IM Technology Planning

IM Technology Planning: Evaluation and Implementation

What is it?

We provide product and vendor independent expertise and assistance to organizations who are evaluating, purchasing and implementing technologies related to information management, such as Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems, Electronic Document and Records Management Systems (EDRMS), imaging/document management systems, e-mail archiving, etc.

Who is it for?

Organizations that are exploring the potential of an IM technology or that have decided to implement an IM technology.

What results can I expect?

Successfully implementing new IM technology requires managing your processes and people as well as the technology infrastructure itself. Ergo can assist throughout the process, from initial business case development to planning for implementation. We can assist in six major areas:

Building the business case for IM technology implementation
Identifying and rating functional requirements
Writing procurement documents such as a Request for Proposal (RFP)
Advising on the selection of a vendor (we’re always a neutral advisor during the selection process)
Preparing for IM technology implementation by developing (or updating) your IM infrastructure, including such areas as IM policies, metadata schema, retention rules and operational procedures (e.g. imaging quality assurance, etc.)
Planning for IM technology implementation through the development of employee communications, and the development and delivery of training in the non-technological requirements for managing recorded information (we leave training in the nuts and bolts of how the selected application works to the software vendor)

Service At a Glance

We provide independent expertise and advice in evaluating, selecting and implementing IM technologies. In addition to helping you understand and plan for the technologies themselves, we can help manage change and any process issues that arise during implementation.

Key Terms: Functional requirements and specifications, RFP writing, vendor evaluation and selection, technology planning and implementation

Case in Point

Click for a description of a representative Technology Planning project.

Case in Point: Failing to Plan is A Plan to Fail

After successfully implementing a RIM program to improve the management of its paper records, a corporation began to explore the feasibility of purchasing an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) to better control its ever-increasing volume of e-mails and other electronic records (collectively known as electronic records, or e-records).

We were retained to complete an EDRMS needs analysis by documenting the challenges, concerns, and constraints of the organization’s current practices for managing e-records, identifying best practices for managing e-records, and describing the policies, procedures and other tools required to support EDRMS implementation.

We also recommended a strategy for moving forward, proposed a scope of work for an EDRMS pilot, and provided an implementation plan which identified the requirements and sequence of steps for implementing an EDRMS. In the second phase, we assisted the organization to complete a Request for Information (RFI) to gather EDRMS costs for budgeting purposes.

While the organization did not proceed to purchase an EDRMS, employees are now more familiar with the technology and the implementation plan will prove a helpful guide regardless of the system the organization may purchase in the future.