Records & Information Management Software and Tools
Editing in progress
When searching for softwares and tools to supplement your RIM program and improve the efficacy of your systems, it is important to first assess your organization’s workflow and make notes of any gaps and priorities. Ask these questions to get started:
✔ What gaps are there in my organization’s workflow? Will a software or tool resolve or improve that problem?
✔ Do I need a fully integrated system and tools to manage every aspect of of my organization’s workflow or do I only need it to help manage certain aspects?
✔ How much am I willing to spend?
✔ Can the software and/or tools be implement in phases bases on priorities?
✔ Will implementing these software and tools complicate the workflow process for my staff or is it a process that can be integrated with reasonable amount of training?
Remember that any software or tool is meant to make your life easier not more complicated, so make sure to think about what you really need before jumping right into it!
Types of Softwares
There are endless options of existing software, custom software, and new software with the latest features available to you. Searching for the right one can be difficult so, instead of reading up on all the attractive features software companies offer you, try making a list of features you need. To understand that, we may need to understand the life of a record, how it comes into being and where it goes then assess your organization’s workflow.
To begin, a typical lifecycle of a record starts from “creation” and is used in an “active” state until it becomes “semi-active” and then maintained until the records becomes “inactive”. Once the “retention period” passes the record then is either destroyed or sent for long-term preservation depending on its preset schedule.
Once the permanent or archival value is determined for that record, it should then be transferred to an Archives to go through controlled processes to ensure long-term preservation for future use. Those processes include “acquisition”, “appraisal”, “accession”, arrangement & description”, “access & use”.
Going back to the beginning, the "creation” stage of a record may seem simple, but there are lots of things going on before it eventually becomes a “record”. Before a record becomes a record, it may be an idea, a series of data or knowledge captured and/or recorded onto a medium like photographs via a camera or paper via writing/printing/typing. In its process towards completion, the captured and/or recorded information may go through editing, creating many drafts or versions. It may also be named, filed, and stored somewhere accessible while going through these changes. Finally, the captured and/or recorded information may be shared and distributed in various ways sparking new ideas, data, or knowledge. When the record has reached certain completion, it changes from an active state to semi-active and enters the RIM lifecycle shown in the first diagram.
Now that we have an idea of the different stages of a record, we should look at your organization’s structure and workflow. A typical organization can be categorized into 3 levels based on information requirements as seen in the pyramid diagrams to the right. Each level of management will produce information and records for different purposes thus requiring specialized Information Systems to help manage those processes. As technology and business practices evolve, you’ll find more software and tools being rolled out that are either very specific to a task or very broad often including multiple features that span different management types, there may be add-ons to the main features or offered as part of a suite like Microsoft Office 365 or Adobe Creative Suite.
As you search through software, you may find that they span across different information system levels. For example, accounting software may help you do operational tasks such as handling money transactions but it can also do inventory management and produce annual reports. If you look at a popular software like Sage Accounting, you will see that on top of the basic accounting features you the software now also helps you manage payment processing, human resources, inventory, supply chains, customer relationships, and more as part of their product collection.
For recorded information management systems, you may find systems that deal more with content management, task management, editing, approvals, information communication/distribution; or you may find systems that deal more with higher-level management of authority, security, retentions, scheduling, and reporting. Of course, the rule of thumb is that the wider the scope of management from operations to tactical to strategic + the more features included = the higher the price range. So think about:
✔ What do you need to manage first? Do you need the operational level data in a TPS so that you can eventually manage them in an MIS?
✔ What are your current systems? Does the new system need to work with or be integrated with the old ones? Can you replace the old ones with the new system?
✔ What is your organization’s purpose and priority? Is it profit/sales-based (then an operation focused system might be more urgent), or are you managing personal data like health, student or citizenship records (then you may want to think about getting an MIS), or are you handling complex strategic level tasks that need more comprehensive reporting and decision-making type systems?
