Records and Information Management Professionals Pinpoint Digitization, Cybersecurity as Key Challenges

April 14, 2023 - Industry professionals across different sectors, including healthcare, view digital transformation and information security as crucial priorities, presenting both challenges and opportunities to meet their Records and Information Management (RIM) goals in the coming year.

For its State of the Records & Information Management (RIM) Industry Report, Access surveyed over 700 RIM professionals and asked about respondents' goals, how they measure success, the challenges they face, and where they are investing as the state of the information governance changes.

The survey showed that 41 percent of RIM professionals identified digitizing physical paper records as the most common challenge, followed by ensuring information security. .

Digitizing physical paper records are approximately twice as likely to be a top challenge facing RIM professionals compared to the least common challenge, which is adopting new RIM and information governance tech.

The report also found that digitizing physical records is a higher priority for those in leadership and management positions than those in other roles. More than half of those in leadership or upper management positions say it was one of their top RIM challenges compared to a 41 percent average.

To tackle these challenges, industry professionals are investing in specific RIM solutions.

Scanning and digitization is the top initiative that saw increased investment in the past year, selected by 47 percent of respondents. Digital document repository/management and business process automation followed closely behind, selected by 44 percent and 42 percent of respondents, respectively.

Security is the second most important initiative needed to help organizations meet their 2023 goals, with over 80 percent of RIM professionals considering it critically important.

Nearly half (47 percent) of RIM professionals say that security is critically important for their organization's 2023 goals, making it the top concern ahead of regulatory compliance and privacy initiatives (34 percent) and business continuity and disaster recovery (28 percent).

In terms of learning interests for 2023, ensuring information security emerged as the second most popular topic.

Despite these priorities, RIM professionals deal with budget constraints and limited staffing resources. Cost containment was the top priority for 45 percent of respondents in 2023, significantly more than those prioritizing investment in innovation/technology (18 percent).

Nearly two in five listed budget restrictions as a critical challenge in achieving their RIM goals, only surpassed by insufficient staffing to address workload (42 percent) and ahead of resistance to change (31 percent). Budget challenges were felt most acutely by managers and decision-makers, who were more likely to identify them as a barrier to progress than contributors and non-decision-makers.