Die Association for Information and Image Management International, USA (www.aiim.org), hat im vergangenen Jahr einen entscheidenden Wechsel in ihrer Ausrichtung vollzogen. Dies zeigt sich im folgenden Auszug eines Beitrages von John Mancini, Präsident der AIIM International, zu den neuen Zielen der AIIM. AIIM Mission – Who We Are
Our restated mission is as follows: "AIIM is the global industry association that connects the users and suppliers of document and business process management technologies and services."
As with most mission statements the words were chosen very carefully and after a great deal of debate and discussion. They reflect our desire to create a global network that connects users and suppliers. They reflect our desire to focus on document and business process management technologies and services. This is a focus that will continue to evolve in the years ahead, but that remains faithful to our legacy. And our focus on both technologies and services reflects the complicated supplier "ecosystem" that makes up this industry--system suppliers, peripheral manufacturers, system integrators, service bureaus, the channel, and consultants.
AIIM Vision - Where We Are Going
An organization that does not continue to move - particularly a technology organization - is one that is destined for extinction. Our vision tries to define where we are headed over the next 3-5 years. We have captured this movement in the following statements:
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| | · | At the center of an effective business infrastructure in the digital age is the ability to capture, process, distribute, interpret, analyze, and store information in a wide variety of formats. |
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| | · | The requisite technologies to establish this infrastructure are an extension of our core document technologies. |
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| | · | Our focus over the next 3-5 years will be helping our members make this e-business transition. |
Again, these words were chosen very carefully. Many definitions exist for "e-business." We define e-business as the use of web and Internet technologies to connect the extended enterprise--suppliers, customers, employees, and the channel. We believe that organizations cannot do this unless they can effectively manage and process an exploding volume of documents, content, and images. The skills, technologies, and experiences of AIIM members - both users and suppliers - are more critical than ever in succeeding in this new world.
Our Goals - Our Commitment to the Membership
As AIIM drives to fulfill its mission and to achieve its vision, we will focus on the following four major goals over the next 3-5 years.
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| | 1. | Invest prudently in the future. |
| | 2. | Build value for our supplier members. |
| | 3. | Build value for our user members. |
| | 4. | Leverage the strength of our chapters, and global partners. |
Goal #1: Invest prudently in the future.
Because of the success of many past generations of NMA and AIIM members, AIIM is fortunate to have extensive reserves. During the past few years - due to numerous industry changes, the fact AIIM has attempted to "roll-out" many new programs, and the increasing costs in our core trade show business, we have operated at a deficit. The Board is fully committed to reducing this deficit by 50% in 2000 over comparable levels for 1999. This initiative required a thorough review and reprioritization of all activities of the association against AIIM's new mission and vision. We will continue to invest in the future, but will do so at a prudent level that is consistent with the long-term financial health and viability of the association. The association will continue to conduct an annual audit by a leading accounting firm and to post the results of its audit on the web site.
Goal #2: Build value for our supplier members.
The key question that we must answer for suppliers is: "How does AIIM help me better leverage my marketing dollars?"
To achieve this goal for our trade/supplier members--system suppliers, peripheral manufacturers, system integrators, service bureaus, and the channel--we will continue to sponsor the leading events for the industry in North America and Europe. Our major events for 2000 will be in New York and in Copenhagen. Through a new AIIM Global Partners Program, we will establish alliances with event organizers in other parts of the world with the ultimate goal of offering a full menu of opportunities for our members--both at AIIM's events and those of our partners. In Europe, we will be introducing a new range of vertical market, partner, and application-focused events to expand sales opportunities of our supplier members. We will also begin a new program to introduce non-European companies to the opportunities within the European market and vice-versa for European companies new to the North American market.
We will be making a major investment in our web site to create a year-round complement to these events, the "AIIM Marketplace." For those of you who are familiar with AIIM's current Products and Services Guide, the intention is to greatly expand the functionality and interactivity of this site to allow users to find exactly the right supplier to meet their needs. Coverage in our weekly DOC.1 newsletter, which is read by over 10,000 AIIM members worldwide, will expand to include industry news of European and other international suppliers. We are currently in the process of expanding our sales and marketing teams in both North America and Europe in order to improve our ability to meet the full range of needs of our trade and supplier members. Our goal is to work with our trade and supplier members to become a solid, year-around partner--not just for a single event.