✔ If your organization require systems across all 3 levels of management or plan to expand in future? Then maybe you should consider systems that offer suites, add-ons, integrations, or customizations.
Click on the terms below to explore the various types of system categories a business software/tool may offer, please note that this is not an exhaustive list as technologies and definitions often change:
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“Transaction processing systems (TPS) are computerized information systems that were developed to process large amounts of data for routine business transactions such as payroll and inventory. A TPS eliminates the tedium of necessary operational transactions and reduces the time once required to perform them manually, although people must still input data to computerized systems. Transaction processing systems are boundary-spanning systems that permit the organization to interact with external environments. Because managers look to the data generated by the TPS for up-to-the-minute information about what is happening in their companies, it is essential to the day-to-day operations of the business that these systems function smoothly and without interruption.”
Source: https://www.w3computing.com/systemsanalysis/types-systems/
For example,
Point of sale terminals
Library loan system
Payroll systems
Reservation systems
Bill generation
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“Decision Support Systems (DSS) are a class of computerized information systems that support decision-making activities. DSS are interactive computer-based systems and subsystems intended to help decision-makers use communications technologies, data, documents, knowledge and/or models to complete decision process tasks. A decision support system may present information graphically and may include an expert system or artificial intelligence (AI). It may be aimed at business executives or some other group of knowledge workers.
Typical information that a decision support application might gather and present would be, (a) Accessing all information assets, including legacy and relational data sources; (b) Comparative data figures; (c) Projected figures based on new data or assumptions; (d) Consequences of different decision alternatives, given past experience in a specific context.
There are a number of Decision Support Systems. These can be categorized into five types: Communication-driven DSS, Data-driven DSS, Document-driven DSS, Knowledge-driven DSS, and Model-driven DSS.”
Source: https://www.gdrc.org/decision/dss-types.html by Dan Power
For Example,
Instant messaging software, GPS, GIS, ERP and search engines.
“An Executive Information System, or EIS, is a specialized information system used to support senior-level decision-making. An EIS is not only for the CEO but for any senior manager or executive making strategic decisions to improve the long-term performance of the organization. An EIS is also referred to as Executive Support Systems or ESS. Senior management is responsible for a number of different tasks within an organization, including defining an overall vision, strategic planning, strategic organizing and staffing, strategic control and crisis management. An EIS is designed to support these various activities.”
“An EIS is a type of Decision Support System, or DSS, but is unique in a number of ways. First, in many organizations, there may be a number of different DSSs in place to support specific decisions by individual units. An EIS, on the other hand, combines critical information from all areas within the organization so senior management gets a complete overview. Second, a typical DSS is designed for one specific decision. An EIS supports decisions that are more strategic in nature and long-term. These differences influence what information is being used and how it is presented.”
Source: Executive Information Systems (EIS): Upper Management Decision-Making Tools. (2013, October 11). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/executive-information-systems-eis-upper-management-decision-making-tools.html.
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“It retrieves TPS information, aggregates it, and generates reports to help those at the management level know important details of a situation. Summaries and comparisons are utilized to allow senior managers to optimize the decision-making process to achieve better results.”
Source: https://altametrics.com/en/information-systems.html
“Whereas individuals use business productivity software such as word processing, spreadsheet, and graphics programs to accomplish a variety of tasks, the job of managing a company’s information needs falls to management information systems: users, hardware, and software that support decision-making. Information systems collect and store the company’s key data and produce the information managers need for analysis, control, and decision-making.” […] “Companies typically have several types of information systems, starting with systems to process transactions. Management support systems are dynamic systems that allow users to analyze data to make forecasts, identify business trends, and model business strategies. Office automation systems improve the flow of communication throughout the organization.” […] “Transaction processing systems automate routine and tedious back-office processes such as accounting, order processing, and financial reporting. They reduce clerical expenses and provide basic operational information quickly. Management support systems (MSS) use the internal master database to perform high-level analyses that help managers make better decisions.”
