Death, taxes, and…data breaches.  

One day, it’s Facebook breaches. Next, it’s the entire Kingdom of Morocco — literally.

Every day, there’s at least one headline in the news about hackers or the disingenuous among us stealing data from somewhere and/or someone that they weren’t supposed to.

In this post, we’ll explain why understanding how data breaches occur is important, explore various ways to mitigate security risks, and provide suggestions on tackling this pervasive issue.

How Data Breaches Occur, and What Happens Next 

A data breach, defined by Trend Micro Antivirus, is “an incident where information is stolen or taken from a system without the knowledge or authorization of the system’s owner.”

Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) noted that breaches are most often caused by either:

• organizations suffering at the hands of cybercriminal hacks through networks and phishing emails, or
• websites delivering malware to commit fraud or espionage, or otherwise categorized as “human error.”

The result, especially if the organization is under the jurisdiction of GDPR or CPRA, can be a staggeringly high fine. Additionally, companies are likely to suffer from increased customer turnover and a negative reputation.

Data Breaches in 2023 

Are data breaches on the rise? According to statistics collected in the first half of 2023, yes.

As a matter of fact, a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center revealed that the number of data compromises in the U.S. is on pace to hit a record-high number in 2023.

So far this year, the healthcare and financial services sectors have been hit the hardest with a significant amount of personally identifiable information being compromised from companies like MCNA Insurance Company and TMX Finance Corporate Services.

The Identity Theft Resource Center report also showed that phishing, malware, and ransomware were some of the most common causes of data breaches reported, but “not specified” was the leading cause. This means most data breaches reported are “lacking actionable information about the root cause of a compromise.”

Rob Sobers from cybersecurity organization Varonis notes, “It’s also apparent that companies are still not prepared enough for breaches even though they are becoming more commonplace.”

The truth is that many U.S. companies ignored decades’ worth of warnings before the GDPR was passed by the European parliament as well as the 2-year grace period before enforcement became serious.

This doesn’t mean that data breaches are inevitable, though. While they can never be 100% prevented, the security risks can be mitigated. Here’s how:

How to Mitigate Security Risks 

Control Access 

Today, managing both digital documents and paper records makes information governance a challenge. Start by ensuring physical documents are stored securely, either in locked closets and filing cabinets or with an off-site storage provider. For digital documents, consider a cloud-based records management software that allows you to control who has access to what, track the chain of custody, and ensure documents are secure. The goal is to give access to those that need it while keeping others out.

Think Both Physical and Digital 

Phishing, spam emails, unexpected phone calls, people you don’t recognize showing up and saying they have an appointment – all of these fall under the wide umbrella of social engineering.

Social engineering is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the use of deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes”. It remains a very popular method for “bad actors” to get access to information they’re not supposed to.

Psychology is a hard tool to overcome. This video demonstrates how we often think that what we see is what we get and, essentially, if you have a ladder, you can get in just about anywhere.

While the video plays social engineering for laughs, it’s an example of how effective it can be.

Educate and Involve Your Team on Security Risks 

Data breach prevention isn’t something you can manage by yourself like some kind of one-person army—it takes vigilance from everyone in your organization to make sure that proprietary information is only accessed by the right people at the right time.

Everyone in your organization needs to be a part of the process and understand what a phishing email looks like, how to handle sensitive data, and more.

In addition to training, getting employees involved with your information management program will ensure they understand how to protect important data against breaches. You can do this by:

• Collecting feedback: get input from across the organization about the types of records they manage or produce.
• Building a committee: Create an information governance board with representatives from each department to provide input on new procedures and training needs, bring up issues as they arise, and drive adoption of the program among their staff.
• Finding a partner to help: Research information management partners, not just vendors, who can assist with every step of the process in managing the full lifecycle of your information, regardless of whether it starts as paper or digital files.

Protecting Information Isn’t a One-time Job 

That’s the end. You’re done, right? Unfortunately, no.

Security and risk mitigation is an ongoing process. Once you’ve got everything written and recorded and the whole team bought in, it’s time to set up a regular audit of your processes.

If you feel your plan for preventing data breaches is lagging behind, the most important step is simple: Start.

It may seem intimidating at first, but there’s an adage that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”

So, if you haven’t already, go plant that tree.

Additional Resources 

Dive into more tips on building a privacy compliance program that’s compliant now and scalable for the future in our digital guide: Developing a Privacy Program That Works 

Get the Guide

The post How to Prevent Data Breaches and Mitigate Security Risks appeared first on Access.

This article explores what information management is before providing a 13-point checklist—a series of questions that will guide your business toward a modern, digitized, and effective information management solution.

What is Information Management?

Information management concerns the policies, procedures, and tools a business uses to organize and administer the information lifecycle.

