AIIM 2021 State of the Intelligent Information Management Industry: A Wake-Up Call for Organization Leaders
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Industry Watch
AIIM 2021 State of the Intelligent
Information Management Industry:
A Wake-Up Call for Organization Leaders
In Partnership with
AIIM Industry Watch
As the non-profit association dedicated to nurturing, growing, and supporting the information management community, AIIM is proud to
provide this research at no charge to our members. In this way, the entire community can leverage the education, thought leadership and
direction provided by our work. We would like these research findings to be as widely distributed as possible.
Feel free to use individual elements of this research in presentations and publications with the attribution — © AIIM 2021, www.aiim.org.
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Rather than redistribute a copy of this report to your colleagues or clients, we would prefer that you direct them to www.aiim.org/research for
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Thank You to Our Underwriters
Our ability to deliver such high-quality research is partially made possible by underwriters, without whom we would have to use a paid
subscription model. For that, we hope you will join us in thanking our underwriters:
Access Adlib Infotel Corp. USA (Arvitam) AvePoint
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Woburn, MA 01801 Burlington, ON L7N 3H8 St. Petersburg, FL 33743-3370 Jersey City, NJ 07310
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Bizagi Canon EMEA harmon.ie Hyland
Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 700 H www.canon-europe.com/business 691 S. Milpitas Blvd., Suite 212 28500 Clemens Road
Washington, DC 20001 Canon USA Milpitas, CA 95035 Westlake, OH 44145
United States H www.ciis.canon.com United States United States
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Thank You to Our Underwriters
Iron Mountain Kofax Inc NetDocuments OpenText
1 Federal Street 15211 Laguna Canyon Road 2500 Executive Pky., Suite 300 275 Frank Tompa Dr
Boston, MA 02110 Irvine, CA 92618 Lehi, UT 84043 Waterloo, ON N2L 0A1
United States United States United States Canada
H www.ironmountain.com H www. kofax.com H www.NetDocuments.com H www.opentext.com
Papyrus Software Proventeq SkySync TCG Process
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Southlake, TX 76092 Reading, Berkshire Ann Arbor, MI 48103 New Orleans, LA 70117
United States RG6 6BU United States United States
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H www.proventeq.com
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 3
About AIIM’s Industry Watch
Research
Over three years ago, AIIM introduced the concept of Intelligent
Information Management, or IIM, and began researching the
connections between IIM and Digital Transformation.
AIIM’s Industry Watch research program looks at the impact
of the rising tide of information chaos on the effectiveness
of transformation initiatives, the adoption rates of core IIM
technology building blocks, and IIM best practices.
We specifically framed this research around the four core
IIM capabilities that provide the structure for AIIM’s Certified
Information Professional (CIP) program:
1) Creating, Capturing, and Sharing Information
2) Digitalizing Information-Intensive Processes
3) Extracting Intelligence from Information
4) Automating Governance and Compliance
Other reports that may be of interest
to AIIM members include:
¨ Intelligent Capture, assisted by
Artificial Intelligence (Mar 2020)
¨ The Ultimate Guide to Improving
Your Business Processes (June 2020)
¨ Balancing Records Management
and Information Governance (Sept
2020)
¨ Mastering Your Microsoft 365 and
SharePoint Investment (Nov 2020)
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 4
About the AIIM Community
We value our objectivity and independence as a non-profit industry
association. The results of the survey and the market commentary
made in this report are independent of any bias from the vendor
community. The data shared in this report is just a small sample
of the overall data generated in preparation for this research
report, and distribution of the full set of findings is limited to the
underwriters.
The survey was taken using a web-based tool in February 2021.
All the participants were drawn from the AIIM Community. This is
important because it means the responses are from an informed
audience that understands the benefits – and the reality – of
information management in their organizations.
Number of Employees
1-99 19%
100-1000 34%
Over 1000 47%
Role in Organization
RM, DM, CM, or information governance 51%
Line of business or management or process 23%
Information technology/IT 14%
Other 12%
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 5
Industry Watch Meet Your Expert Panel
Meet Your CIP Expert Panel Jeffrey Lewis, CIP. Jeff is Information Governance
Manager at SOL Capital Management Company
We thank these IIM executives – all Certified Information and has experience in records management, content
Professionals (CIPs) – for their commitment to share their expertise management, requirements management, project
and time in order to improve the overall level of competence and management, and database management. He holds
knowledge within the industry. a graduate degree in Library Science and while
Quotes within this report in each CIP Expert section were made obtaining that degree he performed independent
studies in implementing digitization projects and an
during a special panel discussion of the survey results on March 4, independent reading on long term digital preservation.
2021. The intention was to use the survey findings as a foundation
for a conversation focused not just on the trends suggested by
the data, but on what to do about them. To ensure confidentiality
and candid perspectives, this discussion was conducted under a Laura Livingston, CIP. Laura is an Electronic
variation of “Chatham House” rules. Records Specialist with Sidney Austin, LLP.
In addition to being a CIP, Laura is a Certified
The quotes within the report are intentionally not attributed to
Records Manager and certificated paralegal
the individual participants in the Panel and reflect individual with over 25 years of experience in all phases of
perspectives rather than those of the organizations they represent. records management, from assessment through
Note – For those unfamiliar with the CIP Certification, more implementation.
information is HERE.
