Introduction to IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records
IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records is an add-on component of the IBM FileNet P8 suite of products.
IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records enables you to create and maintain accurate, secure, and reliable records
for both electronic and physical information. You can use IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records to manage records of any type, regardless of the
storage media or format. Understanding IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records depends on understanding what a record
is and why you use a records management system.
Records and metadata
In the context of IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records, a record is metadata--a file that references and contains information
about another electronic file (document) or physical object. You create a record to place
the document or physical object under corporate or governmental control, which specifies
how the document or object is to be stored, accessed, and eventually disposed of. The metadata
is in the form of record properties, such as media type, format, author, subject, reviewer,
location, and publication date. You place records under this control as required by government
standards and guidelines for the type of record.
An electronic document might be a single file, such as a Word document, a digital photo,
or a set of related files that can be treated as one object, such as an email message
and its attachments. Electronic files exist in object stores and other repositories.
When you declare the document as a record, IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records manages the document, including its security
and possible classification. This often changes access to the document and could prevent
the author from changing the document.
Physical objects might consist of videotapes, microfilm, hard drives, DNA samples, printed
paper documents, and photos. They might be stored in boxes or file cabinets inside warehouses
and other secure archival facilities. The record keeps track of the location of the physical
object.
The term record is often used to refer informally to either the metadata file or the document
or object that was declared as a record. Usually the context makes it clear which use is
intended.
A repository that contains documents that can be declared as records is referred to as a
Records repository or Records Object Store (ROS). Records created in IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records are stored in repositories
called File Plan Object Stores (FPOS). Both object stores are part of Content Engine.
The following figure depicts the creation of records from different sources.
Each record points to the information that is managed by the system.

Records management
Records management refers to managerial activities, such as planning, controlling,
and organizing for the creation, storage, usage, retrieval, and disposal of records.
In other words, records management includes all of the activities that you perform to
maintain records throughout their lifecycle of creation, active use, inactive
storage, and disposition.
Need for records
management
To ensure that the organizational information is accurate, complete,
and easily accessible, you need to set up a reliable records
management system. Otherwise, you may invest a significant amount of time in nonproductive activities,
such as manually locating information or searching for missing or misfiled records.
In the absence of a records management system, it might become difficult to locate,
interpret, and comply with the record keeping laws and regulations. This can
result in severe fines, penalties, and other legal consequences. You may
also encounter risks associated with litigation, confidentiality, and safety of
critical and vital information if you do not maintain and manage records properly.
Use IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records to mitigate the above-mentioned risks.
You can use IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records to preserve valuable information as records, available when required using
search techniques, while nonessential or inactive records are either destroyed or archived.
Role of IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records in records management
IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records enables you to manage records across the enterprise, independent of the storage
media. The purpose of IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records is to ensure that:
- Records are easily accessible when needed across the enterprise
- Records are disposed of when they are no longer useful or no longer
required by legal, regulatory, or administrative directive
Using IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records, you can:
- Create and maintain a hierarchical structure (file plan) for storing records.
- Manage both electronic and physical records.
- Secure repositories that contain records.
- Create retention and disposal rules for records.
- Force archival or destruction of records based on these rules.
- Control access to records.
- Retrieve records based on search criteria.
- Destroy records that are no longer required by the organization.
Features and
benefits of IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records
The following table lists the features of IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records along with benefits
provided by that feature.
Feature |
Benefit |
Centralized repository for records |
- Widespread use and availability of information across the enterprise.
- Effective decision making due to timely availability of relevant
information.
|
Virtual locations and containers for storing
records for electronic and physical documents in a hierarchy |
- Control over hard copy document collections and electronic files.
- Simulation of real-world office environment.
- Virtual locations and containers model the actual physical storage
structure.
- Cost control through reduced expenditure on office space, equipment,
and personnel required for records management and retrieval.
|
Easy-to-use search features |
- Timely and easy access to required information without
the use of complicated query syntax.
|
Retention and disposal rules for
records |
User-defined control over:
- Duration for which a record should be retained.
- Treatment of the record at the end of its retention schedule.
- Review of records before they are destroyed.
|
Audit procedures for records, automated tracking of retention period, and initiation of disposal
process for records |
- Records are not accidentally destroyed, altered, manipulated, damaged,
or lost.
- Records are destroyed only according to the disposition schedule or
as part of an audit procedure
- Records that are no longer required are disposed
of to reduce storage requirements.
|
Import and export of records |
- Records that are not frequently required by the organization but need to be retained
in order to comply with government regulations can be exported to some other location.
- Records can be imported from other records repositories.
|
Appropriate security controls for records |
- Unauthorized users cannot access records.
- Users cannot accidentally delete records. Records can be deleted by a Records Administrator or as a result of an audit procedure.
