Scenario: Organize content with an IBM Enterprise Records and enterprise content management system solution

ExampleCo. Enterprises, a fictitious company, uses IBM® Enterprise Records to eliminate the need to manually locate information through the product's use of disposition schedules and record sweep tools, and consequently make it easier for the company to comply with record-keeping laws and regulations.

Compliance failures can lead to fines, penalties, and legal consequences. ExampleCo. Enterprises wants to set up a records management solution so that all types of records, both electronic and physical, can be created and maintained accurately, securely, and reliably, regardless of the storage media or format of the record. ExampleCo. Enterprises's IT specialist, Bob, selects IBM Enterprise Records as the solution. ExampleCo. Enterprises already has an IBM FileNet® P8 system that Bob is familiar with. This system includes a Content Engine server and a Process Engine server, but there is no true records management system. TheIBM Enterprise Records solution only requires that he add an application server with the IBM Enterprise Records product and their Workplace or Workplace XT version of choice.

This system allows ExampleCo. Enterprises employees to plan, control, and organize the creation, storage, usage, retrieval, and disposal of records. This solution encompasses all of the activities that need to be performed to maintain records throughout their life cycle of creation, active use, inactive storage and disposition.

This solution allows ExampleCo. Enterprises employees to set up a record object store on the Content Engine server, which can be used as a repository to contain all of their records. It also lets them create a file plan object store on their Content Engine server, which can be used to hold the metadata for the records:
  • format
  • author
  • subject
  • location
  • media type
  • publication dates

The file plans define the organization of records. For example, ExampleCo. Enterprises can create a file plan that reflects business functions of the organization, for example, Payroll_FPOS. They also associate a naming pattern with the file plan so that all the entities under the file plan follow the record-naming plan of prYYMMDD. The file plan can contain record categories, record folders, volumes, records, and record types.

Bob and his team need to look at all of the documents they currently have stored in their repositories and decide the various object stores to create. They use IBM Enterprise Records to create and maintain a file plan for storing records and also to create retention and disposal schedules. For example, if ExampleCo. Enterprises has a particular customer that has a problem with one of their products a ExampleCo. Enterprises's records manager, Ranjun, can search for all records associated with that customer, and those records can be placed on hold. That way, none of these records can be destroyed until the legal department gives its approval and the hold is removed.

The reporting features delivered with IBM Enterprise Records help Ranjun see file plan information is organized based on configuration criteria such as user action, disposition actions and schedules, time of creation, viewed by user, and so on. Ranjun uses this information to help create reports.

To help Bob classify and organize the ExampleCo. Enterprises records, he also uses IBM Content Classification.