On Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 10:22 PM, Peter Kurilecz <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Archives are our business | The National Archives blog
> Business archives are one of the parts of the archive sector that we are
> specifically targeting for Archive Service
> Accreditation<
> http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sector/archive-service-accreditation.htm
> >(my
> day job), so they've been on my mind. The new Accreditation scheme is
> the first time a national standard for archives has been open to applicants
> from the corporate sector, so it has been a learning experience for us all
> in creating something that reflects the differing needs and priorities of
> archives in commercial settings. We're going to be working with groups
> representing business archives to ensure we have a good understanding of
> what is realistic in a business archive setting.
>
> Source: http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/blog/archives-business/
>
>

I realize this is in the UK, but I think part of the concern many private
enterprises have is related to the risk they put themselves at for saving
the 'wrong' information and having it come back to bite them.  Naturally,
if you make well informed decisions about the content and scope of what
types of information SHOULD be retained, you can avoid many/most concerns
of any subsequent legal repercussions, but there's always a bit of
apprehension.

In business, there tends to be a desire to discard information as quickly
as possible... in most cases, as soon as it's served any business needs...
unless there is an overriding legal, statutory or regulatory requirement to
retain it... and even then, some organizations do a risk/benefit analysis
to ask the question:

"What is the potential of an oversight agency coming in and requesting that
potentially damaging information, and what would the penalty be if we had
prematurely discarded it?"

About the only item I've seen universally "archived" by businesses is the
first dollar they earned. =)

Larry
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-- 


*Lawrence J. MedinaDanville, CA RIM Professional since 1972*

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