Jessica Marlette, CIP. Jessica is Information
Additional reading from Bizagi: Governance Counsel at White & Case LLP. She leads
Planning your path to intelligent process automation. the Content Governance Team at White & Case and
Learn the importance of effectively managing develops policies, procedures, and best practices to
modern application architecture and how to enable further the firm’s information governance strategy. In
organization-wide digital capabilities. addition to being a CIP, she is Immediate Past Chair of
AIIM’s Women in Intelligent Information Management
(WIIM) Leadership Council and is a member of the
Law Firm Information Governance Symposium (LFIGS).
Jed Cawthorne, CIP. Jed is an experienced
strategy consultant, Information & Knowledge
Management (IKM) practitioner, and social
collaboration evangelist. He is a CIP and an AIIM Alan Weintraub, CIP. Alan is Global Product
award winner for his work with the Toronto chapter. Owner of Contract Management at Invesco US. He
Jed has 20 years of experience in information is an AIIM Fellow and leading expert on multiple
management working with EMC Documentum, aspects of enterprise information management
OpenText, IBM FileNet, iManage, Alfresco, and (EIM) including enterprise content management
NetDocuments. He has led ECM, Intranet, and (ECM), data management, information governance
Enterprise Search implementation in higher education, (both data and content governance), digital rights
government agencies, and financial services. management, and digital asset management.
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 7
2020 – A Wake-Up Call for Industry Watch Organization Leaders
2%
X 2X 3X 4X 5X 6X 7X 8X 9X 10X 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
©2020, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted – Overall N = 482
2020 – A Wake-Up Call for The Context for the 2021 Report – 2
Organization Leaders
… with CHAOS weaknesses exposed by unexpected
COVID-driven demands.
Prior to COVID, how prepared was your organization for remote work?
The Context for the 2021 Report – 1 nprepared
Very unprepared
3%
A well-documented rising tide of INFORMATION CHAOS… V
Very prepared
3
34%
Assume the current volume of What would be your best guess for the Somewhat
incoming information is "X" – what do percentage of UNSTRUCTURED unprepared
you think it will be in 2 years? information in your organization? 18%
Average = 4.5X Average = 57%
17%
19% 15% 15%
17% 14%
15% 12%
14%
9% Somewhat
hat
9% prepared
ed
7% 6% 6% 45%
%
6% 6%
4% 3%
2%
2%
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X 2X 3X 4X 5X 6X 7X 8X 9X 10X 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
©2020, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted – Overall N = 482
The second key element in understanding how information
Two key trends are useful in understanding the context for the management C-Suite
changed Failing
in 2020to Align
is the impactBusiness
that COVID andhad on
The Context for the 2021 Report – 2
2021 State of the IIM Industry report – and for understanding the demands for remoteTechnology
work and on the Strategies
tools necessary to do so
information with
… CHAOS weaknesses
management challengesexposed byfacing
currently unexpected
end-user effectively and securely.
organizations. COVID-driven demands. Average Business/Technology alignment
Only one in three organizations
grade = Cwere prepared
minus (1.73) for the challenges
Prior to COVID, how prepared was your organization for remote work?
First, as has been well-documented by AIIM, end-user of remote work prior to COVID, and thus many organizations
organizations began the year 2020 in the midst of an ongoing tidal
nprepared
Very unprepared were forced into a mad
Think ad hoc
about how dance
well your to deploy
organization collaborative
aligns BUSINESS
3% strategy with INFORMATION MANAGEMENT strategy.
wave of incoming information, threatening their V ability
Very preparedto realize tools. The crisis highlighted
What grade would you give your organization? information
the weak points in many
their long-standing
3
34%
Somewhat digital transformation goals. This rising volume management strategies and forced organizations to recognize their
A - excellent
unprepared
of information is18%made even more complex by the increasing vulnerability. This elevated
F - poor the importance of effectively managing
11%
3%
variety of information types that must be managed. Most of this information assets to a strategic priority, worthy of C-level focus –
information is of the pesky unstructured variety – i.e., content. securely, anytime, anywhere, and on any device.B - good
2
26%
On average, organizations expect the volume of information
coming into their organizations
Somewhat
hat to grow from X to 4.5X over the Additional reading from Hyland:
next two years. prepared
They ed expect more than 57% of this information D - needs
Intelligent automation technology can deliver major
45%
% improvementt
to be unstructured (like a contract or a conversation) or semi- benefits
35% to organizations with solid digital and work
structured (like an invoice orrredistribution
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C - average
twin forces – information Overall volume andM365/O365
N = 238, self-identified information
users variety – that of how machine learning and artificial 2
25% intelligence can
creates information chaos and makes true digital transformation so be applied to your processes can be difficult. Discover
challenging. real examples
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Technology Strategies
Average Business/Technology alignment Money, Focus, and Culture Are Key to True
grade = C minus (1.73) Digital Transformation
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 9
Think about how well your organization aligns BUSINESS Moving beyond “business as usual” remains a challenge.
strategy with INFORMATION MANAGEMENT strategy.
