Turn on the Power with Agile ECM

(This is the second of 2 posts taken from an article written June 23, 2010 by Kimberly Samuelson, Director of Government Strategy, Laserfiche. Click Here to read the article in it’s entirety.)

Kimberly Samuelson writes:

Risk Management – From an information management perspective, risk management means identifying the magnitude and impact of non compliance; most often as it relates to record-keeping. As regulators and agencies have increased their scrutiny on organizations, it is more crucial than ever to be sure that information is consistent, reliable and available. A well-vetted records management policy is crucial here.

Remember that records management needs to be deployed from an enterprise perspective across the entire portfolio of information assets. Technology is really effective as it ensures consistency. Ideally, the records management structure can be implemented transparently. This allows business units to work in the most efficient way possible, but the organization’s record-keeping integrity is still intact. Technology also allows you to establish monitoring and auditing processes to ensure proof of compliance and transparency. Look at the risk mitigation effort in a positive light. As crazy as it may sound, regulatory oversight can be a unifying concept for business.

One of the most intrusive risk management situations is the e-discovery process. At its most elementary, e-discovery is enterprise search, production and auditing of information. This is an arduous process that can be somewhat alleviated by an established information governance framework and stringent records management policies. Technology is again helpful as it allows you to cast a wide net and narrow down as needed. The framework you proactively build on the front-end will make this process less painful.

Disparate governance efforts, no matter how well they are implemented, cannot alone promise information governance. Mature organizations rely on organizational structures such as frameworks that are simple, coherent and transparent and that engage both staff and management. If we define successful organizations as those best able to thrive in their current environment, and we consider information the lifeblood of organizations, then an information governance strategy is crucial for all organizations to implement. Agile, adaptable organizations leverage their information as an asset. These organizations have mitigated risk, established standards and, most importantly, leveraged their information into quality decisions.

Visit our website to learn how Agile ECM can transform your organization today!

(This is the first of 2 posts taken from an article written June 23, 2010 by Kimberly Samuelson, Director of Government Strategy, Laserfiche. Click Here to read the article in it’s entirety.)

Kimberly Samuelson writes:

Technology – Technology is a foundational component of the information governance framework. When planning your enterprise, be agile in your systems approach. Consider implementing an enterprise content management application or a lot of organizations use applications such as a geographic information system (GIS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) as points of control or platforms to deploy shared services.
Implementing this type of technology will introduce automation to your information management and automation ensures consistency. There are three common avenues you can take in terms of ECM implementations:

The first is ECM as the single point of control for complete information lifecycle management. A rules-based structure is the key, but don’t forget about the quality of the information you capture. Remember a content repository is only as good as the content it manages. As a wise person once said, “Garbage in, garbage out.”

The second approach involves looking at your information architecture from the user perspective. Here’s your opportunity to be agile in your technology implementation. This method is known as “dynamic personalization.” Dynamic personalization allows the user to access information in the manner and environment in which the user is most comfortable. The user can access the ECM application directly or through any other application through which the user works. In this case, think of ECM as a sort of integrative middleware. Middleware, by design, makes the sharing of information resources transparent to users. It provides consistency, automation and security.

The third approach is the implementation of ECM as a shared service platform. This is most often implemented by governance-mature organizations. Enterprise information management is literally that — information shared across business units or functions. This is particularly attractive to technology departments as it allows them to develop business processes that can be repeated across the enterprise allowing optimal resource efficiency, cost and service performance.

Visit our website to learn how Agile ECM can transform your organization today!

Yesterday, I had the fortunate opportunity to have lunch with a group of top CIO leaders from various agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia as we discussed topics for an upcoming technology show that we share sponsorship. What struck me as fascinating is that these top IT professionals, many from very large organizations, shared a common frustration: that the information world is moving at the speed of light, and they were concerned that their organizations were falling behind. Comments like “When are you going to embrace the cloud?” and “How do you manage or control employees’ use of personal mobile devices?” or “How do we get anything done with 2-3 eDiscovery cases hitting us each week?” popped all around the table. The common denominator from the forum was that rapid and accelerated change and expectations were driving them, not the other way around. And so it occurred to me yet again that the best defense against massive change is a good offense – Agile ECM. Having the framework in place for:

• Rapid Deployment
• Streamlined Development
• And Central Control with Local Flexibility

Giving these top IT leaders the agility to move fast and stay ahead of the change curve, and also the governance framework to manage the information assets of the enterprise. How agile is your ECM today?

