Forrester/ARMA survey: mitigating legal risks drives software deployment plans: records professionals have a strategic role to play in implementing systems and processes for meeting regulatory requirements, protecting information assets, and easing e-discovery burdens.

• Author: Hill, Brian W.
• Position: ANALYST CORNER

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In conjunction with ARMA International, Forrester recently fielded a survey of more than 400 technology and strategy decision makers responsible for records management. The key finding: More than half of records managers plan to ramp up deployments in 2010. Maybe that's not surprising, but keep in mind the well-established records management market is currently undergoing significant change.

We're at a "deer in the headlights" phase of the market. Enterprises need consistent records management approaches to grapple with the explosive volume and diversity of content and to meet legal risk mitigation needs. Rapid growth in digital content has coincided with increasingly complex compliance and e-discovery requirements that frustrate enterprise efforts. Diverse applications, tools, and file types, along with undocumented, disorganized information architectures, increased litigation, rapidly changing case law, and a fragmented vendor ecosystem further aggravate this scenario. In this landscape, records managers must push for a strategic seat within their organizations, pragmatically aligning near-term requirements to maximize value and fit for their needs.

Evaluating Vendors In Fragmenting Market Is Key

These new requirements fuel an expanded emphasis on vendor evaluation. It's important for buyers across all markets to select a vendor that cost-effectively meets current and expected organizational needs while delivering on its promises. But, given the high stakes in the records management market (e.g., fines, major e-discovery costs, and reputation damage), information and knowledge management (I&KM) leaders need to navigate cautiously when choosing suppliers. This is key given:

1. Uncertainty regarding vendor selection and fragmentation will define the 2010 market.

   A large number of vendors provide offerings for the broad records management market. These include: Autonomy, CA, EMC, HP, IBM, Iron Mountain, Laserfiche, Microsoft, Open Text, Oracle, and others. Records management stakeholders who expect to deploy additional records management licenses or to pilot or implement new records management products next year cited these and other vendors, but nearly 29% of these users have not determined which offering they plan to pilot or deploy in 2010.

2. Records managers give mixed ratings for their current solutions.

   Less than half of survey respondents report satisfaction with their current records management solutions, and more than 13% report they are not at all satisfied. Among survey participants employed by organizations that conduct business internationally, satisfaction rates are even lower, factoring in needs for language support, performance, and synchronizing regulatory and privacy requirements. Dissatisfaction with vendor supplied and homegrown records management solutions is a key factor leading organizations to consider alternative offerings over the next 18 months. (See Figure 1 on page 44.)

   Expanding RM Scope Includes ESI

   Factoring in media, format, and other considerations, only 19% of records management stakeholders report they are very confident their organization will be able to rapidly and cost-effectively retrieve records in 15 years. This figure drops to 15% over a 25-year period. For some, vendor viability may be an important consideration. Ongoing market consolidation limits the number of offerings available from "pure play" providers and brings into question the longevity of smaller independent vendors.

   Increasing regulatory and litigation concerns, along with organizational change and technology advancements, have combined to accelerate the expanding scope of records management beyond physical records to a range of electronic assets. Current implementations and expected deployments include the following:

1. Current systems focus on physical records management while support for other assets lags.

   More than 80% of records management decision makers report leveraging technology for physical records management. This figure dramatically decreases for electronically stored...