These kinds of experiences cited by one survey participant There is a new awareness about the importance of
were not uncommon: information assets – document, content, records – and
process leaders and practitioners need to seize this
"We have heard awful anecdotes from customers in law
opportunity. Organizations cannot continue down the path
firms both big and small – like re-routing all the physical
of viewing information management decisions through a
mail to one person’s house so they can open it, assess,
tactical cost-minimization filter. In a digital age, the everyday
and re-mail it to others’ home addresses. Some firms
decisions that organizations make about how they deal with
with outdated accounting processes did not have enough
information chaos become strategic business decisions.
cheques to pay bills, or the right people not having access
to them, etc. Many processes were absolutely not ready to There is also a new realism about the gaps that exist in
be changed to work from anywhere mode." information management strategies, gaps that are reflected in
what at first glance might seem to be a rather harsh grading
The COVID crisis forced organizations to rethink how they
of the current state of IIM in most organizations. Unplanned
view remote work, remote workers, and the systems used
and ad-hoc remote work has contributed to this. We need
to support them. According to the Harvard Business Review
a higher level, more strategic discourse that addresses the
(“The Pandemic Is Widening a Corporate Productivity Gap”):
bottom line for IIM investments. Budgeting for IIM initiatives
"The productivity gap between the best and the rest often takes a back seat to front line business process-driven
has widened during the pandemic. We estimate that the budgeting in many organizations, even when the two areas
best companies – those that were already effective in should be connected.
managing the time, talent, and energy of their teams –
have grown 5% to 8% more productive over the last 12
months. Additional work time, access to new star talent,
and continued engagement have bolstered productivity
Additional reading from AvePoint:
at these companies. Most organizations, however, have This eBook will describe policy considerations and
experienced a net reduction in productivity of 3% to 6% common challenges you may face when creating
and managing guest user access to your Microsoft
(or more) due to inefficient collaboration, wasteful ways of Teams network. It will also outline decision points
working, and an overall decline in employee engagement." across four general-purpose guest access policy
The “State of the IIM Industry” in 2021 reflects the dramatic scenarios to demonstrate how an organization can
impact of these two forces: 1) rising levels of information set this up with standard licensing.
chaos; and 2) demands for new modes of working and
cooperating. The collective impact of all of this on the C-Suite
is a rising appreciation for the importance of how remote In this report, we discuss the state of information management
working and collaboration actually work. There is also a within organizations, based on research conducted in
growing awareness that much of what has been done out February 2021, with 229 decision-makers drawn from the AIIM
of necessity during COVID has governance, security, and community. The importance of this being an “AIIM sample”
accountability gaps that need to be addressed. cannot be over-emphasized, because these are the executives
and practitioners within organizations that have the best sense
of the gaps that exist between information management good
intentions and information management realities.
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 10The data highlights four specific information concerns that
organizations need to seriously address if they hope to succeed
in their journey to becoming truly digital organizations. For Additional reading from Access:
each of the concerns raised by the data, we provide two forms Read Five Considerations for Your Digitization Plan to
of crowd-sourced context to better understand what the data learn how your organization can put the ‘intelligent’
means. in “Intelligent Information Management” by using two
frames of reference: risk and opportunity.
o In the “Real-Life Perspectives” section, we include direct
Through these lenses, we’ll explore ways to:
quotes from the participants in the survey, designed to
punctuate and reinforce the data and to help bring the • Evaluate your information stores and target key
concern to life. processes for digital transformation.
• Adopt best practices for governing your data and
o In the “What Should You Do About It? – information (digital or paper), ensuring compliance
Recommendations” section, we focus on how to address and accessibility, while treating your information
each concern. The recommendations are direct quotes as an asset.
from our CIP Expert Panel; we are grateful to the CIPs for • Implement a cross-functional “Intelligent
sharing their recommendations based on their years of Information Management” team to drive change
experience. and sustain improvement.
The results should be a wake-up call to C-level
and Information Management executives
everywhere.
1. The C-Suite is failing to align business and technology
strategies.
2. Organizations are losing the battle against information
chaos and need to rethink outdated manual approaches
to information management.
3. Organizations need to increase their investment in
critical IIM competencies.
4. Money, focus, and culture – not just technology – are
key to true digital transformation.
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 11Finding 1 – The C-Suite Is Failing to Align Industry Watch Business and Technology Strategies
Somewhat
hat
Finding 1 – The C-Suite Is Failing
prepared
45%
%
ed about incremental process improvement. Digital transformation
is about using information in brand new ways.
to Align Business and Technology "The focus for information management is broader than simply
Strategies
©2020, AIIM – redistribution
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Overall N = 238, self-identified M365/O365 users
reducing information-based costs and risks. While this is
important, it is insufficient. Rather, organizations need to focus
on how to effectively monetize their information assets, directly
C-Suite Failing to Align Business and or indirectly, to move the organization forward. Information
Technology Strategies management must become a business enabler."
Average Business/Technology alignment The Harvard Business Review (“Is Your IT Department Aligned
grade = C minus (1.73) With Your Business Outcomes?”) reinforces how critical it is,
especially now, for organizations to place renewed emphasis on
Think about how well your organization aligns BUSINESS
strategy with INFORMATION MANAGEMENT strategy. more effectively aligning their business and technology strategies:
What grade would you give your organization?
"Over the years, many organizations have weathered
F - poor
A - excellent
3%
moments of upheaval. But this pandemic presents challenges
11%
unprecedented in their pace and scale. No doubt, challenges
will continue to emerge and quickly evolve. To respond with the
B - good
2
26% speed and agility required, business leaders must effectively
leverage digital technology and establish quick and reliable
methods for identifying needs, adjusting plans, and measuring
D - needs
improvementt
results. With technology and business goals so inextricably
35% interwoven, there is heightened urgency today around getting
a
C - average
digital transformation right… Ultimately, there’s a fundamental
2
25% and costly lack of alignment and a persistent gap between IT
and business. And this organizational disconnect has become
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the biggest impediment to digital transformation."
