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Edward Hladky, Directeur Général d’Iron Mountain France: Six Things the CEO doesn’t Know About Records and Information Management but should
April 2015 by Edward Hladky, Directeur Général d’Iron Mountain France
1. If you only read on thing, read this: companies looking to get on the fast track to an information advantage are looking to employ the right person into the role of Chief Information Governance Officer (CIGO).
2. How information is governed is fast becoming a board-room issue. Get things wrong and the risks to reputation are too high to ignore, get them right and your information could be the game changer that gets you into new markets faster than your competitors. To gain this information advantage, senior leadership must communicate business requirements to the team responsible for information governance and, in turn, the IG team should be given a platform to communicate the opportunities and concerns they identify to the very top of the business.
3. When information is managed well, the team responsible for information governance will balance the need for protecting information to mitigate risk with the growing requirement to make the right information accessible to the right business units when they need it. This means putting the organizational policies, internal programs and review policies in place. Get these building blocks right and you increase the opportunity for the business to use its information to gain insight and add value.
4. Information Management should not rest solely in the hands of IT. Information risk can come from any part of the organization and everyone should carry some responsibility for keeping information secure.
5. Don’t see the team responsible for managing you organization’s information solely in terms of avoiding data breaches and staying compliant with relevant legislation. This is of course important, but today’s records and information professionals should help companies use information to drive broader business goals such as reaching new customers and improving sales.
6. The role of information managers is changing constantly. By communicating with business units and employing information mapping tools, they should know what information exists, who has or has had access to it, where it is now, how safe it is and, importantly, when it is finally time to let it go.
