Dashboard: Compliance Concerns And Chaos Abound

Most companies have reason to be insecure about compliance, if the results of a recent AIIM International survey are an accurate indication. More than half of the 741 respondents (users of content management technology) described their organizations as being at a very early stage in addressing compliance.

Doubts about compliance aren't about paper documentation--70 percent to 80 percent of respondents had some confidence in their paper document systems and processes. The compliance gap most widely reported was in managing electronic information, especially information stored in individual computer hard drives, portable devices and e-mail. More than a quarter (25.2 percent) described data on hard drives as "complete chaos" and 41.5 percent said data stored on phones and PDAs was in disarray.

While compliance was clearly a concern, the majority had yet to take a scientific approach to it: Two-thirds (63.3 percent) said they have yet to analyze the risk they face from mismanagement of electronic information, while 42.6 percent say their firm lacks a clear approach to meeting compliance requirements.

Compliance efforts focus largely on manual tasks rather than buying software: Nearly 40 percent of respondents said their biggest compliance investment was in documenting policies and procedures; 25.5 percent reported training as the greatest expense; only 22.3 percent of respondents put "purchasing technology" first. --Penny Crosman