The AIIM CIP Study Guide clearly lays out the case for the
Money,
importance Focus, and Culture
of business/information Are Key
management to True
alignment:
Additional reading from Adlib:
"Most organizations Digital Transformation
and departments have a mandate to A new dawn on digital transformation has emerged.
continuously
Moving beyond “business as usual” remains achange
improve operations. A conventional challenge. In today’s competitive marketplace, companies
agenda involves better tools and technology, better behaviors, need every advantage to retain existing customers,
Which of the following is your BIGGEST obstacle to your efforts to
and better processes, all focused on generating better
become a truly digital organization?
attract new ones, and deliver a superior customer
efficiencies and improved productivity. experience. Intelligent data empowers businesses
26%
to operate more efficiently, boost profits, reduce
"Ultimately, AIIM believes digital transformation is24%
more than risk, and secure their place in the market. Get the
conventional change. Digital transformation18% is about doing free white paper to learn how Content Intelligence
things differently – and doing different things. And different 16% solutions enable life sciences, banks, and
not just for the sake12%
of being different, but in support of the insurance companies to supercharge their digital
key strategic objectives facing every organization in the age of transformation strategies.
digital disruption. In other words,
3%
2% digital transformation is not
Data privacy Lack of budge Lack of the right in- Regulation and An immature digital Lack of a true Lack of executive
and security and resources. house skill sets legislative culture. strategy for leadership follow-
concerns. and expertise. changes. managing through.
information assets.
©2021, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted – Overall N = 222
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 13So how are we doing in this critical task? o Information Management is not part of strategy... it’s mostly
an afterthought.
Overall, respondents in the AIIM survey give their organizations
an alignment grade of C-minus (1.73 on a 4-point grading scale). o We try to align the two strategies, but it is difficult when you
A C-minus. This is clearly a wake-up call to get serious about are catching up information management-wise and trying
improving how we link business and information management to innovate for the business. So, you end up with partially
strategies. Almost half of participants (46%) grade their efforts at aligned strategies.
alignment either as “needs improvement” or “poor.” o We know what has to be done but getting there and aligning
There are many reasons for this harsh assessment. But as one the various strategies is difficult.
might expect, the higher up in the organization you are, the better o We try to align information management strategy with
you think your organization is at performing this key strategic task. business strategy, but not the other way around. This is often
Particularly from the perspective of those with the most knowledge wasteful and shortsighted.
about the effectiveness of information management systems, vast
improvements are needed. o The integration of information management into our business
strategy is very high. We use it to define, control, and
support our business strategy. But we are still not managing
Grade % ranking: our information assets perfectly.
Role (4-point “B-good” or o Dealing with COVID has forced us to adjust to the new way
scale) “A-excellent” of dealing with information management. We have done
more electronically due to the facilities being closed to the
Senior executive public. Ensuring that the proper equipment was in place as
2.34 55%
– i.e., VP and above we worked remotely was a challenge.
Mid-level executive
1.70 24%
– i.e., director or manager
Non-managerial staff position 1.46 16% Additional reading from Kofax:
Organizations that work like tomorrow use artificial
intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA),
Real-Life Perspectives (from survey participants) mobile technologies, and other Intelligent Automation
solutions to transform operational capacity and
o We have no leadership alignment and agreement on performance across the enterprise at scale.
objectives and solutions and strategy. Discover the power of Kofax Intelligent Automation in
o There still exists a divide between IT and business lines – these five case studies. From customer onboarding to
neither wants to serve as a water-carrier for the other. insurance claims to finance & accounting automation,
Additionally, IT is continually positioning itself as an you’ll be inspired with stories of how other companies
just like yours are implementing and scaling intelligent
essential function rather than a service to the mission of the
automation.
organization; a position that both confuses and conflates
focus and resources.
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 14What Should You Do About It? – be actively resisted. An empowered and supported leader
is required in all these cases. The leader must be able to
Recommendations (from CIP Expert Panel) shine a light on the truth of the situation in order to gain
1. Embrace flexibility in the wake of COVID. In every broad consensus on what needs to be done.
organization, for every person who loves working at home, 5. Push the business to lead alignment. It always comes
there is somebody else who cannot get out of the house back to what we’re selling or what we’re making or how
quickly enough. And for every person who is super social, we use business processes to get work done, which
there’s another one who is an introvert and would love to means that the business needs to lead alignment efforts.
be working from home. COVID has forced people to figure They may need some coaching and some help with the
out remote working. Hopefully now that’s done, and you’ve information management side of things. But I actually think
made a big investment in sorting out the issues and making it’s easier to coach and assist and guide a business leader
sure the infrastructure is there. You may have put the to understand the information management perspective
infrastructure in place while in panic mode, but now you than it is to take an IT person and try to have them lead a
need to optimize it. Why wouldn’t you make the most of it? business function. We don’t do information management
The key for most organizations post-COVID is going to be for the sake of information management; information
flexibility. management is a support function. That doesn’t reduce its
2. Elevate the conversation about information value. It’s importance.
all about driving value for the organization. Years ago, 6. Identify cultural pressure points that can be leveraged.