The information lifecycle begins with collection. Businesses ingest information from multiple sources in addition to the documents and data they generate internally. That information must be curated, classified, and stored. To be useful, it must be accessible to those who need it, but not to unauthorized individuals. If information is not relevant to ongoing operations, it may be archived. Finally, if it is no longer useful or there are legal limits to its retention, it should be destroyed.

Information management systems help businesses to streamline this process, from ingestion to record access to destruction. But information management isn’t just about technology. Employees and other stakeholders, information management policies, and the procedures that implement those policies play a critical role.

Our information management checklist will help you address all of these concerns and outline the questions you should answer as you plan and implement an effective information management system.

Information Management Planning: Assessments and Objectives

Planning is the first step in building an effective information management system. A comprehensive information management plan requires your business to identify and understand how documents and data contribute to meeting your objectives.

What are the business’s operational goals for information management?

An information management plan should be based on a company’s overarching business objectives. The ultimate objective is to maximize the value of information to your business operations. That may, in turn, serve goals that include:

• Promoting increased sales and revenue
• Improving customer service
• Streamlining data-reliant processes
• Enhancing and simplifying regulatory compliance
• Other objectives related to the business and its operations.

Which data should be captured by information management software?

Once you’ve determined your objectives, you can assess the universe of data available and prioritize the most relevant records. For instance, you may choose not to enter low-value data into your information management system and instead focus on high-value data that generates a significant return on investment.

Which types of sensitive data will be stored, and how will it be identified?

Many businesses process data of varying levels of sensitivity. It is vital to identify the most sensitive information, such as health care records or private customer information. It may be tempting to gather as much data as possible in case it’s helpful in the future, but collecting large quantities of data without knowing how sensitive or accurate it is can create liabilities.

What legal and regulatory issues impact information management?

This question is related to the previous one, but the importance of understanding the legal and regulatory implications should be emphasized. Regulatory frameworks in the financial, legal, healthcare, government, and other fields have differing privacy, storage, retention, and destruction rules.

An experienced remote information management service will offer solutions tailored to the needs of these industries.

Are we prepared with effective change management procedures?

Information management procedures often generate process changes that you may need to be ready to manage. For example, your information management plan may require stakeholders to access information using an unfamiliar interface or refrain from using legacy processing tools. Managing these changes is critical to maximizing the benefit of an information management system.

Data Ingestion, Retention, and Disposal

A business may rely on information from multiple sources in many different formats, ranging from paper documents to PDFs to audio recordings and transcripts to video. Ideally, your information management system will be able to ingest and organize all of this data while helping you to ensure it is of sufficient quality and accuracy to support your business objectives.

How will digital records be captured?

It’s relatively straightforward to enter digital records into an information management system, but what about physical records? A typical process involves document scanning and conversion, but it’s not always necessary to scan documents immediately. Digital Delivery scan-on-demand services store physical documents securely in a remote facility, scanning and delivering a digital document only when it’s required.

How will physical records be stored or disposed of during the digitization process?

You may choose to destroy physical documents after they are scanned, store them in a remote facility with scan-on-demand services, or archive them in compliance with your business’s data retention policies – the choice is yours

How do we ensure data is retained and disposed of in accordance with regulatory requirements?

Many regulatory frameworks mandate data retention policies, particularly for personally identifiable information. Your information management software provider should be able to implement a flexible records retention schedule that aligns with your regulatory compliance needs.

Information Governance

Information governance will help you understand which data you have, where it’s stored, and which regulatory frameworks are relevant.

Has an information management risk assessment been completed?

Risk assessment focuses on identifying data, how sensitive it is, and potential risks from improper handling. In addition to the data itself, an information management risk assessment will consider the policies, processes, and documentation your business has in place to minimize risks related to privacy, security, and regulatory compliance breaches.

Have we created and documented information management policies and processes?

Information management policies create a framework that allows business leaders and stakeholders to influence information management procedures throughout the company. However, policies and information management procedures must be documented to support training and adherence to best practices.

Are records stored with appropriate security and privacy controls?

Before partnering with an information management service, businesses should verify that data is stored in line with the company’s privacy and security policies and relevant regulatory standards. Your selected information management vendor should be happy to explain how their service helps you comply with HIPAA, FACTA, FERPA, GDPR, SOX, and other regulatory frameworks. You may also want to verify that the vendor’s systems comply with recognized information security standards, such as AICPA’s SOC 2. 

Information Access

Which systems are in place to ensure employees can access the data?

How will stakeholders access the data they need to do their jobs? Document management software should support search and low-friction delivery with minimal lead times.  For example, Access Unify Active File Service supports a digital-first environment that allows employees to access documents remotely via an online portal.

Does the information management software integrate with our existing tools?

An information management service should provide a portal for businesses to search and access their documents. However, many companies already use a document management system. If you would like to continue using that solution, ensure that your vendor’s remote information management system integrates your preferred software.

