Iron Mountain released the results of a survey last week that had some interesting data points.  The survey was conducted earlier in the year and included responses from over 5,500 professionals in mid-sized companies in the UK.  One finding I found particularly interesting was:

• 54% of the respondents (Question Number 7) indicated they do not have a records and information management (RIM) program implemented at the enterprise level.  This 54% breaks down to 18% having informal policies at the local level, 29% having implemented a formal program to some business units or some geographic locations and 7% do not have a RIM program at any level.  (11% of the respondents weren't sure if they had a RIM program).

It is great news that 82% of the respondents have implemented some level of a RIM program in their organization.  The 35% that have implemented at the enterprise level is higher that the 16% reported in an AIIM study earlier this year (State of the ECM Industry 2011 is available here.)  The AIIM Survey reported that 29% were in the process of implementing an enterprise-level program when the survey was conducted.  The AIIM Survey also had a slightly higher percentage (41%) that have implemented at the department level.

It is still surprising that the percentage of those implementing at the enterprise level is not as high as I expected.  This is certainly not a new topic for most organizations, so why do we still not have a higher percentage implemented at the enterprise level?

I would guess that economics is part of the issue.  Many organizations want to see a solid ROI before implementing enterprise systems or programs.  Certainly the cultural aspects of changing the way people work probably has much to do with less than full enterprise-level adoption.  Implementation of enterprise-level systems or programs is also hard work.  It takes a considerable amount of effort to make it happen.

Our consultants are seasoned professionals with hundreds of combined years of project experience in making enterprise RIM programs a reality for hundreds of clients.  We understand the organizational impacts and have a thorough knowledge of the technological environment required to make the solutions work in the most user-friendly way possible.

Let us show you how we can help your organization with an enterprise RIM program or any Information Management challenges that you face.