, metadata, accessibility and long term archive and to enforce these practices and procedures. Although the principles of records management are clear only recently have electronic document management system (EDMS) suppliers provided support for the management of electronic records. The marketplace for electronic records management systems (ERMS) is relatively immature and organisations struggle to implement electronic ‘solutions’ that adequately address the management of electronic records. To make matters worse, there has until recently been limited guidelines or models for managing electronic records.
The DLM Forum was created by the European Commission five years ago as a platform for collaboration between technology providers and public institutions and administrations to address these issues. DLM provides a European centre to assist in developing and promoting practical electronic document and content solutions to improve public administration workings, and accessibility and preservation of information. DLM have published and sponsored a number of reports including "Guidelines on best practice for using electronic information, sponsored the production of MoReq – Model Requirements for ERMS and organised three European Conferences the third one organised in collaboration with AIIM took place in May in Barcelona.
MoReq, published in May 2001, has proven a major milestone in setting ERMS requirements. MoReq was published in May 2001 and has quickly found wide scale acceptance in both the public and private sector as blueprint to specifying ERMS and EDMS requirements. These include requirements for software that supports a standard functionality set, the re-use, interchange and long-term storage of information, open standards and specifications, metadata standards, non-English languages, records containing graphic video, and audio content, interfaces with public key infrastructures including electronic signatures and message digests, mark-up languages, etc.
ERMS Drivers
The business need for ERMS has suddenly been recognised by both public and private organisations senior executives. Some of the main drivers are:
| | | |
| | · | Electronic signatures are now legally binding following the EC directives on this subject and this will further fuel the growth in the use of electronic records for contracts, policies etc. |
| | · | The Data Protection Act and industry statutory / regulatory requirements are require ERMS to provide controlled and efficient access and audit of information. |
| | · | The public sector, with most European members introducing a Freedom of Information Act, need to develop an information register. ERMS provides the structure to deliver this in an efficient and effective way. |
| | · | E-government initiatives at National and European level embrace records being kept electronically |
| | · | Concern on money laundering by the World Bank and European Commission has identified the need for controlled access, comprehensive audit trails and longterm archiving by financial institutions. |
| | · | e-mail has become the main business communication channel and the need to rigidly control and register e-mail and attachments is demanded. |
Records management is now recognised as generic to an organisation’s information strategy as well as in meeting statutory legal/audit demands and government regulations. It also has a key role in safeguarding the continuity of both government and commercial organisations. (MW)
Metadata