According to IDC, part of the struggle in this area comes not only from the growing amounts of data, but the increased value, decreasing structure and change of velocity that data is undergoing as well. With 90 percent of data an unstructured mess for most businesses, information management isn’t only about storage, but sorting, analyzing and learning how to best leverage that data at the same time. This issue is compounded by the growing adoption of what IDC calls “third platform” technologies – mobile broadband, smartphones and tablets, the cloud, social media and the millions of apps, services and the experiences that come with these technologies.

The IT industry is growing – there is no way to ignore this fact. According to IDC, the industry is predicted to reach $5 trillion by 2020, with 80 percent of the market in those third platform technologies. This adds to the data growth government agencies are already experiencing, and the increasing demands being made upon IT teams. While these tools will be key to determining the role and decision-making power of professionals involved with big data and digital information in general in the future, they require the right approach today to be successful tomorrow.

Luckily for them, agencies are beginning to realize this already. The IDC study found that many are already looking to improve their ability to analyze and predict patterns in data, while also learning to better integrate it with workflow and use big data more intelligently. However, more can still be done to better prepare government offices for the evolution of these trends and improve their utilization of data today.

Improve Data Visibility

As the need to sort, analyze and store data grows, agencies will need to enhance their ability to effectively and productively use that data. This means improving data transparency and the collaboration between employees and offices. As the technology involved in these processes evolves and requires updates and changes, this improved visibility will also help agencies maintain order and organization when a system is upgraded or replaced.

Data Storage Needs Will Change

Big data doesn’t just mean having a lot of data – it means generating a lot of data every day. As such, agency storage needs are going to be constantly evolving, if they aren’t already. Cost-effective, reliable storage capabilities will be needed to deal with not only highly active data that is accessed regularly, but data that just needs to be stored for compliance reasons. In these instances, tape storage provides a highly effective answer. With tape, agencies gain security and reliability, as well as integrated disaster recovery that is a far more economical option than disk. Agencies will also be able to reliably store their data and backups in offsite vaults that protect from the worst that Mother Nature can bring to bear, and from security issues as well.

Though dealing with big data seems a daunting task today, the right approach and the right tools to get the job done will help any organization accomplish a great deal in a short amount of time, and be ready for any changes the IT industry may bring as it evolves.

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Creating the VLER is paramount for the treatment of military veterans in the United States. Currently numbering 23 million, these veterans account for 500 petabytes of health data. By 2012, they’ll account for 25,000. EHRs will allow the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to integrate all of this information into a single system, helping these veterans to receive the quality of care they deserve.

The following infographic illustrates some of the challenges that are present when caring for our veterans and active service military. But caring for our veterans is a priority, we must serve those that have served us.

View in high-res >>

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This need for teamwork is true in all aspects of our life, work as well as personal.  Late august the white house published the  Managing Government Records Directive, which marked the beginning of an Executive Branch-wide effort to reform records management policies and practices to develop a 21^st framework for the management of federal government records.  Key within this was the partnership and team work that will be required to be successful.

The directive calls for creation of new councils and teams.  The first of which is by November 15^th 2012 each agency will name its Senior Agency Official (SAO).  They will have their first group meeting on December 31^st, 2012, and will continue to meet periodically.

Outside of the SAOs there are existing councils that will partner with other organizations.  One example of this is the Federal Chief Information Officers Council.  This council is particularly important because of the role that digitization, and the mandate for NARA to launch new cloud initiatives.  The Federal CIO Council will be key advisors to the Federal Records Council and NARA, all of whom will partner to obtain external involvement for the development of open source records management solutions.

Then, the Federal CIO council will also partner with the Federal Records Council, and other Government-wide councils that express interest in order to establish a new group, called the Community of Interest (COI).  This group will bring together leaders from the information technology, legal counsel, and records management communities to solve specific records management challenges.   This COI will be a guiding presence to share information, create training, and identify tools that support electronic records management, which is key to the purpose of the directive.

