Are You Prepared For Regulatory Compliance?

By Vicki Amendola, for Integrated Solutions magazine

Regulatory compliance concerns, at least in the realm of ECM (enterprise content management), are nothing new. In fact, most regulatory compliance mandates governing the management of an organization's records and communications have not undergone any drastic changes over the last 12 months. Sure, there have been a few modifications and tweaks to existing regulations, but nothing new and earth-shattering has come about. According to the industry experts I recently spoke to, the trend now seems to focus on a growing awareness of existing regulations and better utilization of technology tools to meet them.

DON'T LET COMPLIANCE ISSUES SNEAK UP ON YOU
For end users familiar with document imaging, data capture, and ECM, regulatory compliance has undergone a transition from a burdensome requirement to just another line on the to-do list. Okay, perhaps that is watering it down just a little, but the point to be made is that regulatory compliance is no longer an issue that sneaks up from behind to blindside an unsuspecting company — typically as a result of pending litigation. Instead, end users have come to anticipate regulatory compliance needs. "It has become almost a self-fueled awareness," says David Oldfield, director of business development and strategic alliance at Kofax. "In other words, because many of the participants [vendors and VARs] in the data management and content management industry have spent so much time talking about these requirements, there is now much greater sensitivity on the part of end users that now realize ‘Oh yeah, this is something I should be concerned about.'"