Because technology changes, we can't always specify HOW something is
going to be updated or HOW it will be done, just that it must be done.
We can say we are keeping this information for 100
year/permanent/eternity/whatever in **this** format, which is the
best/most efficient/most cost effective at this time. We can do what we
can to ensure that the data can be read long-term by keeping it in a
non-proprietary or accepted standardized format, but that at some point
in the future, we know that we need to migrate the data to whatever is
newer or current. Part of the process of decommissioning any older
systems must be to migrate data identified as "permanent" to the new
format at the time the new systems go in. 

I've seen a few migrations where the IT dept just saves all documents to
a folder called WordPerfect Data, and it's up to the individual users to
then identify what they want to continue to use. If they didn't get to
it right away, then it became more and more difficult to retrieve it the
longer it sat. Of course, these were in situations where no EDMS or
e-Doc Policy was in place.

 
Nolene Sherman | Director of Records Management | Standard Pacific Homes
| 949.789.1668 | [log in to unmask]


-----Original Message-----
He said that while they may debate about what should be permanent,
permanent means forever.  He was very definitive about it.  I thought
that was interesting.  I'm not sure anyone quite knows how to store
records forever, particularly electronically.

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