Looking back at the Olympics this summer a great example of a winning team is our women’s soccer team, also Olympic champions.   These women have played together for years, they know each other well, and they can act together for the good of the whole.

There are also examples of where individual contributors can come together to win.  For example we can look at our women’s gymnastics champions from the 2012 Olympics.  They have been named both the dream team and the fab five, all due to their ability to work together, and the way that their skill set complements each other.

So what makes a successful team?  First and foremost is focusing on what you are supposed to do.  Second is complementing each other to bring out the best in each other.  Finally, it is key to trust in yourself and in others.  What do you find makes your team great?

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The Directive is organized into two parts.  Part one outlines the goals of the Directive, while part two talks about the means to get there. The goals are two-fold: First to transition federal agencies towards a digital government, and second, to build a new infrastructure to help manage compliance with Federal Records Management Statutes and Regulations.

The OMB and NARA are taking great steps in the right direction.  First and foremost, they have placed openness, transparency, and accountability at the core of the directive.  Secondly, they are aiming towards rule simplification, and establishing a structure wherein the federal agency can be more self-sufficient in their records management moving forward.

The dates set forth represent an aggressive timeframe.  Developing a new governing structure and new norms takes time, patience, and coordination.  Target dates in the directive extend out to 2019, when “all permanent electronic records in Federal agencies will be managed electronically to the fullest extent possible for eventual transfer and accessioning by NARA in an electronic format.”  There is a lot to accomplish during this timeframe, but the OMB and NARA have incorporated some key best practices from private industry including the appointment of a Senior Agency Official (SAO) for senior level accountability. In addition, they will partner with private industry leaders in IT, legal and records management to form an advisory group called a Community of Interest (COI) to address challenges.

So where does an agency start in meeting its goals for the Directive?  The first deadline is November 15^th of this year, when each agency is required to appoint its respective SAO.  At that point, the necessary leadership and, therefore, accountability, will be in place to begin moving forward with next steps.  There are other check-in points along the way, but by August 24^th 2013, each agency must report annually to OMB and NARA the status of its progress toward the directive goals.

It will not be an easy road for agencies, but assurance that the future of our federal records management is headed in the right direction and has support of the White House should help provide some inspiration for all of the hard work ahead.

What do you think? Is the timeline of deliverables one that can and will be met by federal agencies?

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Federal IT professionals have had a very busy fiscal 2012. They saw the launch of the Digital Government Strategy, which is focusing our government on systems architecture, establishing some best practices, and collaborating across agencies.  They have continued execution of the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative, which is requiring a shutdown of over 1,000 data centers by 2015.  And, if that wasn’t enough there are dozens if not hundreds or thousands of initiatives focused on big data and big data analytics.

However, changes in our government are not isolated to new technology.  In 2012, we saw the first indication of change in federal records regulations since the Truman administration with the Presidential Memorandum – Managing Government Records.  In a recent survey conducted by Iron Mountain, we learned that 85% of federal records managers are supportive of the memorandum and dedicated to helping improve their program.   The survey also showed that records are a “significant” priority to agency employees, and that 93% of agencies are prioritizing improving records management processes.

Fiscal year 2013 will be a challenging year.  Congress passed a continuing resolution, which means no new funding for the first six months of next year.   We have an election in November, which could mean major changes in almost all branches of government.  And we will continue to work on what we didn’t finish in the prior years.

What is similar about our federal fiscal year-end and the calendar year-end is that both give us cause to pause, reflect, and consider the year ahead.  The annual ARMA Conference in Chicago at the end of September comes at an opportune time for Federal Records Managers.  Time to close the books on the year that’s passed and to be re-energized for a what lies ahead.  Typically, New Year’s is filled with resolutions, and while you might not have time for a vacation you can pause.  What is your New Year’s resolution for federal fiscal year 2013?

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So, what did we learn?  We learned that 97% of agencies feel they are strongly complying with the Federal Records Act, and therefore, federal agencies have a lot of confidence in their records management program.  Nonetheless, 85% are supportive of the memorandum and dedicated to helping improve their program.  We learned that records are a “significant” priority to agency employees, and that 93% of agencies are prioritizing improving records management processes.  And, we learned that agencies who worked across departments to respond felt more confident in their current performance, for this is power in partnership.