To learn more about integrated and effective information management and digital business transformation, contact an information management specialist today.

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Records management services help businesses streamline records management, empowering them to access the information they need without the clutter and daily grind of filing, storing, and searching through large numbers of physical records. Businesses across the U.S. use records management services from records management companies to maximize the value of their records while minimizing costs and labor.

Records Management Companies: What are Records Management Services?

A records management service allows businesses to outsource the management of physical and digital records. Instead of being stored in a business’s offices, records are moved to a secure storage facility, where records management specialists with records management companies take care of filing, tracking, and record retrieval. Reputable records management companies have a high degree of security and confidentiality. Records are tracked from the moment they leave your possession, providing end-to-end location awareness and chain of custody.

Once records are stored with secure records management companies, you can retrieve them whenever they are needed. Records management services provide several options for gaining access to stored records. You might choose to digitize records immediately so they can be accessed via records management software. Alternatively, you can opt for a scan-on-demand service. Or you might prefer to have physical records delivered to your office via next-day or same-day rapid document delivery.

The obvious benefit of a records management service is that you don’t have to manage records in-house. Valuable employees don’t have to spend time rummaging through records boxes and file rooms to find the information they need to do their jobs. But there are many other benefits of a records management service.

Use Your Physical Space Efficiently

Office space is expensive, especially when your offices are in a desirable area of a city with high commercial real estate prices. Physical records take up a lot of space, as do the shelves and cabinets needed to store and organize them. On-site record storage is not the most efficient use of office space. Moving records to an offsite record management service frees valuable office space for more productive use.

Control Employee Access to Records

A records management service makes it easy for employees to access records, but it also allows businesses to control who can see records with strict access controls. Additionally, with records management software like FileBRIDGE®, clients gain insight into who has requested records, creating a comprehensive chain of custody that helps businesses understand how their records are used and by whom.

Streamline Regulatory Compliance

Managing records in compliance with regulatory standards like HIPAA, GDPR, and SOX significantly increases costs. In addition to simply storing documents, businesses must implement information governance policies that ensure records are held, accessed, tracked, retained, and destroyed according to relevant regulations. In addition, regulations aren’t static; they constantly evolve, and businesses must keep on top of changes if they are to remain compliant.

Record management services from records managemetn companies can reduce the labor and cost of regulatory compliance. Records are stored in secure facilities, and access is tightly controlled. Records retention schedules and retention and privacy compliance software ensure that documents are retained in line with regulatory compliance and securely destroyed when necessary. Furthermore, the software tracks regulatory requirements, enabling businesses to remain compliant as the regulatory environment evolves.

Improve Information Flow

Information flow is the way information moves through an organization between people and systems. A well-ordered information flow is essential to operational efficiency. Managers and employees need information to do their work, and poor information flows hurt productivity. A records management service can help businesses to streamline the flow of information throughout their organization, ensuring that records are quickly retrieved and delivered—either digitally or physically.

Manage the Document Lifecycle

Ideally, documents and other records follow a structured lifecycle that includes creation, storage, categorization, retrieval, archiving, and destruction. Each stage plays a vital role in ensuring that the business can extract the maximum value from its records while maintaining compliance. However, there are significant overheads associated with diligent lifecycle management, and many companies experience failures—how many records does your company possess that have yet to be categorized and properly stored?

A records management service can take care of lifecycle management for you. A combination of record management expertise, information governance services, and information storage project management ensures that your records are always secure, accessible, and compliant.

Contact a records management specialist today to begin your journey to reduced records management costs, improved security and information governance, and enhanced information flow.

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When it comes to records and information management (RIM), there are several causes of poor records management practices and risks associated with not keeping your RIM program up to date. Overlooking or completely ignoring these risks could lead to serious consequences of poor information management. If you’ve been meaning to tackle this initiative, but haven’t quite prioritized it, or weren’t quite sure where to start, this blog provides a few pointers on where you may want to begin. Below are five areas to focus your modernization efforts on so outdated records and information management practices do not face the harmful consequences of poor record keeping.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

So what are the causes of poor record keeping? The first risk you may be taking focuses on ensuring quality. If you’re not being diligent enough about records management protocols, this apathy could become one of the causes of poor records management practices. You’ve probably heard the old adage, “Garbage In, Garbage Out”? And this certainly applies here. Good records management begins with good information capture and filing, especially in today’s fast-paced, document-filled world. If you’re not structured in the data you record, its accuracy, storage locations, and versioning controls, your entire system can quickly descend into chaos from the effects of poor record keeping.

In fact, in a recent survey, 79% of survey respondents reported that they create new documents in their jobs at least several times a week, and 59% of them create them daily or continuously.

