Stop the ROT!
What is ROT and why is this fast becoming your biggest headache?
ROT stands for redundant, obsolete and trivial information. The presence of ROT makes it hard for staff to search and find the right information. File repositories are often full of ROT and trying to deal with it can be daunting, time consuming and ultimately expensive in resource costs.
ROT isn’t the only problem either. The diagram below contains other issues that we find common in organisations.
Organisations often try to address these issues with varying success. For example, retention and disposal schedules are quite commonly created to identify the types of documents that are core to the business and how long they need to be kept for, however, the organisation has difficulties trying to apply these to their systems.
Retention schedules show how long different types of documents should be kept. They follow the entire journey of a document from creation, through use and storage, to either deletion or permanent archiving. These schedules work best when they are part of a bigger information management plan. That plan provides the foundation for digital systems, business processes, and even advanced projects like using AI.
Rockwell, in association with Data Potentials, can help organisations both large and small to tackle these issues by implementing our Information Governance Accelerator, a methodology which allows us to deliver an end-to-end solution in Microsoft 365 by taking the information management foundations framework and applying it to the technical information architecture.
Our Accelerator delivers the following benefits:
- An information asset register (IAR) to identify what information your organisation holds and how it is managed.
- Reduction of ROT and duplication.
- Application of policies and procedures on efficient and effective handling of information and data.
- Identifies data owners.
- Defines information and data roles and responsibilities.
- Introduces a file plan structure based on what and how a business team functions.
- More efficient access to the right information.
- Introduces the concept of a single version of the truth.
- Application of governance controls.
- Data quality improvements.
- Comprehensive Information lifecycle management.
Working with good information management control in place is the cornerstone of modern business success, whether it be SMEs navigating the complexities of growth, compliance and operational efficiency with limited resources, or large corporate organisations with the resources to unlock the potential of information to drive business transformation. It allows for better decision making and is the most effective way for an organisation to achieve its strategies and goals.