The survey results provided a very positive outlook for our federal records programs.  However, there is still opportunity to improve.  Only 9% of respondents were confident in their ability to use cloud based applications, and 51% were confident in their ability to manage digital records.  Subsequently there will be challenges in having a fully integrated solution for records management across both physical and digital records.

Thinking about it helped, overall 69% of agencies felt that they have a better plan to store and manage electronic data, and 81% felt they are more conscious of records management  as a result of the March 27^th deadline.  The March deadline required that the agencies do an inventory of their current processes and therefore increase their awareness.

When we asked, 77% of those surveyed shared that they are anticipating a focus on protecting access to records, and 76% are anticipating tighter regulations around compliance with the Federal Records Act.  We know that there are broad concerns such as having a budget to implement change and finding staff to do the work.

Life is more predictable then what the magic 8 ball will tell you, but we still don’t know what the directive will say.  However, what we do know, is that we will be ready to help the government when we find out.

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The appeal for government agencies is largely due to the enormous volume of information that government agencies are responsible for managing. Every day, agencies accumulate a huge amount of data, much of it on paper. Whether we’re talking about the Environmental Protection Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Health and Human Services – they are all constantly writing and updating files and records.  On top of it, they need all of this data and information to provide services and fulfill their obligations to the public.

To make the most of this data, agencies need efficient management systems, and one of solution is digitization.  With digitization, though, records can be stored electronically, making them far easier to search through and locate. Instead of having to dig through piles of boxes and tightly packed file cabinets, government employees can do a quick keyword search to find what they need. This makes the government run more efficiently, and information more accessible

For example, think about how much of a hassle it is for you to go through your own personal records and receipts when filing taxes or anything of that sort. Now imagine that process on an exponentially larger scale.

Getting rid of your paper records can seem scary, but government agencies can have both, digitization of the most important documents, and retention of the original paper documents and deeper detail.  Then, if a paper record is needed, it can be imaged on demand and sent over to the requestor.

In addition, digitizing only some documentation can make the costs associated with digitization less daunting.

We all wish we could have our cake and eat it too.  With a smart digitization strategy you can do just that.

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What does this mean for our future, and what does it mean for Federal Records Management?  It means business as usual.  Agencies will continue to receive funding into the next calendar year.  They can continue working on projects that are on-going, and focus on providing services for all Americans.

However, these days business as usual means change as usual.  There is a new focus on Federal Records Management.  Any day now we are expecting a directive on federal records management, the results of the Presidential Memorandum – Managing Government Records.  We’re not sure what will be in the directive, but it will change the way that federal agencies work.

Furthermore, we are still focused on the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative, which is requiring a shutdown of over 1,000 data centers by 2015. In addition, we have a new Digital Government Strategy, which is focusing our government on systems architecture, establishing some best practices, and collaborating across agencies.  On top of all of that, federal agencies are struggling to make the most of out of big data.

Our new norm, our steady state, is change.  It helps that federal agencies will have funds to continue change through the end of the calendar year.  We have a lot to do, and we must keep forging ahead and continue our efforts.

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Along these lines, I’m thrilled to be a part of Iron Mountain, who was a founding member of the “100,000 Jobs Mission”, a program whose goal is to hire 100,000 veterans over the next ten years.  When the program was started there were only 8 companies involved, and today there are 56.  The program is building traction, as of June 30, 2012 they had already hired 18,249 veterans.

The speakers at the event espoused many reasons why veterans make great employees.  Yes, there are some tax breaks for hiring veterans, and even more tax breaks for hiring wounded warriors, but more than that veterans develop real-life skills that are useful almost everywhere.  Among the many skills that they learn in the military they develop discipline, character, good business practices, teamwork, resourcefulness, and leadership.  Doesn’t that sound like someone you would want working for you or on your team?

