The benefits of digitisation : Let s get digital. by Scott Sammons 2016

Transcription

1 @privacyminion The benefits of digitisation : Let s get digital by Scott Sammons CIPP/E, AMIRMS *Image courtesy of

2 What do we mean by digitisation? Convert physical files (for example paper images) into a digital form that can be processed by a computer.

3 The benefits of digitisation improve business process efficiency, quality and consistency integrate records with digital systems improve accessibility and facilitate better knowledge sharing improve response time and client service reduce costs promote greater staff flexibility better plan for business continuity increased transparency

4 Improve business process efficiency, quality and consistency Digitisation itself will not improve your organisation's business processes. Provide an opportunity for an organisation to consider its business processes & determine how digitisation can be integrated into them. A digitisation program may prompt a re-engineering of processes, improvement of quality and promotion of consistency. Consistent classification, security and access rules and indexing can be introduced where relevant.

5 Integrate with digital systems Integrate records in digital form with EDRMS or existing business systems. In the areas where digitisation is introduced, staff can be more confident that the digital records provide a complete account of the business conducted (at least from the date digitisation is introduced). If the digital images are stored in an EDRMS there is the potential for the images to be controlled and managed as records

6 Improve accessibility and facilitate better knowledge sharing

7 Improve accessibility and facilitate better knowledge sharing Improved accessibility Physical location is no longer an impediment to access. Increased capacity for knowledge transfer and the reuse of information If undertaking a back-capture digitisation program to improve access, it is important to remember that accessibility can only be increased if the digitisation program is well controlled

8 Improve response time and client service If a digitisation program is robust, it is much easier and quicker to retrieve and view digital images rather than the original paper records, particularly for time-critical matters. This should, in turn, reduce the time taken to respond to clients.

9 Reduce costs A digitisation program has the potential to reduce storage, management and access costs. You may wish to show that your digitisation program will bring a Return on Investment (ROI). One significant cost, which may not have been factored into ROI calculations, is the cost of retaining and providing access to digital images over time.

10 Promote greater staff flexibility and ability to work remotely

11 Better plan for business continuity Digital records are much easier to duplicate. Records can be backed-up using the organisation s normal back-up procedures and included in disaster recovery procedures. Vital records records essential to the functioning of the organisation can be protected from disaster and secured in different locations in digital form.

12 Increased Transparency Increased efficiency in retrieval and search Knowing what you have and where it is Increased ability to scope, process, and respond to FOI, DPA, EIR, legal discovery requests.

13 Potential costs Do not be misled by advice that digitisation is cheap. Costs can be considerable and may vary according to the scope and aims of a program and the quality of digital images required. Common costs include: digitisation software and hardware and upgrades training and support for staff involved in digitisation work staff time to plan, establish and document the program with suitable parameters and benchmarks

14 Potential costs (contd ) staff time to prepare records, digitise, apply metadata, do quality control checks, monitor and evaluate programs etc technical infrastructure and storage space for maintaining new digital copies providing software on desktops to view digital images ongoing maintenance and update of systems training and change management strategies for all relevant staff including those accessing digital images managing digital images over time (where relevant) e.g. costs of migration or destruction

15 Potential costs (contd ) Costs can be compared in the business case to: costs of inaction e.g. if we don t do anything, what might that cost the organisation? cost savings that can be made by destroying original paper records (where relevant) and thereby reducing paper storage costs cost savings brought about by improving practices, providing better access to the records etc.

16 The defence rests You can follow me at