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In the current business panorama, every business should be taking on information governance, not just to comply with regulations, but also to set a company-wide standard as to how manage the information. Information governance is not just about managing records and keeping up with compliance requirements, but includes every facet of a business.

If one would care to stop, ponder and reflect, he/she will discover that our world is being run by valuable information and data. Be it our personal lives, a commercial operation, or an undertaking of the future, information rules! Period. That being said, enterprises- big & small are the mines of information. From their tax and compliance records to crucial research & development projects, almost all businesses can be rightly labeled as ‘Information & Records’ hotspots. At this point, any rational man would argue about the Security of information stored in digital & traditional formats if it is so valuable. Hence, we decided to compose this article.

Any information, once printed on a paper or coded in a digital bit, can be leveraged or exploited. The difference lies in the intentions of the possessor of that information. Information can be trivial, or it can be significant. It is the context that decides the ‘significance’ of a piece of information. And, in the digital age, context changes rapidly. What, for you, today is a disposable sales receipt might be a critical piece of evidence for the Auditing authority tomorrow.

From stone-age tribes to modern-day society, Records have served us a crucial purpose- Storing, analyzing & learning from the information around us. At the base of everything significant lies a pool of information. This pool can only be accessed through records curated in archives or stores digitally in a system. And, now we ought to be entering into the ‘new age’ Records Management. What was once thought to be an exclusive domain of ‘traditional records keeping,’ whereby one would imagine a spectacled person scanning endless shelves of files, was the rudimentary way. The future of Records Management is entirely different and the change is already manifesting.

As an organization grows, it begins housing tons of information in the digital and physical format in its belly. An organization’s records can be thought of as the ‘blood’ (information) that flows through several ‘veins’ (Departments & processes) and keeps operations alive. Day-to-day crucial business processes, client/customer information, finance & tax information, compliance and legal operations rely on efficient Records Management. If anything halts the healthy Records Ecosystem within a company, chaos ensues. And, imagine lest a disaster strike that obliterates sensitive records and data! This scenario becomes even more critical when Government PSUs face Record & information disasters.

Digitization has become synonymous to smart businesses. With the internet ruling the world, the way individuals and organizations access and utilize the information has changed forever. It would not be an understatement that businesses managing their information with physical records need to step up to stay in the fast-paced digital playfield. Digitization of the critical records is the sure-shot strategy to gain an edge in the digital business landscape.

Walking hand-in-hand with Digital technology is not just meant for big corporates and online businesses. It is the need of the hour for every small business and even self-employed practitioners. When it comes to efficient data-management digitization of the existing records serve excellent purpose for seamless information management. Medical Professionals, especially, need to consider the benefits that digital records bring in.

Businesses often find it arduous to manage their records systematically amidst the regular operations. However, they cannot overlook records management owing to its critical role in compliance, litigation and business intelligence. So, is there a secure and effective solution for Business Records Management without overwhelming your office resources? Yes; and many businesses are already leveraging its benefits. The solution is Offsite Records Storage!

Information Management disasters are not uncommon. They have existed since the time humans began ‘documenting’ things. From natural factors beyond our control to human-errors (unintentional or deliberate), archived information can be destroyed beyond recovery given the spectrum of risks. However, not all industries will have the same risk-exposure to Information Management Disasters. It all depends upon the operational dynamics of the organizations working in that particular sector, the amount of information they have to deal with, and the extent to which the sector has adopted modern Record Management practices.

Our environment is at the verge of falling to a state of irreversible damage. Imagine a world where the air is not fit to breath, fresh potable water is a rare commodity, and green ecosystem an extinct concept! This picture is a very possible future for our planet and the sheer terror it generates has compelled the authorities and corporate alike to take all measures necessary for environmental protection. In fact, if every business becomes ‘green conscious’ and contributes a little to the planet, we can very well add to the longevity of our environment.