I was trying to roll out records management across the Our company prides itself on being the most client-centric
organization. The hardest lesson I learned was that nobody company in our space. Content and information are at the
recognized the value of records unless they understood heart of delivering upon this strategic priority. We used
the value of that information. That meant transitioning from this cultural norm of customer-centricity to get senior
viewing a record as something you just stored, archived, executives to buy into a strategy of centrally managing
and retained to something of value that you could utilize to information instead of having multiple hubs of information.
extend your work processes.
3. Create an internal framework to understand and
balance both risk AND value. You have information
everywhere and you need to start somewhere. Start by
assigning both risk and value metrics to each source of Additional reading from Arvitam:
information and begin by attacking information sources A leading insurance and asset-management
that are high-risk and high-value. company with operations across 57 countries and
serving 108 million clients needed a centralized and
4. Clearly affix senior responsibility. If you want digital comprehensive digital archiving service designed for
transformation, someone has to lead it. They must be easy adoption and rapid implementation. Infotel’s
empowered to drive change and supported by the C-Suite Arvitam software was deployed across 40 divisions
and Board. Transformation does not just “happen” – it and more than 120 different business applications,
must be driven and actively pushed. In some organizations, and through automating this data transfer all archiving
transformation will be embraced and supported, in others requirements were met.
it will be met with a resounding “meh,” and in others it will
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 15Finding 2 – Organizations Are Losing Industry Watch
the Battle Against Information Chaos
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 16Finding 2 – Organizations Are Losing on a 4-point grading scale) in the battle against information chaos.
This is actually slightly lower than the grade assigned to business/
the Battle Against Information Chaos information management alignment. Almost half of participants
and Need to Rethink Outdated
(46%) grade their efforts at battling information chaos as “needs
improvement” or “poor.”
Manual Approaches to Information Once again, senior executives feel more confident in their efforts
Management than the reality would suggest.
Grade % ranking:
Organizations Are Losing the Battle Role (4-point “B-good” or
Against Information Chaos scale) “A-excellent”
Average organizational grade in addressing
Senior executive
chaos = C minus (1.64) 2.38 55%
– i.e., VP and above
How would you grade your organization in dealing
with the rising tide of information chaos? Mid-level executive 1.57 23%
– i.e., director or manager
F - poor A - excellent
15% 1%
Non-managerial staff position 1.39 11%
B - good
2
23%
Those who describe their role as “executive level with broad
organizational responsibilities” again are more optimistic about
progress in the information chaos battle (average grade = 2.18)
than are those with RM/DM/CM roles (1.47), IT responsibilities
D - needs
improvementnt
(1.59), or in line of business functions (1.58).
31%
C - av
average
30
30%
Additional reading from NetDocuments:
©2021, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted - Overall N = 222
How Information Management Teams Can Leverage
Lessons Learned to Succeed in 2021
So if the C-Suite is failing at the strategic task of business/ How we have worked and how we will work has shifted
information management alignment, how do those closest to the forever. From a year of unprecedented changes come
battle against information chaos feel about their progress in this new learnings, opportunities, and ways that will inform
struggle? how we work in 2021 and beyond. Get this whitepaper
to discover how you can solve for today’s unique
The short answer – likely exacerbated by all of the ad-hoc challenges as a result of changes made in 2020, and
responses to remote work demands over the past year – is that how to create effective strategies that will set you up for
there are huge gaps in this area as well. Overall, respondents in success in 2021.
the AIIM survey give their organizations a grade of C minus (1.64
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 17Lifecycle Information Management and Process Automation
Automation – of processes and governance – is the key challenge.
Which of the following is the BIGGEST information management
challenge in your organization?
24%
25%
AIIM CIP Study Guide on “Digitizing, automating,
and integrating processes”
12%
3%
13%
11% Organizations that work at “the speed of paper” are
5% 5%
increasingly being rendered non-competitive and
4%
irrelevant. … It requires that information be digitized and
1%
that work processes be developed, or reworked, with a
Rising customer Moving from Legacy system Cloud migration Long-term Managing Digitizing, Information Aligning IT
focus on digital first and automation wherever possible.
expectations for
information
data/content
STORAGE to
maintenance
costs.
issues. information
preservation.
information automating, security threats capabilities to
throughout its and integrating and privacy the speed of the And it requires that organizations adopt a posture of
agility and responsiveness rather than one of passivity
access and use. data/content lifecycle. processes. challenges. business.
ANALYSIS.
©2021, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted Overall N = 222 and reactivity.
So where do organizations face the greatest challenges in
Increase chaos?
dealing with information Investment in Core
The survey IIM
responses suggest
that the answer lies atCompetencies
a familiar point for –3 AIIM audiences: at the
intersection ofSome
content and processes.
key competencies The two
- RPA, ML, Customer most important
Journeys
information challenges remain
- not even on“digitizing, automating, and
the radar for some.
integrating processes” (25%
How would you sayorganization's
grade your it’s the top challenge), followed
competency
in each of the following areas?
closely by “managing information throughout its lifecycle” (24%).
PERCENTAGE RESPONDING “NOT RELEVANT” OR “DON’T KNOW”
These responses are remarkably consistent across different roles.