Source: https://opentextbc.ca/businessopenstax/chapter/management-information-systems/
For Example,
Management Reporting System
Inventory control
Sales and Marketing
Human resource systems
Electronic Health Record (EHR)
Project Management Systems
Document Management
Records Management
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“Executive support systems are similar to a DSS but are primarily used by executive leaders and owners to optimize decision-making. An expert system helps enterprise leaders find answers to non-routine questions so they can make choices that improve the company's outlook and performance. Unlike a DSS, an executive support system provides better telecommunication functionality and bigger computing functionality.
For example,
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) - Provides organization-wide integration of important business activities, handles the allocation of resources to optimize efficiency
Sales Management System (SMS) - An information system that manages and monitors all of the sales and marketing data in an organization to streamline each step of the sales process”
“An accounting as an information system (AIS) is a system of collecting, storing and processing financial and accounting data that are used by decision-makers. An accounting information system is generally a computer-based method for tracking accounting activity in conjunction with information technology resources. The resulting financial reports can be used internally by management or externally by other interested parties including investors, creditors and tax authorities. Accounting information systems are designed to support all accounting functions and activities including auditing, financial accounting & reporting, managerial/management accounting and tax. The most widely adopted accounting information systems are auditing and financial reporting modules.”
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_information_system
“There are three basic functions of AIS:
Efficient and effective collection and storage of financial data: An AIS can collect transaction data from source documents, recording transactions in journals and post to ledgers.
Supplying information for decision-making: An AIS can produce managerial reports and financial statements for managers, chief financial officers (CFO) and other key decision-makers.
Putting controls in place: An AIS can put controls in place to record and process data accurately.”
Source: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/accounting-information-system
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“A knowledge management system stores and extracts information to help users enhance their knowledge and optimize collaboration efforts to complete tasks.”
Source: https://altametrics.com/en/information-systems.html
Examples,
FAQ
Wikis
Forums
Online courses
Webinars
Libraries
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“Office automation is a process that uses technology to automate information gathering, communication, presentation, and calculation. Essentially, office automation is a system that helps with the storing and processing of data in all its many forms. This is not to be confused with office mechanization, which is where physical labour is replaced with technology. Instead, automation is how technology can replace more tedious brain functions. For example, not too many years back we would have to calculate the day's intake of money with a calculator or adding machine, and we would have to manually record the amount and file it away in a cabinet. Now, it can be punched into a computer and the data is automatically stored.”
Source: What is Office Automation? - System & Tools. (2018, March 13). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-office-automation-system-tools.html.
“Examples of OAS are word processing, desktop publishing, voice mail, e-mail, videoconferencing, and multimedia systems.”
Source: https://the-definition.com/term/office-automation-systems
As you can see, information is everywhere and very much integrated into everything we do. This can make choosing the ONE rather complicated but if you pay attention to what you need rather than what is being offered you can easily narrow your scope. Therefore, we recommend you start by determining what stages of the record’s lifecycle you are trying to manage. Types include BMS, CMS, DAM, DMS, ECM, KMS, RMS, and EDRMS. These terms are often used interchangeably and in tandem with each other depending on the features being offered in the specific software.
Use the table below to see which type of software may be most suitable for your organization’s needs.
Software List
Now that you have a better idea of what you are looking to implement into your organization. You can start exploring all the different software options related to information management using our recommendation list below. Need more help? Book an advisory service or drop us an email.
Similarly, to the right are diagrams that will help you better understand software delivery models, their pros and cons. For more information on Cloud versus On-premise solutions, take a look at these resources to start:
https://www.entartes.com/blog/saas-vs-on-premise-erp-software
https://www.bill4time.com/manuals/switching-to-saas-report.pdf
To better understand your software type and needs, take a look at the license diagram and slide to the left and follow this link to get a sense of the restrictive levels of each license type: https://snyk.io/wp-content/uploads/5-types-of-software-licenses-bigger-1240x698.jpg.
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