<But, what I have observed over the last several years is that ARMA had not embraced the advances in ECM and RIM technologies and continues to approach records management from a more traditional paper based approach.>

I strongly suspect that the idea of RIM practitioners being focused on traditional paper based approaches is mostly held by non-RIM practitioners.  I believe this goes a long way towards explaining the fairly commonly held belief by IT folks that the RM in the organization is not the person to consult when dealing with electronic records management issues.  I also have encountered many RIM folks who somehow believe that the basic concepts of "paper-based" RIM do not apply to any other media or record-keeping method, and therefore feel they must learn a whole new way of managing records in an electronic environment.  

I have spent the past four years firmly embedded in the IT structure of the Utility and, while I have to deal primarily with electronic record-keeping systems and methods (although we do still have paper records to manage), have found that the basic concepts DO apply.  It is just necessary to adjust the methodology for applying the concepts.  Determining a retention value is still the same concept.  Determining a records series and its four values is different from paper counterparts.  Determining mission-critical records and information still uses the same concepts and methodologies.  Determining vital records and classifications and priorities is applied differently than for paper and manual system counterparts.  Determining file "classifications" and organizing files into efficient hierarchies is still the same concepts.  Determining electronic file "classifications" and organizing electronic documents, files, folders, tables, databases, etc. into efficient hierarchies requires different methodologies than paper counterparts.

<...because of application of "Information Lifecycle Management" practices being instituted by IT as a cost saving measure, ...decided to migrate it AGAIN, to what they refer to as ARCHIVAL storage.>
 
Ahh...my current nemesis.  As I have mentioned before, we are in the process of implementing a SAP Customer Information System to replace a proprietary 20 year old in-house mainframe system.  With the legacy system, applying retention to the data and records was simple.  We wrote the programs, the files are somewhat flat, and we are able to write purge programs based on retention requirements.  With the SAP system, however, we encounter pre-written archive functionality that is based more on the SNIA definition of ILM than the RIM definition of ILM, and not on retention triggers (or event dates).  We decided at purchase (and included in the RFP) to implement archive and purge functionality from the beginning rather than attempt to retrofit.  We determined early on that we would purge from the archive based on retention, but in order to do that, we have to also archive from the active system based on retention parameters.  The third party implementers agreed to our requirements, but SAP itself is not archive/purge based on RIM friendly.  The remark most often made by the implementers is "non of our other clients do this (referring to retention based archive/purge)."  I have had to rethink the way we establish records series, retention values, and event triggers since becoming a part of this project.  BUT...all the RIM concepts I have learned over the past 40 years (and continue to learn) still apply, and I find I must constantly educate the third party implementer on RIM principles and the "whys" behind what we are requesting.  
 
One of the strongest arguments to date is the coming changes in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  Because we have mixed-media records (paper, a variety of electronic including scanned images, photographic, magnetic media, etc.) throughout the Utility and the new Rules require "consistent" application of our retention policies, I cannot agree to keep all the SAP data forever or based on last accessed rather than specific retention values.  If I did so, then the Utility would have to keep all other records in all other media the same way.

Ginny Jones

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