TO GRADING QUESTION. AIIM CIP Study Guide on “Managing information
throughout its lifecycle”
The past year and the25%drive to remote work has clearly identified
new risks tied to20%information chaos, risks that have
18% even reached Both the business and IT have critical roles to play
audit committees. Per the "2021 Audit Plan Hot Spots Report" by with regard to information governance. Too often
Gartner’s
9% Audit Leadership10% Council: organizations assume that this function can be totally
4% delegated to either IT or to records management or
"As organizations rapidly scale their remote work2%capabilities
2% 1% compliance. The concept here is an important one. The
and deploy new technology,0%IT capacity is increasingly
business must assume responsibility for stewardship of
strained. … Organizations’ data governance practices have yet
Intelligent Digital Customer Robotic Agile Lifecycle Planned Information Machine Understanding
capture workplace journeys process development information modernization privacy and learning information
the organization’s information assets. IT must assume
to catch up with the speed and volume of data being collected
automation management security ready context
responsibility for the framework in which this is done. It is
and generated. Data environments are also becoming
©2021, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted – Overall N = 222
critical that this set of responsibilities be as seamless as
more complex, increasing the likelihood of duplicated effort
possible and as easy to implement as possible from the
and compromisedGet datathe security.
Basics…Right Organizations are still
perspective of the individual knowledge worker.
struggling
Commit to change management andand
to successfully implement clear enforce data
requirements.
governance frameworks. As they accumulate new types of
Which of the following is MOST IMPORTANT to a successful information
data and rely onmanagement
fragmented project in storage systems, they are more
your organization?
exposed to regulatory, ethical, and data security risks."
Developing
Developin
the strategy.
strateg
14%
ment
The change management
ake of
required to ensure uptake
the system.
32%
Making the business case for
Ma
information management.
in
16% AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 18
Designing and
dReal-Life Perspectives (from survey participants) Additional reading from OpenText:
o Business strategy is set but IM needs to catch up with the OpenText™ Content Services helps organizations
strategy expectations. connect content to their digital business and
transform to gain the Information Advantage.
o We have a lot of “we’ve always done it that way.” Keep up with the latest best practices, information
o Information is called a “corporate asset,” but there’s no management trends, and technology advances –
general movement to act on the concept. Data is still including the shift to cloud-native technologies,
leveraging intelligent automation, and ensuring
managed in fiefdoms because IT and business practices information governance – in our content services blog.
are still wedged in the 1990s.
o When our EDM system was implemented, it was with
the premise of capturing data without consideration of o A few people are aware of the risks of information chaos
compliance requirements, policies, procedures, or work and there are local and partial initiatives, but C-level
instructions. executives still need a lot of convincing to actually free
(enough) resources for IIM, information governance, or even
o I’m responsible for most of the information management basic retention management. Example: we have a corporate
in my organization, but business strategy and associated document management system and a devops team for it,
changes are not always known by me and my team. which together cost an arm and a leg. The C-level falsely
o The value of information management to the organization believes that this is sufficient, and more is just “nice to have.”
is still not appreciated. o We’re allowing new information stores to proliferate and not
o Digitization, document control, and information providing guidance on how to choose the right tool for a
management are not well understood. It is difficult to get particular job.
management to understand the need to identify business o Even though the chaos exists, managing the chaos has
strategy and how information management strategy plays become a priority this year. Our focus is on growing
an essential part in its success. revenue by monetizing information, while ensuring privacy
o Our business strategy is far more advanced than our requirements and maintaining company reputation.
technological infrastructure.
o Legacy systems for an older company are hard to remove.
Getting comprehension is slow, and it is financially “not Additional reading from Canon I.R.I.S.:
important” until there is a data breach. Then the breach Information is your business’s most valuable
eats up the resources and the post-breach remedy is no asset. But it’s hard to access its potential if your
longer a priority. information management processes are in chaos.
o Management simply does not understand the value of Is your company overwhelmed by paperwork?
information management. And it’s near impossible to get Fighting clunky, inefficient workflows and
bottlenecks? Businesses now look to their IT
close enough to the C-Suite to convey this message. leaders to find a solution.
Download our guide here, to discover the tools to
help you step up to the task.
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 19What Should You Do About It? – might be really difficult, and it will cost more and will
take longer to do. But we need to do that one first.” For
Recommendations (from CIP Expert Panel) example:
1. Start by focusing on the lifecycle of information. o Look at the most immediate need first and build a
Focus on a specific element of the information priority queue.
lifecycle, depending on the nature of your business.
Not every organization can wrap their heads around o Look at compliance/regulatory/legal issues to
the whole lifecycle (from creation and digitization to determine priority.
records management and ultimately disposition). Every o Look at operations to see if there is one information
organization has a story, slightly different priorities, issue (e.g., Outlook or collaboration needs) that is
and different regulatory drivers to consider. But most shared across the enterprise.
organizations have some part of the information lifecycle
that they’re good at. Start by putting emphasis on that o Directly ask the executive team what pain points they
and expanding that capability. see. Most likely their pain points will be different than
the ones that operations sees.