- Users can perform only those record-related operations for which they have appropriate access rights.
|
Integration with FileNet P8 Workplace, Workplace XT, Microsoft® Office, and
Microsoft Outlook |
Manual or automatic declaration of records from:
- Workplace or Workplace XT
- Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and Power Point
- Entry templates
|
User roles in IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records
IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records provides a role-based user security model, and includes roles for Records Administrator,
Records Manager, Privileged User (DoD and Base) or Records Reviewer (PRO), and Records User.
Each role determines which tasks a user belonging to that role can perform. For more information,
see IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records Security Roles.
Types of IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records installations
Before installing the IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records application, you must choose the type of installation (data model)
that fulfills your records management needs. The following data models are available:
- Base: Provides core records management functionality and properties. The Base installation of Records IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records is the recommended installation for IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records because it adds the minimal number of properties and will fit most needs. Functionally, the Base installation provides the same capability as the DoD installation.
- DoD: Fulfills the Department of Defense (DoD) 5015.2 Chapter 2 and
Chapter 4 standards,
which provide implementation and procedural guidance on the management of records in the DoD.
In addition, the DoD installation of IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records defines specific system interfaces and search criteria,
and describes the minimum records management requirements that must be fulfilled based
on current National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) regulations.
- PRO: Fulfills the Public Record Office (PRO) requirements for electronic record management.
Types of IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records entities
In IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records, records are stored in a hierarchical structure that contains different record management entities. The following figure depicts the hierarchical structure of these entities followed by a brief explanation of each entity:

- Object store: Refers to a repository of objects and a suite of accompanying storage and retrieval services for these objects. An object store can be:
- File Plan Object Store (FPOS): Contains the file plan, that is, the entire hierarchy of record management entities that you create.
- Records Object Store (ROS): Contains documents that can be declared as records in an FPOS.
You are encouraged to configure separate object stores for records (metadata)
and documents that are declared as records. Thus, the FPOS contains the file plan
structure, while the ROS contains documents,
some of which are declared as records. Typically, there would be many users with access
to the ROS who should not have access to the entities that make up your file plan in
the FPOS. You can have more than one ROS associated with one FPOS.
- File plan: Defines the organization of records. In a file plan, you store records
in a structured hierarchy designed to preserve the context of records. For example, you
can create file plans that reflect business functions of the organization. You can then
catalog records under these schemes based on these business functions. You can also associate
a naming pattern with a file plan. All entities
created under the file plan will follow the record naming pattern.
- Record category: Categorizes a set of related records within a file plan. Record
categories are created to catalog records based on functional categories. A record category
can contain subcategories or record folders (but not both). The Base and DoD data models allow declaration of records directly in a record category; the PRO data model does not. In addition,
you can associate retention and disposition rules with each category. These rules apply
to all record folders and records that are created within the category.
- Record folder: Serves as a container for related records. It is used to manage
records according to the specified retention periods and disposition events. You can create
electronic, physical, and hybrid record folders under a category to manage electronic and
physical records.
- Electronic folder: Used for storing electronic records. An electronic folder can also contain markers. A marker is an electronic entry for a physical record that cannot be stored in a physical file. Examples of such records are large building plans, videotapes, or a database.
- Physical folder: Stores records for physical items such as paper records. A physical folder is a virtual entry for a paper folder. Based on your organization's physical storage structure, you can model the hierarchy of physical folders in IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records.
- Box: A box provides a mechanism to model physical entities that
contain other physical entities. For example, you might create a "Warehouse" that
contains "Shelves" that contain "Boxes" that contain "Physical
Folders." A box can contain another box, a physical folder, or a record.
- Hybrid folder: Refers to a collection of related electronic and physical records.
- Volume: Serves as a logical sub-division of a record folder into smaller and easy-to-manage units. A volume has no existence independent of the folder. A record folder will always contain at least one volume, which is automatically created by the system when a record folder is created. Thereafter, you can create any number of volumes within a record folder.
- Record: A record provides metadata about a document or physical object that
is placed under control of the IBM InfoSphere Enterprise Records application. A record may inherit some of its behavior
from the record folder in which it is created. For example, it may inherit the disposition
schedule of the parent record folder. You can categorize records into:
- Electronic record: Points to an electronic document.
- Marker: Points to a physical object or paper document.
- Vital record: An essential record that is required for meeting operational responsibilities during an enterprise-wide emergency. Vital records are periodically reviewed and updated.
- Permanent record: A record that has been identified as having sufficient historical or other value to warrant continued preservation by the organization beyond the time it is normally required for administrative, legal, or fiscal purposes.
- Record types: You
can associate a record type with records that have common features. For example, you might
define a record type to specify a common disposition schedule for records and to aid the
search and retrieval of records. You use record types when a group of records existing
under a record folder should have a disposition schedule that is different from the one
currently associated with the record folder.
The following is an example of the hierarchy of record management entities
File plan
General management (category)
Correspondence files (folder)
Program briefings (folder)
2006 Management training conference (volume)
2007 Management training conference (volume)
Information management (category)
Telecommunication center messages (folder)
Operator's number sheets (folder)