Goal #3: Build value for our user members.
Central to our ability to deliver value to suppliers is our ability to attract users to the organization. The key question that we must answer for users is: "How does AIIM help me implement this technology effectively and efficiently?"
Users face enormous challenges given the rapid changes in this industry. The challenge of maintaining and upgrading their legacy systems, while simultaneously determining how to take advantage of the new opportunities for information sharing and process improvement offered by the web and the Internet, is a major one. Over the past year, we have worked to refocus inform and Document World magazines around management and technology challenges facing users. During 2000, we will accelerate this effort and we will combine these publications into a single magazine, e-doc, with regional editions and content. We are also refocusing AIIM's publications program around user needs, plus working to develop partnerships with a variety of resellers so that our user members can better meet all of their publication needs from a single source.
We will begin a process to migrate the information available in our Resource Center, which currently is largely accessible only to people in the Washington, DC area and only during normal Eastern U.S. business hours, to the web via a new AIIM Knowledge Center. This effort will allow us to continue to provide direct assistance to our members, but also expand the scope of our service. Through the development of a Consultants Partner Program, a portion of the rich resources of our consultant members can become available to our user members. New web tools will also help users find exactly the right expert to meet their specific needs. Our goal in these efforts is to expand both the quantity and quality of the information available and the ways in which members can best access this information on a worldwide basis. Lastly, our major conferences in New York and Copenhagen are being restructured around the core issues and applications facing users. Tracks in these conferences will focus on core technologies, emerging technologies, and on specific applications of the technology to solve business and organization problems.
Goal #4: Leverage the strength of our chapters and global partners.
If AIIM is to succeed, we must more effectively partner with our chapters and global partners. We have begun this process in a number of ways. First, we are chartering a Presidents' Advisory Council (PAC) to work directly with the AIIM Board. The PAC will become a permanent part of the organization with a vote on the Board following the bylaws changes to be introduced to the membership this Spring.
At a time in which we are reducing staff in some areas, we are increasing staff support for our chapters in 2000. We have begun the process of increasing regional support for the chapters, a structure that we hope to expand in the future as resources permit. We are also making a significant investment in our web and member database infrastructure for 2000. This new database structure will allow our chapter leaders and global partners to utilize the tools and resources of the AIIM database over the web as if they were seated in Silver Spring. For the first time, members will be able to directly access and control their own member records. This new infrastructure will also allow us to begin to offer web registrations and processing for chapter events. This new investment will finally eliminate many of the frustrating data integrity and integration issues that have plagued AIIM for many years.
Outside the United States our current affiliates program will be transitioned into a new AIIM Alliance Partner Program. We will also be refining our chapter bylaws and procedures to allow the formation of chapters outside of the U.S. Lastly, we have restructured and are in the process of expanding our European organization to better support the needs of the European market.
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Dem neuen “Mission Statement” und den neuen Zielen war eine umfangreiche Studie und eine Restrukturierung der AIIM vorausgegangen. Die neuen Strukturen schaffen auch eine solide Plattform für die AIIM Europe. Bisher war das internationale Board of Directors übergewichtig. Das aus den ehemaligen IMC-Direktoren gebildete Boards of Directors der AIIM Europe schien nur ein Anhängsel zu sein. Die Restrukturierung sieht vor, daß das internationale Board in ein nordamerikanisches transformiert wird, das gleichberechtigt neben dem europäischen und zukünftigen Boards in Asien etc. stehen wird. Das vorhandene große internationale Board wird durch ein kleines Gremium bestehend aus Executive Directors des nordamerkanischen und des europäischen Boards gebildet werden. Dieses übergreifende Gremium wird zukünftig die Strategien der AIIM international bestimmen. Damit ist eine Grundlage gelegt, die AIIM Organisation auch in Europa bekannter zu machen und zu führenden Interessenvertretung, über nationale Landesgrenzen hinaus, zu entwickeln.
Die AIIM Show und Conference als die international führende Veranstaltung der expandierenden Branche findet in diesem Jahr in New York vom 09. bis 12. April statt. (Kff)
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