Information Governance Conference 2014 - Reflections

Tweet Much has been happening in the world of "Converging Viewpoints" since I last posted. Information Technology, Risk Management, Security/Privacy, Legal Units, Business Units & Records Management is moving even more closely together in the US, thanks in large part to the fact that most information today is created digitally.  The 2014 report by EMC puts it this way:

The digital universe is growing 40% a year into the next decade. By 2020 it will contain nearly as many digital bits as there are stars in the universe.

Rather than attempt to catch up in one very long post, I will do my best to share my thoughts more frequently.

The points of convergence that are most on my mind now were evidenced at the recent InfoGovCon 2014 in Hartford Connecticut.  If you missed it, plan to attend the 2nd annual conference in Hartford in September 2015.

Explore the site to see what you missed. Click on the link to Schedule and you'll see two areas of convergence--or maybe it is transformation?  You could have earned maintenance credit toward both the Certified Records Management designation or the Information Governance Professional designation--or if you are like me, you just had to pursue both!  Learn more about the CRM from ICRM.   And additional information about the IGP is provided by ARMA. 

The InfoGovCon was different from any that I have attended in several ways:  1) vendors were actually allowed to present (and I learned so much from those sessions), 2) an IG Boot Camp was presented by leaders in Information Governance, including Barclay Blair, 3) and the atmosphere created by the planning committee (Jim Merrifield, MARA advisory committee member for one) was collaborative, supportive, and really exciting.

So, the converging professions?  Those involved in Information Governance:  Information Technology, Risk Management, Legal, Business Units, Privacy and Security, and Records Management as shown on the Information Governance Reference Model.

And how does IG relate to Records Management?  See the IG Maturity Model based on ARMA's Principles. 
   
Note:  Jim Merrifield will speak via web conferencing to SJSU/MARA students and friends about professional certification on October 1,  from 2:30 to 3:30 pm pacific.  Attendance is free and open to the public.  More about Jim, his presentation, and the live link to the web conference can be found here: https://ischool.sjsu.edu/about/colloquia/Fall%202014