Online Records Management
Some of the oldest record keeping is said to be cuneiform on clay tablets. There’s no doubt that the ability to keep records… and to file them… is at the heart of modern civilization. Our ability to process, tabulate, and access information when and where we want it allows us to share that information with others and speeds the progress of society overall (as it enables us to use that information to accomplish mission-critical tasks, such as in first-response activities.). Online records management is simply the logical outgrowth of centuries of development of human records-keeping activities. But there is more to online records management than might at first seem obvious. It’s actually the culmination of a complex and interconnected series of activities.
Techopedia defines a records management system (RMS) as a system for managing records for an agency or organization throughout the lifecycle of those records. This end-to-end control helps safeguard the data while also making it available, to the extent that the records management system is designed to make it available, to those personnel who need to use it, import it, export it, and apply it for context. “The activities in this management include the systematic and efficient control of the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the records along with the business transactions associated with them,” the site explains. “Considered a key component of operational efficiency, record management adds more value to organization’s information assets.”
Those records management activities, again according to Techopedia, include identifying information, enforcement of records management policies (often in compliance with regulations), storing records, classifying and identifying what is stored, coordinating access, and safeguarding privacy (again in the context or privacy and security).
As outlined in recordstorage.com, there are many benefits to using an online records management system. These include improved (and even custom) workflows that can be automated to streamline agency efficiency, better organization of the agency itself, reduced risks to data security and privacy, greater efficiency among personnel (from those working with the records to those who need to use those records on the job), and many others. Reducing redundant data, making it easier to find relevant information and records, and legal traceability are other benefits.
A records management system, in other words, is almost a “no brainer” for an agency. Far from being merely optional or “nice to have,” it’s a critical piece of infrastructure that can create a sea change in the agency employing it. “Old fashioned” methods for record-keeping and storage lack the efficiencies, safeguards, and automations of modern records management systems… and with Internet connectivity such an integral part of society and our communications infrastructure, online records management is simply the final step. Caliber Public Safety’s Online RMS, for example, is a premier online records management system that can provide your agency with the efficiency, security, and convenience of end-to-end records creation, tracking, storage, and disposition.
No matter what system your agency deploys, there is no doubt that modern records management system is critical to its success. Caliber Public Safety remains on the cutting edge of records management as well as a host of related software technologies. These include computer aided dispatch and applications that assist first-response personnel in the field… and whatever new developments remain on the horizon for public safety software.