Mishandling of Information

Without strong records management, even your most reliable workers can expose your organization to legal and compliance risks by unintentionally mishandling documents. For example, have you ever found an important form on the copy machine at the office? Or given files to a co-worker without first checking their permissions? Or maybe you know someone who has thrown away a document or record that was either retained or securely shredded? These poor records management errors can put you and your organization at risk, while implementing a solid RIM program opens up opportunities for you to grow.

Regulatory Fines & Penalties

Whether you manage medical records, legal records, or other forms of personal and financial information, a solid document retention policy is key to avoiding the consequences of poor record keeping. Without it, you risk being fined significantly, especially if you destroy records too soon or can’t produce them during an audit. You could also incur more risk than you should in legal discovery or an at-fault breach by keeping records beyond their retention dates. One example of this happened a few years back to Pacific Gas & Electric Co. when CPUC fined them $24.3 million due to poor records management. That’s an expensive and preventable lesson to have to learn for poor records management.

Damage During Disasters

Natural disasters, floods, and fires can wreak havoc on a business, destroying improperly stored documents forever. Critical and irreplaceable records should be stored in climate-controlled underground vaults and in professional records centers in locations chosen for minimized environmental risks. Disaster recovery can save your company from the irreversible consequences of poor record keeping.

Time & Efficiency Loss

Poor record keeping opens organizations up to decreasing productivity when employees are forced to track down the information they need to complete tasks. All this time and energy adds up to real costs that hit your bottom line. In fact, some workers claim to spend as much as 15% of their workweek hunting down lost paper documents.

Don’t let these 5 things listed above cause your RIM program and operations to spiral into chaos. Assess the causes of poor records management practices, establish a plan, regain control, mitigate risk, and improve efficiencies with help from Access. Our offsite storage solutions are designed to keep your documents secure — without hindering accessibility, and our records retention scheduling solution, Virgo, can help you automate your scheduling processes while providing world-class client service.

To learn more, download our eBook:
From Vendor to Partner: 38 questions you must ask your information management provider

Download Ebook Now

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Whether they perform document shredding onsite or pick up secure bins and take the documents to a separate location for shredding, shredding services offer organizations a valuable service that saves time, money and ensures compliance.

Why Is Document Shredding Important?

Why is document shredding important?

• Protection against malicious intent. Storing copious amounts of hard copies leaves your business vulnerable to data breaches, identity theft, and even corporate espionage. Digitizing documents and then shredding the hard copies supports business continuity while safeguarding your company’s records and documents against malicious intent.
• It’s the law. Federal and state laws mandate the proper disposal of sensitive documents such as medical and dental records, personal information, employee pay stubs, documents with Social Security numbers, tax forms, and more.
• It’s eco-friendly. Paperless electronic record retention through digitization followed by document shredding is an eco-friendly way for your business to reduce the amount of paper you utilize while eliminating the need to store thousands of documents. What’s more, shredded paper is easier to recycle.

5 Reasons Your Business Needs Shredding Services Today

Even if your organization understands the necessity of document shredding, why not do it yourself and take care of the job onsite? Why incur the expense of hiring a shredding services company to do the job for you?

• Cost savings. The cost of shredding services saves you the expense of purchasing, maintaining, and repairing your shredder. Additionally, their industrial shredders can do the job faster, more efficiently, and on-site, which is more cost-effective than paying an employee to do the work. Finally, digitizing and shredding documents frees up space you might otherwise have allocated to storing hard-copy records.
• Increased Security. A shredding company can handle sensitive information that you’d prefer your competitors and employees not see, such as co-workers’ salaries, confidential personnel and financial files, health insurance records, business and marketing plans, and more.
• Improved Productivity. Taking employees away from their regular tasks to shred documents in-house reduces their productivity and uses up time that could be spent on higher-value tasks. When a mobile document shredding service handles the job for you, your employees can perform tasks that add to your bottom line.
• Certified Compliance. A professional shredding company will certify the destruction of medical or health insurance documents, verifying your company’s HIPAA compliance.
• Reduced Liability. If you task an employee with the job of shredding and they are injured in the process, you will be liable for that injury, time lost on the job, and workmen’s compensation. A document shredding service provider removes that risk.

Why Do Certified Shredding Services Make the Most Sense?

If saving money, ensuring security and compliance, and increasing productivity while eliminating liability are not reasons enough for your organization to consider hiring a mobile document shredding service, consider the following:

• Convenient pick-up or on-site document destruction. The job gets done quickly by professionals with industrial equipment who perform their tasks on-site at your location or a separate secure location. That’s one less unproductive task for staff to undertake.
  Shred in bulk. Industrial shredders can easily shred thousands of documents in bulk in the time it would take your employees to shred a fraction of the number.
• Scheduled rotation of secure consoles and bins. Mobile shredding services pick up secure consoles and bins when they’re full, making sure there’s never a backlog of documents waiting to be destroyed.
• Data chain of custody for document management process. Strict processes allow you to track where and when your documents are destroyed, confirming complete security.

