IBM® Enterprise
Records is
an add-on component of the IBM FileNet® P8 suite
of products. Using IBM Enterprise
Records, you
can create and maintain accurate, secure, and reliable records for
both electronic and physical information. You can use IBM Enterprise
Records to manage records of any
type, regardless of the storage media or format. Understanding IBM Enterprise
Records depends on understanding
what a record is and why you use a records management system.
Records management
Records
management is managerial activities, such as planning, controlling,
and organizing for the creation, storage, usage, retrieval, and disposal
of records. Records management includes all of the activities that
you complete 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 must set up a reliable
records management system. Otherwise, you might 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 deficiency can result in severe fines, penalties,
and other legal consequences. You might also encounter risks that
are associated with litigation, confidentiality, and safety of critical
and vital information if you do not maintain and manage records properly.
Use IBM Enterprise
Records to
mitigate the above-mentioned risks. You can use IBM Enterprise
Records to preserve valuable information
as records, available when required with search techniques, while
nonessential or inactive records are either deleted or archived.
Role of IBM Enterprise
Records in records management
You
can manage records across the enterprise, independent of the storage
media. The purpose of
IBM Enterprise
Records is
to ensure the completion of the following actions:
- 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 Enterprise
Records, you can
complete the following tasks:
- 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 that are based on these
rules.
- Control access to records.
- Retrieve records that are based on search criteria.
- Remove records that are no longer required by the organization.
Features and benefits
of IBM Enterprise
Records
The
following table lists the features of
IBM 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 because of timely availability of relevant
information.
|
Virtual locations and containers for storing records for electronic
and physical documents in a hierarchy |
- Control over hardcopy 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 that are 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 is retained.
- Treatment of the record at the end of its retention schedule.
- Review of records before they are disposed of.
|
Audit procedures for records, automated tracking of retention
period, and initiation of disposal process for records |
- Records are not accidentally disposed of, altered, manipulated,
damaged, or lost.
- Records are disposed of 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 can
be exported to some other location. These documents are records that must
be retained to comply with government regulations.
- 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 a disposition procedure.
- Users can complete only those record-related operations for which
they have appropriate access rights.
|
Integration with IBM FileNet P8 Workplace, Workplace XT, IBM Content
Navigator, Microsoft Office, and
Microsoft Outlook |
Manual or automatic declaration of records from: - Workplace or Workplace XT
- IBM Content
Navigator
- Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Entry templates
|
User roles in IBM Enterprise
Records
IBM Enterprise
Records provides a role-based
user security model, and includes roles for Records Administrator,
Records Manager, Privileged User, and Records User. Each role determines
which tasks a user in that role can complete. For more information,
see the security topic.
Types of IBM Enterprise
Records installations
Before you
install the
IBM 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 functions and properties.
The Base installation of Records IBM Enterprise
Records is the most common installation
for IBM Enterprise
Records because it
adds the minimal number of properties and fits most needs. Functionally,
the Base installation provides the same capability as the DoD installation.
- DoD Baseline: Fulfills the Department of Defense (DoD) 5015.2
baseline standard. This standard provides implementation and procedural
guidance on the management of records in the DoD. In addition, the
DoD installation of IBM Enterprise
Records defines
specific system interfaces and search criteria. The DoD installation
also describes the minimum records management requirements that must
be fulfilled based on current National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) regulations.
- DoD Classified: Fulfills the Department of Defense (DoD) 5015.2
baseline standard and adds support for the handling of classified
records per the optional requirements for classified documents in
the DoD standard.
Types of IBM Enterprise
Records entities
In
IBM 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: 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-enabled 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 are many users
with access to the ROS but not 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 that is 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 that are based on these business functions.
You can also associate a naming pattern with a file plan. All entities
that are created under the file plan 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. 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 the physical storage structure of your organization, you
can model the hierarchy of physical folders in IBM 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: A collection of related electronic and physical
records.
- Volume: Serves as a logical subdivision of a record folder into
smaller and easy-to-manage units. A volume has no existence independent
of the folder. A record folder always contains 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 Enterprise
Records application. A record
can inherit some of its behavior from the record folder in which it
is created. For example, it inherits the disposition schedule of the
parent record folder. You can categorize records into the following
types:
- 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 is identified as having sufficient
historical or other value to warrant continued preservation by the
organization. This preservation lasts 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 that exist under a record folder has a disposition schedule
that is different from the one currently associated with the record folder.
The following entry 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)
Correspondence files (folder)
Operator's number sheets (folder)