For more information, visit us at Unity Business Systems today.

(Reposted from Laserfiche Staff Blog dated May 12, 2010 – Author: Sarah Kellison)

“Adding Laserfiche to SharePoint Server 2010 helps accelerate deployment, simplify workflow design and minimize the need for customization and development,” said Meera Mehta, director of SharePoint Partner Marketing at Microsoft Corp. “It offers customers an easy way to achieve enhanced productivity using SharePoint Server 2010.”

Laserfiche’s support for SharePoint Server 2010 maximizes the strengths of both systems. SharePoint Server 2010 provides a unified business collaboration platform, while Laserfiche provides document imaging and turnkey transactional content management for core business processes.

Whether you already have SharePoint, already have Laserfiche, or don’t have either Meera Mehta’s words are powerful:

1) Accelerate deployment

2) Simplify workflow design

3) Minimize the need for customization and development

So if your organization finds itself looking for ways to leverage SharePoint in accounts payable, case management, contract management, HR onboarding or other critical business processes, visit our Agile ECM page to learn how Laserfiche can help.

Setting up the team score!

More than ever, we live in a world of uncertainty. Businesses that were behemoths yesterday are shells of their former selves today. The speed and deluge of information has accelerated our pace of life, and as such it has never been more evident that the concept of “status quo” or “holding your ground” is just not a reality anymore. Building a mote around your castle doesn’t work. Today, it is clear that we are either moving forward or we are moving backwards. There is no in between. And as such, the job of leadership is to empower your organization to solve whatever problem, or take whatever opportunity that comes your way in the most expeditious and effective manner possible, and in a win-win way. It’s about leveraging your people assets by giving them the tools and authority (within certain pre-determined governance boundaries…) they need to shine.

Watching World Cup Soccer over the last few days has really epitomized this idea for me. You have world-class talent, each with specific duties, operating within the boundaries of the field of play, governed by the rules, lead by a coach who sets the vision and who leverages his player assets; and these guys are just amazing. The way they move around the field, pass the ball, protect and assist their goaltenders, and orchestrate a winning corner-kick shot reflecting off the head of the incoming flanker to score the goal. This is magic. This is what a truly “agile” team is all about.

Contrast this to the terrible oil tragedy in the gulf. People with terrific ideas abound. But there is no empowerment. There is no coordination. There is no leadership. It appears to be more of an opportunity for finger pointing, political advancement and protecting one’s backside, than a display of the character and resourcefulness that made our country great. Companies and organizations have operated like this in the past, but there is no room for this in the future. The competition is too strong. New ideas and technology are obsoleting old practices faster than we can keep up. To survive, and better yet to thrive going forward, we have got to all think like the soccer professionals, not the political professionals. This is the secret. True selfless leadership that empowers people to operate in the gifts that each of us has been given.

To learn more about how Agile ECM can empower your organization, contact Unity Business Systems today!

[podcast]http://www.unitysystems.biz/podcasts/FIFA_Podcast_7_1_10.mp3[/podcast][podcast]http://www.unitysystems.biz/podcasts/FIFA_Podcast_7_1_10.mp3[/podcast]

Is your current ECM system a “golden oldie?” Resistant to change? Resource guzzling? Not providing the business insight and flexibility required for your enterprise to compete and succeed in today’s hyper-competitive business climate?

If so, agility is your answer. Not old thinking. Not archaic, costly and lethargic systems. You need insight – now – and the ability and flexibility to change. Can you? Or are you a prisoner to old systems or old leadership? Yes, you need to continue to cut costs, but at some point for your team to shine you need to improve the business processes that are foundational to strategic success. And you need to empower your team on the front lines to make improvements “on the fly” without compromising top-level data governance.