Shredding services help your organization operate at peak efficiency by streamlining your transition from paper to digital records. Why not get started today?

To learn more about Access’ secure shredding service, check out additional details here.

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This need inspired Access to create a unique new service…introducing Access Unify! This solution is a technology-powered suite of digital transformation services, and its premier offering, which I am highlighting in this blog, is a flat-fee service that will manage your active files, called Active File Service. In its simplest form, this active file management service evolves how law firms access active matter files with an industry-leading service time of less than four hours. Firms can leverage the Active File Service to improve efficiency and productivity as well as improve turnaround time, divest or repurpose real estate and gain the ability to recover costs with detailed charge-back reporting.

Check out how Access Unify’s Active File Service can bring law and order to your firm in 8 ways:

#1: Enables Secure Access – Anytime, Anywhere

Every file in the Access Unify Active File Management Service is delivered on demand to authorized users via the Access Unify portal or existing systems of record. On-demand access means that attorneys and records staff can access any active file from any device, at any time, from anywhere. This grants near-real-time access to content such as active matter files, contracts, forms, notes, etc.

#2: Empowers Staff

As employees become digital active file experts, they become integral to your firm’s commitment to a digital transformation vision. We’ve found that through training, staff evolves to contribute to higher value, strategic initiatives. Their ability to pull reports, facilitate requests, and orchestrate requests using Access Unify has greatly increased throughput and efficiency while improving the quality of service the firm experiences daily.

#3: Simplifies Your File Management Process

Leverage a streamlined central portal for accessing your files on-demand, as needed. Your staff will no longer have to fill out internal forms, look through onsite storage, or find a records manager to locate the active files they need.

#4: Improves Turnaround

Greatly reduce active file retrieval times while increasing request throughput with the self-service Access Unify portal available 24/7. Access leads the industry with sub-four-hour turnaround from request to fulfillment. And because we deliver the content digitally through either your existing records system or the Access Unify portal, users have a seamless experience retrieving their scanned files.

#5: Uses Existing Systems

Access has invested heavily to ensure the Active File Service can handle requests and delivery of digital files directly to your existing line of business applications. Attorneys or authorized staff can make requests for files through either the Access Unify platform or existing records management software such as FileTrail®. Then the digital files are pushed out to either the Access Unify portal or your existing system of record such as NetDocuments®, Microsoft Office 365® (including SharePoint), a dedicated SFTP location, or the cloud storage of your choice.

#6: Ensures Business Continuity

Storing your active matter files onsite is dangerous and may put your firm at risk for noncompliance. In the event of fire, hurricane, flood, or theft, your firm is at serious risk without a redundancy or business continuity plan. Storing your active files with Access and leveraging our Active File Service can not only decrease those risks, but it can also ensure you are adhering to regulatory, security, and information governance best practices.

#7: Reduced CAPEX Costs

Capital is vital to law firm operations. By leveraging our Active File Management Service, you’re able to lower your spend on Multi-Function Devices (MFDs), scanners, consumables (ink, toner, parts, paper), equipment, maintenance, and much more. Access Unify subscriptions are traditionally considered an operational expense, thereby freeing up CAPEX budgets to improve your bottom line or invest in other capital expenditures.

#8: Predictable Fixed-Fee Monthly Bill

The predictability of a fixed-fee service allows you to manage your budget and operating costs more efficiently. And since there’s no line-item charge for every activity related to the management of files, billing becomes predictably straight-forward. Depending on your utilization of the Active File Management Service, the return on investment can be significant.

Why Active File Service is Important

The rapid pace of change in law practice often necessitates short turnaround times and easy integration of active files into daily attorney workflows. With the Access Unify Active File Service, your firm can leverage industry-leading records management experts while staying within your native content apps like FileTrail®, NetDocuments®, iManage®, SharePoint, Google Drive, Box, DropBox, or anywhere else. And with second-to-none security and compliance, Access is the perfect partner to collaborate with to bring law and order to your firm.

Learn more about Access Unify

Request a demo or set up a meeting

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Whether you’re an executive seeking to drive innovation within your company, a manager aiming to optimize processes, or an employee passionate about embracing digital technologies, this information is for you. Continue reading to acquire the knowledge and insights necessary to build a compelling business case for digital transformation, and ultimately, help your company thrive.

Four Steps to Building a Compelling Business Case

A well-constructed business case demonstrates how improvements to the file management system can result in cost savings for your organization, supporting future decision-making and helping to track performance. By exploring alternative options and the benefits, costs, and risks of each, you’ll justify your recommended solution and generate crucial support for your digitization program.