2. You can’t control what you can’t see. In our
organization, the chaos problem wasn’t simply about 4. Engage the business in solving the chaos challenge.
information volume and variety; it was more fundamental How do we explain the benefits of freeing up IT to work
than that. It was the “Wild West” – we had all these on the “right” things? If the IT department has been
silos of information and we didn’t even know about stretched to their limit implementing new VPN hardware
half of the pockets that were out there. And while sheer or figuring out how to support remote users effectively,
volume and variety were key factors, the most important how much bandwidth will they have to help teams
drivers to change were getting a better view of where manage their information effectively? Organizations need
all this information is, how it’s being managed, the risks to ask themselves how much information management
associated with that information, and the compensating work can be off-loaded from IT and handled by the
controls that need to be in place. For our organization, business teams. If the business team is mature enough,
the problem was not the sheer number of repositories it can enhance its own effectiveness by embracing the
and systems; the problem was not even knowing what “citizen developer” movement. Can business users
we had. be educated and trained to use no-code development
environments to improve their workflows and automate
3. Pick a place to start. Is there a major regulatory some processes? Work by IT to support the ability
driver like GDPR, PII, or CCPA in your organization? of business teams to “learn to fish” can pay large
Is there the possibility of a giant fine for unmanaged dividends. And for the business team, the short-term
information? Is that what gets management's attention? pain of focusing on “non-core” work to improve their
Or does management worry more about reputational information management processes will yield long term
risk, which makes any potential fine for non-compliance benefits.
pale into insignificance. If you can only do so much, how
do you prioritize? The prioritization has to be business
driven and business led, because if you let the IT guys
do it, they’re going to pick the problem that’s easy to
solve and go fix that one. But a business person should
be able to take a different view and say, “This problem
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 20Finding 3 – Organizations Need to Increase Industry Watch Their Investment in Critical IIM Competencies
information management.
in
16%
Designing andd
implementing
the system.
8% Identify
Id
Identifying and prioritizing
tthe
he busi
business requirements
Finding 3 – Organizations Need to and governance automation, and then a bit of a gap before one
for the solution.
fo
30%
comes to some of the edges of IIM technology centered around
Increase Their Investment in Critical Analytics, Artificial©2021,
Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning.
AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted – Overall N = 222
IIM Competencies Increase Investment in Core IIM Competencies – 2
Competency grade is above “C” in only two areas.
How would you grade your organization's competency in each of the
Increase Investment in Core IIM Competencies – 1 following areas? (4 point scale, A = 4)
Elevate the strategic importance and awareness of IIM. DOES NOT INCLUDE “DON’T KNOW” AND “NOT RELEVANT”
RESPONSES IN AVERAGES.
2.44
2.08
How would you grade your organization 1.95
1.80 1.90 1.88
relative to each of these broad IIM Grade Grade 1.46
1.59
1.20
competencies? (4 point scale, A = 4) 1.03
CREATE, CAPTURE, AND SHARE INFORMATION (i.e.,
Multi-Channel Capture, Collaboration, Content Migration C- 1.84 Intelligent Digital Customer Robotic process Agile Lifecycle Planned Information Machine Understanding
& Integration, Knowledge Management). capture workplace journeys automation development information modernization
management
privacy and
security
learning
ready
information
context
©2021, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted – Overall N = 222
DIGITALIZE INFORMATION-INTENSIVE PROCESSES
(i.e., Business Process Management, Robotic Process C- 1.79 Going a bit deeper, the grades that organizations give to the
Automation, Case Management).
maturity of some of the basic building blocks that are the
foundation for each of the four competencies reinforces their
EXTRACT INTELLIGENCE FROM INFORMATION (i.e., overall ratings – and also some of the broader organizational
Capturing and Managing Metadata, Data Recognition/
Extraction/Standardization, Analytics/Machine Learning/
D+ 1.49 priorities beyond information management. Organizations have
AI, Search). the most confidence in how they manage information privacy and
security (2.44). This likely reflects broader organizational privacy
and security concerns tied to compliance requirements like GDPR
AUTOMATE GOVERNANCE AND COMPLIANCE (i.e.,
Privacy and Data Protection, Records Management, C- 1.72 and data breaches. Another key reason is that there are fines
eDiscovery, Digital Preservation). linked to failures here, and other financial and reputational risks
associated with InfoSec breaches that affects the bottom line.
©2021, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted - Overall N = 222 Perhaps reflecting the attention given to COVID-driven remote
As one might expect, the evaluation of maturity within each of working requirements, digital workplace maturity comes in
the four individual core IIM competencies mirrors the assessment second with a grade of 2.08. However, it is likely that many
of effectiveness in the overall battle against information chaos organizations have deployed remote working solutions without
– essentially a grade of C-minus. The grading differences are fully understanding the long-term information governance issues
predictable, and in many ways mirror the evolution of the IIM associated with these rapid and ad-hoc deployments.
“space” within the AIIM community – the highest grade for
information creation and capture, followed by process digitization
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 22Lifecycle Information Management and Process Automation
Automation – of processes and governance – is the key challenge.
The bottom of the maturity rankings reflects the edge of the awareness to offer an opinion. These technologies are still in the
Which of the following is the BIGGEST information management
next phase of the IIM industry, a set
challenge in your of building blocks that
organization? early stages of adoption, and while they are promising for early
will be critical to taking information management 25% to the next adopters, they have not yet reached the point of widespread
24%
stage – intelligent capture (1.46), machine learning (1.20), and adoption.
robotic process automation (1.08). These technologies are key to
In the same vein, the relatively high grade given to customer
overcoming 3%the “manual” management bias that is at the heart of
13%
12% 11%
journeys (1.95) is likely overly optimistic given that this building
the chaos problems that organizations are experiencing.
