The best time to get serious about information governance is yesterday. The second best time is now.
For years we have been accumulating information in various forms from paper to electronic documents and social media content such as blog posts and tweets. Many organizations think that they have to keep all of this information. What they fail to realize is that not all information is equal. By keeping information that isn’t needed and not following an information governance plan, organizations put themselves in jeopardy. Proper information governance includes getting rid of information that no longer has any value to the organization. Simply put: you don’t need to keep it all – and you shouldn’t.
The more information your organization accumulates, the more risk it generates. This combined with cascading changes in legal requirements means that organizations need to get serious about information governance. Here are three reasons why:
Expanding Legal Requirements
In 2006, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were changed to make it clear that in legal proceedings and during discovery, electronic information needed to be managed with the same kind of discipline as paper-based information. This includes formal records like contracts as well as informal communications like emails and instant messages. These requirements have gotten more aggressive since then.
Expanding and Often Conflicting Compliance Requirements
In addition, most companies also face industry-specific laws and compliance requirements tied to how they manage information. These kinds of unique rules exist for just about every industry. These rules also vary by country, adding to the complexity for any organization that operates at scale.
Expanding Information Security Challenges
The list of front-page security breaches and information management disasters gets longer by the day -- think about the IRS email scandal and Target, Home Depot, and Sony hacks, to name a few. These problems are not just embarrassing; they directly impact credibility, trust, and value.