It’s likely that the people to whom you’ll present your business case are not experts in information management. Gaining approval for funding and resources to support your program will require clear communication of the cost impacts and savings to the bottom line.

Step 1: Identify Business Need

A well-constructed business case demonstrates how improvements to the file management system can result in cost savings for your organization, supporting future decision-making and helping to track performance. By exploring alternative options and the benefits, costs, and risks of each, you’ll justify your recommended solution and generate crucial support for your digitization program.

It’s likely that the people to whom you’ll present your business case are not experts in information management. Gaining approval for funding and resources to support your program will require clear communication of the cost impacts and savings to the bottom line.

Step 2: Outline Solution Options

In a previous article, we covered how to calculate the costs of your current file system. In the business case, compare alternate solutions to illustrate cost savings. Consider all costs and be transparent in reporting. Some costs are not as obvious as others, such as ongoing costs for software and equipment updates.

Step 3: Recommend a Preferred Solution

A thorough analysis of solution options is critical to support your rationalization for the preferred recommendation. Show how the solution is meeting the business’s needs. How will it impact the bottom line? How will it affect how people work? How does it add security and lower risk for the organization?

Step 4: Present the Implementation Plan

Share details about administering your recommended solution. Your implementation plan should include information about these points:

• Budget: How much will your recommended solution cost?
• Resource allocation: Who will do what? Will existing staff need to be reassigned and trained? What is the required hardware and software support?
• Schedule: What is the estimated implementation timing? Will it happen in phases?
• Monitoring/communication: How will everyone be kept informed throughout the process? How will progress be monitored and success measured?

Your business case acts as a roadmap that guides your digitization journey. To ensure that your plan forward is the best it can be, you may want to test your strategies and ideas in a pilot.

The Pilot Project

Conducting a pilot project within a defined record set before proceeding with the full implementation will help test the technology and strengthen your implementation plans, including procedures and workflows. The pilot test is designed to help your strategic approach deliver a digital file management plan that is on target to meet your business’s unique needs. It will inform your case, strengthen credibility, and gain the support your plan needs to move forward.

Access understands the complexity of energy industry information and can help you plan for digitization regardless of where you are in your journey.  If you’re not sure if you’re ready to get started, you can get guidance from the eBook, Adventures in Digitization: The Digitization Playbook for Energy Companies, to map out each step of the journey. The information in this eBook will provide you with more detailed tips and expert advice on building a strong business case and planning your pilot test.

Download eBook Now

The post Making the Case for Digital Transformation in the Energy Sector appeared first on Access.

Four Key Benefits of Digital Transformation in the Energy Sector

1. Enhancing Operational Efficiency

Digital transformation holds the key to unlocking operational efficiency. With digital documents that can be accessed from anywhere — enhanced by advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics — companies can optimize their processes, streamline workflows, and automate routine tasks.

2. Empowering Data-Driven Insights

Data is the new fuel in the digital era, and the energy sector is rich with vast amounts of valuable information. Digital transformation empowers energy companies to harness this data and derive actionable insights.

3. Driving Innovation and New Business Models

Digital transformation opens a world of possibilities for innovation because employees are able to focus on advanced initiatives rather than tracking down and manually processing physical documents. This provides your organization with the resources to invest in technologies such as blockchain, smart contracts, and decentralized energy systems, enabling peer-to-peer energy trading, microgrids, and energy communities.

4. Ensuring Cybersecurity and Resilience

The energy sector is a prime target for cyber threats, and digital transformation allows companies to build a robust cybersecurity framework to ensure sensitive information is protected. Energy companies that invest in security measures to ensure proper chain of custody and access can achieve compliance, safeguard critical infrastructure, protect sensitive data, and build resilience against cyber-attacks.

Get Started by Knowing the Costs

While each energy organization is unique and at different stages of digitization, there are fundamental steps that can help propel you forward in your journey.

You can begin by gaining an understanding of the costs involved. Whether your organization has already started the digitization process or is in the early stages of considering it, understanding the true cost of your existing system is the first step.

Here are five costs to consider:

Conversion: Assess the costs associated with managing physical files compared to digital files. Physical documents incur expenses such as file folders, labels, and labor for creation and storage.

Storage: Physical file storage costs can be significant, especially if proper management of file disposition is lacking. As storage needs increase, annual storage costs also rise. Additionally, file security considerations must also be factored in.

Accessibility: Consider the everyday costs of accessing physical files. Requesting, retrieving, and returning physical files entail both hard and soft costs. On the other hand, you can store, scan and retrieve only what you need, when you need it with Access Unify | Active File Service.

Maintenance: In the heavily regulated energy industry, data integrity is of utmost importance. Physical files present challenges in terms of tracking the original file, managing workflow processes, and circulation.

Disposal: If proper disposition procedures are followed, there are costs associated with physical file destruction. Labor and disposal fees must be considered whether the disposition is handled internally or through a third-party partner.