The bad news is: the world is moving much too fast to succeed being reactive. The good news is: you can shift your focus from cost reduction and consolidation to innovation and competitive advantage. You have aspired to this shift for years…but now Agile ECM makes it possible.

While recovery will not come to everyone at the same time, you can proceed with raising your enterprise productivity and creating the capabilities needed to lead today and be well positioned for tomorrow.

Contact Unity Business Systems today to discover how Agile ECM can transform your organization!

CMS Wire had some great things to say about Laserfiche and Agile ECM in their blog post today. One of only four ECM vendors that actually deliver on their claims. Here is an excerpt of their post:

Laserfiche and Agile ECM

Lasefiche (news, site) has also developed an Agile ECM, which it demonstrated at last month’s Gartner Business Process Management Summit. It enables organizations to create custom workflows that offer localized flexibility in streamlining business processes while enhancing centralized control over content standards. These workflows automatically perform specific tasks based on activity occurring in Laserfiche as well as other applications such as GIS, ERP, CRM and others. However, with SharePoint 2010 on the way, interoperability with it should help Laserfiche make in-roads in a market that is dominated by IBM’s FileNet.

Laserfiche Combines with SharePoint for Agile ECM

The integration with SharePoint extends Laserfiche’s Agile abilities by offering support to developers who need to control content, extend collaboration and tailor specialized business processes to departmental needs. Capabilities include:

• Access to content from SharePoint pages
• Records center for storing SharePoint information in Laserfiche repository
• Search of content stored in both Laserfiche and SharePoint repositories
• Custom workflow activities, including SharePoint-specific activities

But it is the LaserFiche Workflow where features expected of an Agile ECM are really apparent. It enables organizations to automate standard, collaborative business processes, such as approvals or routing based on business conditions. Most importantly, it transforms static Laserfiche repositories into dynamic repositories that ensure business processes are performed consistently and efficiently.

Well said CMS Wire, and thanks for the positive plug! Contact Unity Business Systems today and we will show you how to transform your organization with Agile ECM. 

Posted by Paul Neal.

Ouch! Sticks and stones can break your bones but redacted words will never hurt you! Maybe not…This past Thursday, the former Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich’s attorneys issued a subpoena to President Obama requiring him to testify in the former Governor’s “Senate Seat for Sale” trial. The court motion was filed with certain texts redacted, or “blacked out”, but because of the manner in which the redaction was done, the “veil” was easily lifted leaving the motion’s complete text open and exposed for the world to read and dissect.

Although the privacy breach was discovered shortly after the motion was posted on the court’s website, the full subpoena text is now in the public domain – forever. Not only has this gaffe been a bonanza for news outlets and Tweeters, but it has also potentially created liability issues for the staff and organization that released such an unsecure document. Is ignorance a valid excuse? Just how does an organization ensure that its employees are in compliance with privacy laws?

The answer is to utilize an enterprise content management system like Laserfiche with extensive, built-in security controls which prevent this type of information voyeurism. Laserfiche allows authorized users to redact, either in black or white, portions of documents that are secure, or at a minimum not for public consumption. Not only is document-level access controlled by user roles and permissions, but the ability to redact, or to see through redactions, can even be limited to the select few with “need to see or know” clearance. In Laserfiche, documents can be exported to .pdf format for general distribution, but unlike the published Blagojevich motion, the redacted text does not even exist in the exported document – so with no text, no one has the ability to break the code and “see behind the curtain.” Today, with FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests surging and the more open and “sharing” Web 2.0 culture, privacy is becoming much harder and much more costly to maintain – but the penalties of not doing so are real. Contact UBS today to discuss how a Laserfiche enterprise content management system can give you the centralized control over document security you need, while allowing local flexibility for more efficient and lower-cost business operations.

Posted by Paul Neal.

