5 Key ECM and Data Storage Predictions For 2018

With another year in data storage and enterprise content management about to begin, now is the time to assess the challenges that 2018 is likely to bring.

Without a doubt, this market has undergone some radical changes in recent years, but the next 12 months is set to bring even more. Between the impending implementation of the GDPR to developments in software and Cloud technology, the document and data storage terrain provides many new hurdles. We have put together a shortlist of just 5 of the key ECM and data storage developments expected to make their mark in 2018.

1. The GDPR Shake Up

It’s been talked about for over a year, and the warnings have been received loud and clear. The result is a clear and present obligation to get the final pieces into place in time for the arrival of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May. There is no doubt that it has been high on every business’s agenda, but many companies are still not prepared to meet the new method EU citizens’ personal data are to be stored, processed and removed. In a survey in June, Sophos discovered that only 8% of UK businesses considered themselves ready and only 6% viewed getting GDPR-ready as a priority.

Meanwhile, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission revealed in May 2017 that only 14% of Irish SMEs have begun getting ready and 83% were unable to identify any of the changes that the GDPR was going to force on their business. And yet, businesses face a potential €10 million fine if they are not GDPR compliant. What this means is that the early months of 2018 is set to see a flurry of activity as companies finalise plans (or even start them) to ensure everything is ready for the official implementation date – May 25th.

2. Systems Unified By A Single Layer

Traditionally, storing data on different systems has caused some problems accessing and managing information. In effect, it meant that all content had to reside in one system if the system was to be in any way efficient.  In December, M-Files announced the arrival of its newest information management system (M-Files 2018), which includes a revolutionary Intelligent Metadata Layer.

A neat new name for much of the same, perhaps? Not at all. This new layer used Artificial Intelligence to allow different systems to link to each other, removing the need for information silos and letting users search and browse without migrating data from one system to another and without impacting users of the connected system

In essence, it removes the traditional access limitations – and quicker, stress-free access is a positive step into a brighter ECM future.

3. Digital Preservation Becoming A Key Priority

Continual development of digital storage systems and software has created some concern over long-term accessibility and, indeed, the ‘lifespan’ of that data being stored. It’s a bit like the collection of cookery books we like to have to hand in the kitchen. Every year we add one or two more books as we embrace the latest cookery craze. But as a result, the older books lose their status and are eventually replaced by new ‘favourites’. So when you want an old recipe you used to love, the book is not there.

Digital Preservation keeps digital material ‘alive’ so they remain usable even as technology and software evolve. At a time when legislation dictates that data information should be stored for as long as 10 years before being disposed of, keeping long-held information accessible is increasingly important.

Unfortunately, not everyone is ready for this challenge. According to research carried out by AIIM, many organisations are ill-prepared to handle long-term digital storage requirements, with:

1. 1. • 79% saying digital information that must be kept for 10 years or longer is inherently at risk due to changes in technology and file formats
      • 57% believing that existing content systems are not effective at managing long-term preservation of digital information
      • 47% stating they have no way of knowing whether information older than 10 years will actually be readable

4. Hello Multi-Cloud Storage

Recent years has seen the growth in popularity of Cloud storage, but as demand increases and accessibility continues to face challenges, the latest development looks set to offer genuine solutions. Multi-cloud storage is now available, allowing companies to store move applications from one cloud environment to another and creating greater efficiency in terms of both data availability and disaster recovery.

It has become more important than ever for personnel to be able to securely access data without the need to pass authorisation security protocols from each system. Multi-cloud storage can facilitate this much more effectively than the more common Data Storage Silos (see below).

According to experts, the system is not perfect yet, with ‘complicated’ a word often used to describe both the process of moving data in and out of clouds rather than between on-premises systems and the system needed to adequately manage data stored in different clouds.

5. Goodbye Data Silos

As technology has advanced and the demand of fast and simple data access from numerous sources has increased, the Data Silo has become obsolete. As a repository of fixed information, data silos were useful. They offered a place to house all that unshared data that builds up in an organization (files, emails etc). But they are generally confined to particular departments, each operating in isolation from each other.

In the modern ECM and data storage industry, ‘isolation’ is a dirty word. And with the sheer growth of data being stored and the development of larger repositories (not least in the cloud), there is very little point in maintaining these silos.

Visit our Electronic Content Management page and learn how Kefron can simplify your document management, enabling higher productivity and helping you to maintain a firm control over your compliance requirements.