At Access, we understand the complexities involved in managing information within the energy industry. Regardless of where you currently stand in your digitization journey, we can provide assistance.

Take a look at our comprehensive «Adventures in Digitization Playbook for Energy Companies» for a detailed roadmap outlining each step of the journey. The playbook also includes cost calculators to help you assess the expenses associated with physical file management and the value of going digital.

Download Playbook Now

Stay tuned for our next post in this series where we will discuss how to establish a digitization pilot and present a compelling business case to gain executive management support for moving forward.

The post The Power of Digital Transformation in the Energy Sector appeared first on Access.

J’ai récemment eu le privilège de rencontrer l’une de ces personnes. Il s’appelle Genaro Lopez, J.D., IGP, directeur de la gouvernance de l’information chez Google. Il y arrive réellement. Si vous avez assisté à l’événement « Out of the Box » d’Access, dans lequel nous avons accueilli Genaro en tant qu’invité spécial, alors vous savez exactement de quoi je parle. Si vous n’avez pas encore vu cet épisode, je vous recommande fortement de le faire… vous allez adorer.

Qu’est-ce qu’Out of the Box Live et qui est Genaro Lopez?

À titre de rappel, Out of the Box Live est le programme en ligne d’Access que nous animons toutes les deux semaines. Les leaders de pensée d’Access John Isaza et Kurt Thies animent l’émission et je les aide en la modérant. Nous invitons des invités spéciaux comme Genaro, experts de l’industrie de la gouvernance et de la gestion de l’information à discuter des pratiques exemplaires, des projets sur lesquels ils travaillent, de leurs points de vue sur l’industrie, des approches intelligentes aux défis communs et plus encore.

En parlant d’intéressant, je pense que la plupart des gens trouveraient que Genaro Lopez est une personne fascinante. Pour commencer, combien connaissez-vous d’experts en gouvernance de l’information qui ont obtenu leur diplôme en droit, qui ont servi été juriste pour le juge Nakumura de la Cour supérieure de Californie, qui sont allés en Suède pour effectuer du travail sur les répercussions des habitudes de pâturage des rennes sur les communautés de plantes de toundra dans le cadre de leur diplôme, et qui peuvent prétendre avoir été champion du jeu télévisé Jeopardy? C’est ça. Je sais… ce n’est qu’après avoir rencontré Genaro que j’ai pu dire que j’en connais un.

La clé pour commencer les programmes de gouvernance de l’information

Il y a tant dans l’histoire de Genaro Lopez. Vous devez entendre ce type expliquer ce que c’est de diriger une initiative de gouvernance de l’information dans un environnement entièrement numérique comme Google. Il est un conteur naturel. De plus, Genaro n’est certainement pas étranger à la gouvernance et à la gestion de l’information dans les organisations numériques. Il est non seulement le moteur de l’élaboration du programme de gouvernance de l’information chez Google, mais il travaillait auparavant chez Nike où il a développé et lancé les premiers programmes de gestion des contrats d’entreprise et de gouvernance de l’information de l’entreprise.

Lors de son apparition dans notre récent épisode d’Out of the Box Live, Genaro a discuté de son approche pour lancer des programmes de gouvernance de l’information, de ce que la gouvernance de l’information signifie pour lui et de ce qui rend son travail si intéressant. Il offre également des conseils sur la façon de :

• Démarrer ou développer une pratique de gouvernance de l’information en fonction des besoins organisationnels
• Mettre en place des processus reproductibles et…
• Établir des structures et des cadres organisationnels de gouvernance de l’information

Enfin, pour terminer cet épisode, Genaro a partagé ce qu’il considère comme les cinq éléments clés d’une stratégie de gouvernance de l’information. Il commence par des conseils très judicieux; assurez-vous d’obtenir l’adhésion de la haute direction à votre initiative. Regardez cette courte vidéo pour entendre le reste :

Pour entendre tous les conseils de Genaro ainsi que ses points de vue uniques sur la gouvernance de l’information, regardez cet épisode dans son intégralité à la demande : Out of the Box Live : IG Strategies for Digital Companies 

The post Conseils sur les meilleures pratiques de gouvernance de l’information d’un gourou Google appeared first on Access.

Pour de nombreuses organisations, la transformation numérique à constituer un projet peut sembler très intimidante. Plutôt que d’adopter une approche « tout ou rien » et de plonger dans la numérisation à grande échelle, vous pourriez envisager de commencer par un projet pilote plus petit. Notre expérience nous indique qu’aborder un projet en tant que projet pilote est une pratique exemplaire qui augmente la probabilité de succès à long terme des initiatives de transformation numérique.