Image via Wikipedia

Attorneys of the world – rejoice! Today has to be a field day for lawyers the globe over…Twitter announced yesterday that it was releasing its entire database of “tweets” – that’s every single tweet ever, numbering in the billions, to the Library of Congress for public archival. That’s right – anything you EVER tweeted, whether you meant it or not, whether it was good or not, whether you meant it for public digestion or not, will now be an official record in the public domain. Big “Twitter” brother is watching…

What are the implications of this move? I’m not sure we completely understand them quite yet as the “Law of Unintended Consequences” tends to sneak up and surprise us whenever such sweeping and unexpected changes occur. “I’m no Ph.D., but it boggles my mind to think what we might be able to learn about ourselves and the world around us from this wealth of data. And I’m certain we’ll learn things that none of us now can even possibly conceive” says Matt Raymond of the Library of Congress. I can think of a few possible outcomes:

1. We now have incredible opportunity to study trends in concepts, ideas and behaviors, and the ability to capitalize on that historical record, much like Google does with search terms. The big differences here, though, are these: with Google, the data is anonymous, and the search terms are limited. With this Twitter release to the Library, not only is the data tied to a specific person, but 140 characters of information represent a much deeper picture of one’s thoughts and ideas than a 2 or 3 word search term ever could.
2. There now exist tremendous legal liabilities for tweeters and possibly for their organizations – such as the impact of declassifying operational memos might have. Questions like: “does Tweeting while on the job represent the official position of the employer?” become paramount. For example, could certain historical employee “tweets” be correlated with their company’s stock movement and a case for insider trading be established? How would this impact not only the employee and his company, but also everyone who was a “follower” of this employee’s tweets and happened to benefit from the “public” information?

In the past, those responsible for creating content typically knew what would become an organizational record. And the lifecycle of a record was as follows:

Prior to Web 2.0, this process was much easier to manage as the “creation of content” stage was cleared defined and controlled in most organizations. Now, however, with the continual, ongoing (and many times mobile…) conversation that is Twitter, Facebook, etc., Records Managers and Information Governance Advocates are in a tailspin. Their worlds have been completely upended. Everyone in your organization who uses any social platform (or has in the past) has become an unregulated, potentially harmful, record creator. Welcome to the Brave New World!

The new Web 2.0 record lifecycle reality becomes:

Where everyone is now creating organizational (and public) content, it is delivered immediately, preserved indefinitely, and NEVER destroyed. The national motto during World War II, “Loose Lips Sink Ships,” brought to the forefront of ones consciousness the importance of information discretion, and leaking the wrong kind of information was detrimental to the war effort. Could inadvertently “tweeting” the “wrong” kind of information, like a certain customer relationship issue that is not ready for “prime-time,” cause damage to the enterprise? The answer is undoubtedly yes. The question looms, knowing the “new information reality” that we all face, is just how do you address the challenge without stifling the upside opportunities that openness can foster? I believe the key is to “manage” the process before it begins.

There are three critical steps required to achieve this:

1. Create a behavioral policy that defines the “rules of the road” regarding social media for all organizational members

2. Develop an education plan that teaches, creates awareness of, and reinforces the long-term implications of content creation

3. Implement an enterprise-wide content management system to enforce company policies and disciplines, and monitor not only what is being created internally to your organization, but also what is being said about your company in the Web 2.0 space

With these safeguards in place, the record lifecycle now becomes:

For help solving your challenges presented by today’s new “record reality,” contact Unity Business Systems, who has been empowering enterprises to leverage their organizational data assets for over 15 years.

Posted by Paul Neal.

After sinking his historic putt on the 18th at August National yesterday, Phil Mickelson once again earned my respect. It was not for his amazing talent and focus on the golf course – as I have seen time and again very talented people, and athletes in particular, perform extremely well in their chosen field of endeavor – only to lead pitiful lives dreadfully lacking character off of the field of play. Phil’s loving and passionate embrace of his wife Amy Mickelson was a terrific reminder to me of the power of character and core values that made our nation great. Amy has been struggling with breast cancer for some time, which can bring any family to its knees, but through their struggle I sensed a commitment, a passion and a dedication to each other that is truly heartwarming in an age of almost expected rebellion to the institution. Phil dedicated his victory to her, and watching him play it was almost as if the family struggle actually empowered him to victory. The ability to overcome in the face of life’s challenges is the epitome of success. I think Phil’s behavior and victory was what golf needed yesterday. And it is the kind of thing we all need.

Thanks for being a great example to us all!

Visit us today at www.UnitySystems.biz.

Posted by Paul Neal.