2 - Records management

Abstract

The records management landscape has changed and is forcing organizations to manage the different types of formats produced through social media content being generated by nontraditional means, instant messaging, blogs, wikis, collaboration tools, and social networks. The information management landscape is further populated by a variety of information management approaches, each claiming to help organizations with the effective management of their information resources. An understanding of what the different approaches entail in terms of solutions is crucial to the deployment of the right systems to manage an organization’s information resources. It is all about bringing order and structure to the current digital environment with big volumes of data. Records management is the systematic management of records that ensures that information of evidence is managed according to the legal frameworks put in place by the different countries and according to international standards. As information developments move towards the so called “open data and big data,” distinctions need to be made between information that strictly needs to be management beyond manipulation and that which does not need rigorous controls. Records management therefore focuses on the characteristics of a true record which are: authenticity, reliability, completeness, and integrity. This chapter defines what records management is and the role it plays in society at large.