Voici sept conseils pour la planification et la réalisation d’un projet pilote de transformation numérique efficace :

Déterminez l’échéancier d’achèvement, le budget et la portée des travaux

Pour votre projet pilote, précisez quel ensemble de documents vous allez numériser et quels employés les utilisent ou prévoient de les utiliser. Documentez cette information, ainsi qu’un calendrier et un budget proposés, dans un aperçu du projet ou une procédure opérationnelle normalisée (PON). Ce document vous sera utile lorsque vous irez chercher des appuis organisationnels et du soutien pour le projet pilote. N’oubliez pas qu’il devrait s’agir d’un document « vivant » qui évolue comme le fait le projet.

Déterminez quelles parties du processus vous impartirez.

Votre organisation n’a pas besoin de gérer tous les aspects de la numérisation à l’interne. Par exemple, certaines équipes décident de numériser leurs documents à l’interne, mais impartissent l’entreposage physique des documents. Que vous impartissiez une portion du projet ou non, il est essentiel de tenir compte de la sécurité de la chaîne de contrôle des documents. Cela est pertinent si vous faites le transport de documents pour la numérisation, l’entreposage ou la destruction. Le personnel qui manipule les documents, à la fois vos employés et les ressources de vos partenaires, doit être correctement formé et sélectionné. Pour votre projet pilote, décrivez clairement les ressources internes, vos plans d’impartition et les processus de la chaîne de contrôle.

Clarifiez les exigences de numérisation

Vous devez ensuite déterminer si le projet pilote comprendra des documents standard ou spécialisés comme des dessins et des spécifications d’ingénierie très détaillés ou des documents surdimensionnés. Pour votre projet pilote, vous pouvez décider d’utiliser un fournisseur externe pour la numérisation plutôt que d’investir dans de l’équipement de production personnalisé et coûteux ou de numérisation spécialisée. Avant le début du projet pilote, expliquez clairement les exigences liées à la qualité de l’image de l’utilisateur final et celles du système de destination. Dans le cadre du lancement du projet pilote, effectuez des essais initiaux pour vous assurer que les attentes en matière de qualité d’image sont satisfaites.

N’oubliez pas la préparation du document

Cette étape de la numérisation a tendance à prendre beaucoup de temps et à être coûteuse. Elle nécessite également beaucoup d’espace. Le travail de préparation nécessite des ressources pour retirer les agrafes, les trombones et les notes autocollantes, et lisser les plis et les froissures avant de pouvoir numériser les documents. Ces personnes peuvent également regrouper et classer des documents, et être en mesure de le faire correctement demande parfois beaucoup de formation et de connaissances. Combiner la validation du manifeste au suivi des codes à barres est un moyen efficace de valider que chaque document papier a été numérisé et comptabilisé.

Tenez compte des exigences en matière de recherche et de récupération de documents

Pendant les étapes de planification du projet pilote, prenez le temps de penser à l’accès aux documents numériques des utilisateurs. Dans certains cas, les organisations souhaitent empêcher certains utilisateurs d’accéder à des documents sensibles ou à certaines parties de documents. Un autre point à envisager est la rétention des documents. Il est essentiel de saisir les métadonnées appropriées pour l’indexation de chaque document pour répondre aux exigences de recherche, de récupération et de rétention.

Créez un plan pour disposer des documents

Une fois que les dossiers physiques ont été numérisés pendant un projet pilote, l’organisation doit décider s’il faut entreposer les documents physiques de façon sécuritaire ou les détruire. La disposition des documents doit tenir compte des exigences réglementaires. Une fois que les documents ont été numérisés et soumis à des examens de contrôle de la qualité, il peut être approprié de détruire les versions papier physiques.

N’oubliez pas de planifier la disposition des documents numériques

Un document numérique peut être soumis aux mêmes lois et règlements qu’un document physique. Assurez-vous que votre processus de numérisation correspond aux exigences de rétention à long terme. Les processus de classification de document et de saisie des métadonnées sont essentiels pour y parvenir. Enfin, assurez-vous d’avoir un plan pour être en mesure d’exécuter la disposition, une fois la période de rétention terminée.

Si votre organisation souhaite commencer un projet pilote de transformation numérique, mais qu’elle ne sait pas par où commencer, n’hésitez pas à communiquer avec nous. Access a travaillé avec de nombreuses entreprises pour numériser des documents, les indexer, les stocker et en disposer. Un projet pilote bien conçu est l’un des meilleurs moyens de démontrer la valeur de la numérisation et de créer un élan pour les initiatives à grande échelle.

Entre-temps, vous pouvez également en apprendre davantage sur les solutions d’Access pour faciliter les projets pilotes de numérisation en regardant ma webdiffusion à la demande : Transformation numérique 2.0 | S’y rendre (ENG)

The post Transformation numérique 101 : Sept conseils pour planifier et réaliser des projets pilotes réussis appeared first on Access.