​Digital Transformation Series Part 4: Applying Automation to Information Governance

This is the next article in our series about streamlining information governance and compliance. In this article I will briefly spotlight a third key strategy and an industry trend to consider when applying automation to your information governance practices.

Previously, I examined two strategies, which included enhancing electronic discovery processes and automating data monitoring for security and privacy. The third strategy is to leverage analytics to identify duplicate information. Data is duplicative by nature, but the way your operation stores and manages data is likely to be exposing it to unnecessary and costly redundancy.

According to the Legal Intelligencer, most organizations handling eDiscovery today could very well have a cumulative data set that is anywhere from five to 10 times bigger than necessary.¹ As a result, organizations are looking for ways to shed light on this “dark content” by first understanding where it exists, then eliminating the duplicate and out-of-date information and then putting proper information governance policies in place to manage the retention and disposition of the data. A new breed of analytic algorithms and automation helps identify potential redundancies in common document management archives like Microsoft SharePoint, line of business systems and enterprise content repositories like IBM Content Manager on Demand, and even within popular online content repository systems like Box, Dropbox and others.

The survey I mentioned earlier suggests the importance of implementing business process automation to support information governance. The research was conducted by AIIM, which surveyed 152 AIIM member companies for an Industry Watch report called Digitalizing Core Business Processes. According to one finding, 75% of organizations view process automation as “important” or “very important” to their organization. However, most (67%) report having less than half of their processes automated. As a result, a more expansive definition of information governance is emerging that has broader implications and benefits. According to the study, when asked which core business processes are the most likely candidates for process automation, a number of key areas of information governance and records management surfaced as high priorities:

• Record and document management (49%)
• Reviews and approvals (39%)
• Customer correspondence and help desk (36%)
• Sales proposals and contracts (35%)
• Case management (31%)
• Supplier contracts and procurement (25%)

In my next and final post in this series, I’ll focus on four essential steps you should consider you in order to automate and improve your information governance and compliance efforts.

References:

• Francis, Elie (2018) “The Real Impact of Redundant Data and What to Do About It.” The Legal Intelligencer, February 5, 2018