5% 5% 4%
block is not even on the radar for 20% of organizations. This is
A look at the percentages1%responding “don’t know” or “not important because often customer journey mapping – across
relevant” when asked to grade individual competencies provides departments, not just within departments – is often the first step
additional context
Rising customer Moving to the
from Legacy system maturity
Cloud migration rankings.
Long-term Managing These Digitizing, respondents
Information Aligning IT to truly understanding the gaps that exist in information strategies
were not included in the overall grades, but the percentages that are caused by inconsistent and unconnected information
expectations for data/content maintenance issues. information information automating, security threats capabilities to
information STORAGE to costs. preservation. throughout its and integrating and privacy the speed of the
processes.
responding “don’t know” or “not relevant” are revealing with silos. It would be useful to know how many organizations have
access and use. data/content lifecycle. challenges. business.
ANALYSIS.
regards to competency ©2021, AIIM maturity. These
– redistribution with attribution competencies
permitted Overall N = 222 are not extended the concept of journey mapping to internal customers
even on the radar screen for these respondents. and mapping the experience of employees to information
management processes and capabilities.
Increase Investment in Core IIM
Competencies – 3 Real-Life Perspectives (from survey participants)
Some key competencies - RPA, ML, Customer Journeys
- not even on the radar for some. o The company tends to invest in solutions that tie directly
How would you grade your organization's competency to a revenue stream without looking at how we invest in
in each of the following areas? the support areas more intelligently to further advance the
PERCENTAGE RESPONDING “NOT RELEVANT” OR “DON’T KNOW” business.
TO GRADING QUESTION.
25% o We rely too much on file shares and lack the metadata that
20%
could enhance the ability to share and find content.
18%
o Content capture is in the dark ages. Scan. Scan. Human
9% 10% indexing. People look at content as analogous to paper.
2%
4%
1% 2%
o Over the past two years, awareness and a culture shift have
0% taken place due to using Information Governance programs
Intelligent Digital Customer Robotic Agile Lifecycle Planned Information Machine
learning
Understanding to align with business strategies and rolling up projects to
meet IT goals.
capture workplace journeys process development information modernization privacy and information
automation management security ready context
©2021, AIIM – redistribution with attribution permitted – Overall N = 222
o AI/ML is a teenager in the general business environment –
For 25% of organizations, RPA is not sufficiently on their radar we will closely monitor and wait for maturity.
screens to even merit Get a grade theorBasics
opinion, Right
and thus the actual o We think of information management as a necessary evil
maturity level is
Commit to even
change lower due to the early
management stages
and clear of awareness
requirements. and cost center instead of a strategic imperative and a
of this technology. The same is true with machine learning,
Which of the following is MOST IMPORTANT to a successful information necessary prerequisite to sustainable growth.
with 18% of the participants not having
management project sufficient experience or
in your organization?
Developing
Developin
the strategy.
strateg
14%
ment
The change management
ake of
required to ensure uptake
the system.
32%
Making the business case for
Ma
information management.
in
16%
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 23
Designing and
d
implementingo Business provides their strategy and moves forward without What Should You Do About It? –
integrating Information Management until pressed to do so –
or forced by regulations or audits. Recommendations (from CIP Expert Panel)
o We have too many information silos, people don’t talk with 1. Don’t get sucked in by the hype cycle. AI and
each other or know what each other is doing, and we lack machine learning are not panaceas; they are not going
the political will to truly improve. to fix every business issue. You’ve got to look at these
technologies in a properly aligned fashion. Do a proof
o Information management is mostly unrelated to the business of concept – whatever it takes to prove to yourself that
strategy, we do what we need to in order to comply, but not it’s worth doing and it’s going to provide value. Because
much beyond that. otherwise it becomes just another bright shiny object.
o Business strategy is not centralized – we don’t know And you’ll be far down the path before you realize that
who’s intended to evolve into what. There’s not a single you’ve gone off and done a random AI project that gives
roadmap that shows what outcomes will be achieved by the you little lasting benefit.
aggregation of the strategies, and what interdependencies
will contribute to the success of the strategies (or where one 2. Start by imagining what is possible, THEN look at
strategy may obstruct the realization of another). IIM technologies. Business people need to commit
to enough technology competency to imagine what
o Information gathering and management is largely could be possible. And once they have imagined what
decentralized. Initiatives to improve the management of is possible from a business perspective only then
quality and integrity of data are stymied by legacy practices look at technologies. How does the technology fit in
related to the perception of data “ownership” by small with the business outcome that we have imagined?
divisions within the organization. Unfortunately, things often evolve exactly backwards.
Somebody rolls in with a truck full of software, and
says, “Go!”
Additional reading from Iron Mountain: 3. Piggyback IIM initiatives on existing investments.
Organizations have long made a link between all of Rather than buying an entirely new application, speak
the information flowing into their organizations, and to IT about applications the organizations already
the compliance and legal risk this information carries. owns that can be repurposed or enhanced with IIM
But something bigger is now in play – an increasing capabilities. Offer “consulting services” to a team to
connection between information governance and formulate the groundwork and build good will. Once one
strategy. team is on board, use the success and word of mouth
This research covers the key trends with Information to bring attention to the organization about IIM.
Governance and how leading organizations are
structuring their strategies around them.
AIIM Industry Watch © AIIM 2021 www.aiim.org page 24You can also read
