Safeguard Your Data With Electronic Records Management (ERM)

Preserving and managing information takes a lot of effort. The maesters of the Citadel put in a lot of effort in collecting information, verifying it, writing it down, storing it and managing its records. That’s a lot of work, phew! However, keeping paper records is an archaic process. Paper records are often misplaced, damaged or lost when not digitized. As today's world becomes increasingly digitized, organizations need to ensure that they are prepared for the future by implementing a strategy that addresses their record management needs. 

With the digitization of information, people and companies are generating more and more data on a daily basis. This has led to an increase in the need for highly sophisticated Electronic Records Management systems to handle this abundance of data.

If you are struggling to manage your business records and want to know everything about Electronic Record Management systems, then you have come to the right place! Stay with us to know the A to Z of Electronic Record Management.
 

What Is Electronic Record Management (ERM)?

Technology has changed how we live and work. Today, the idea of a paperless office is a reality. The electronic record has replaced the handwritten document as the preferred method of storing information. The question that arises here is what is an electronic record?

An electronic record is a piece of information recorded by a computer that is produced or received in the initiation, conduct or completion of an organization or individual activity. Emails, instant messages, tweets, posts on Facebook and blogs all add up to what can be considered electronic records. It is essentially the modern version of documents that the maesters of the Citadel created by putting information on paper. 

Now that you know what electronic records are, it is time to ask the big question - what is Electronic Records Management? It is a subset of Content Management Systems which efficiently manages records stored on computerized systems. ERM uses automated techniques to manage digital records regardless of their format.

Before proceeding to how ERM works, let's first know how Electronic Record Management evolved – on to the next section. 
 

Roots Of Electronic Records Management

The history of Electronic Records Management (ERM) is really an interesting mix of both the evolution of technology and the changing needs for records management. Records management, as it is practiced today, has its roots in the late 19th century when government bodies came into effect to pass laws that would regulate the retention of certain records. 

The economic boom that was experienced post-war in the 1950s and 1960s had a positive impact on businesses across the globe. This resulted in the increased demand for document storage facilities and the advent of records management firms. These firms used to build warehouses in prime locations in various cities and towns. They invested a hefty sum in transportation to offer pick-up and delivery services for documents between branches. They also took care of the record retrieval needs of bigger clients with more locations. 

The introduction of computers in the 1970s significantly changed the face of record management. The exponential rise in the rate at which documents were produced created the need for even more sophisticated levels of records management. Firms began to digitize files and store them electronically. #DigitalTransformation 

The advent of barcode scanners in the 1980s further revolutionized records management and data security. The firms of the time affixed a barcode on each box of documents or individual files so that by scanning the bar codes, organizations can track the whereabouts of the documents and provide easy identification. In 1989, with the advent of web 1.0, the demand for Content Management Systems increased and thus, ERM came into the picture. In the early 21st century, digital tools such as OCR Software were invented to convert paper documents into digital files. With the advancement of technology, more efficient ways of storing and managing records digitally were seen.

Let's learn how the Electronic Records Management system works in the following section.
 

This Is How Electronic Records Management Works!

 
In the Citadel, maesters allocate the tasks of writing information onto a piece of paper to young workers who have come to the Citadel to learn and become maesters. These records were then verified by grand maesters and stored in the library. The maintenance of records was taken care of by the maesters themselves. When certain information was required, these handwritten documents were referred to develop an appropriate solution for Men in the seven kingdoms. This is how to record management was practiced in the Citadel. #AgeOldWisdom

However, we live in a digital era and ERM differs from paper-based records. As electronic records increased, automated recording and integration of records became a standard feature of document management solutions. ERM systems specifically store, manage and ingest digital records automatically from multiple sources within the business.

Electronic Records Management capabilities include unique identifiers (read: naming conventions)
or files name which is usually generated within a database for systems administration and tracking purposes. Also, unauthorized changes are prevented by implementing manual procedures or by using software applications to keep the document from being modified after it has been declared as a record and audit trails ensure an enforceable chain of custody making it possible to know what was changed, when and by whom.

Pretty cool, right? Let's move further to know the importance of Electronic Records Management in the next section.
 

Importance of Electronic Records Management

Record management has always been important for businesses. With record management, the maesters of the Citadel also helped people of the seven kingdoms retrieve important information and make better decisions. One of the records from the library revealed that dragonstone could be used to defeat the White Walkers. This important information helped the people win the battle against them! If the records were not maintained and managed by the maesters, winning the battle against the dead would have been impossible.

Coming back to reality, the days of filing records, documents and emails in a cabinet are long gone. Today, information is stored electronically and can easily be transferred between different computers, systems and devices. With ERM, you can automatically capture document metadata. ERM can also be used to identify records, categorize them and facilitate their retrievals when needed. It ensures that accurate information is captured, older versions are removed and people can find the right information at the right time. This leads to better use of records and more accurate insights.

Yet, that’s not all. Let's dive into the next section to know the benefits of ERM.
 

How Does Electronic Records Management Benefit Businesses?

 
While Sam takes his time to find the right file in the massive Citadel, let’s look at how ERM benefits businesses. Electronic records are becoming more and more common in hospitals, government offices and other large organizations. Implementing an ERM system in your business can make day-to-day tasks involving documents quicker and easier to accomplish. The benefits of Electronic Record Management are plentiful. We have listed a few of them below:
 

• Cost-effectiveness 

  ERM system helps your business cut costs by reducing the time your staff spends manually processing documents. It also eliminates the need to store paper documents, which can be expensive. 

• Compliance

  An ERM system with compliance features can help your organization stay in line with laws and regulations. For example, it can remind you how long a certain document must be kept private.

• Security

  The ERM system helps you with data security by providing and automating key security features such as user access controls, document tracking, password protection, automatic backups, records manager and more.

• Scalability

  ERM grows with your business. No matter how quickly your business grows, the ERM system grows with its data needs and keeps track of all your documents.

• Collaboration

  ERM system makes it simpler for users to share and collaborate on documents. As records are digitally stored, they can be accessed across multiple devices.

If you think now you know everything about Electronic Record Management, then hold on. The following section is all about the future of ERM. Stay tuned! 
 

What's In The Future Of Electronic Records Management

 
The way records are created, accessed, shared and preserved has changed significantly over the years. Traditional records management approaches are no longer sufficient for today's fast-growing digital world. The future of Electronic Records Management will need to be more innovative and scalable than ever before in order to meet your organization's needs.

Cloud-based platforms and tools will be the future of Electronic Records Management. There will be increased use of cloud-based platforms to store records so that they can be accessed from anywhere and whenever needed. It will be the ultimate solution for companies who want to be agile and flexible. Cloud servers generally reduce the time, money and hassle involved in storing, processing and maintaining data.

Companies will move towards flexible working arrangements soon and there will be an increased need to migrate business data to the cloud so that employees can work from anywhere. Along with this, we can hope to see changes in the way records are secured through automated security management. We will see automated categorization of files, removal of duplicate files and even the updates to the records retention schedule will be done without manual intervention.
 

Conclusion

As technology continues to grow and alters the way we perform record management, businesses have to learn new strategies to keep pace with the growing world. The Maesters of the Citadel must be happy, as they now have a solution handy for managing their records digitally.