Iron Mountain has a dedicated Military Recruiter, Cheryl Danilowicz, but more than that we look to partner with the government in our every day practices.  We sign deals where we partner with veteran run business, and we work in federal run facilities every day.  In all of our business practices we work with our federal agencies as a partner, and share private industry learnings with our government.

Within this, we often talk about how partnerships between the federal government and the private sector have many benefits, cost savings, efficiencies, and shared best practices.  However, that works both ways.  More than just partnering to bring private best practices to federal records management, we can bring military best practices into the private sector by hiring veterans.  Do you have veterans on your team?

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Following in the footsteps made by President Harry Truman following World War II, the Obama administration is asking federal agencies to fundamentally change the way they categorize and protect public records. Ensuring accountability and transparency has become an even greater challenge in today’s technologically advanced world, but there are tools available that can make the job easier. As IDC experts have noted, comprehensive records management systems have emerged to help agencies leverage the power of eDiscovery to achieve the visibility needed to satisfy compliance requirements and organizational goals.

Simply installing new software is no guarantee of results, however, and department leaders must be aware of the multifaceted effort required for sustainable success. Making minor tweaks to the office culture is one thing, but evolving work habits that have been ingrained in government administrators for generations is no small feat.

Here’s just some of what it will take:

Make Technology Work for You

One of the primary tenets of open government is ensuring information is easily accessible to the public. In today’s constantly connected world, that means moving beyond pen and paper and converting records into a variety of machine-readable formats. It is no longer acceptable to wait weeks or months for a reply to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Furthermore, as government workloads continue to grow, electronic processing may soon be the only way to halt and reverse the growth of agency backlogs.

Additionally, government records management procedures must evolve in step with how information is being created. Instead of treating email as an afterthought, administrators must adopt processes and practices that embrace the evolution of communication. With that in mind, all roads in efficient digital records management lead to eDiscovery tools. By leveraging these software solutions, agencies can capture, index, store and search their archives faster and more effectively than ever before.

Whether it’s preparing for litigation or responding to FOIA requests from constituents, government record managers can find exactly what they need in a fraction of the time by putting eDiscovery tools to work for them.

Education and Training

Under Obama’s mandate, federal agencies can no longer get away with treating records storage and management as a specialized trade. Success requires input and uptake from employees at all levels of the organization. Considering the practices and procedures for retaining and maintaining records will be new to much of the workforce, therefore some training is in order.

To begin, employees should be taught how to distinguish between different types of records to make sure confidential information stays secure, and superfluous files do not get in the way of mission-critical procedures. Workers will also need an understanding of pertinent legal requirements and compliance frameworks to make sure they have the proper baseline context before putting advanced tools to work.

Make It Second Nature

Although each employee will have their own unique learning style, the level of sensitivity and technicality associated with emerging records management strategies suggest that most will benefit from hands-on training experiences. A building block approach often works best, allowing workers to master the lower-level tasks with carryover from legacy systems before moving on to more advanced efficiency tactics.

For instance, employees can begin by learning how to classify and index records appropriately before getting into the tips and tricks associated with eDiscovery search filters. There should be a clear sense of progression and feedback to make sure employees are absorbing the fundamentals properly. There might be a learning curve involved at first, but after awhile you’ll start seeing employees take the initiative to ensure records management best practices are followed when they realize how the technology can simplify their work day.

Paring Down Backlogs

Following the establishment of the National Declassification Center in 2009, the National Archives and Records Administration was asked to develop a comprehensive plan for eliminating an FOIA backlog that had reached nearly 400 million pages. To accomplish this goal, NDC officials have been preaching prioritization.

First, federal agencies are encouraged to classify information in terms of public interest so that the most popular or contentious records can be flagged for faster access and potential processing. Government records managers have also been asked to assess factors such as the age and volume of material to determine the likelihood that information will be requested for declassification.

Once again, the proper pairing of technology and understanding is crucial in this endeavor. While the automation of eDiscovery tools represents a quantum leap forward from manual document review, expert employees must use the software judiciously to make sure results are as effective as they are efficient.

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