by Rafael Moscatel, CRM, IGP
For almost 65 years, ARMA International has provided an exceptional level of educational value, professional resources and guidance to members of the information management field and business community. Those efforts have aided organizations in recognizing the importance of RIM/IG practitioners’ unique skillsets and helped incorporate them into their IT and governance programs. Indeed, both public and private entities benefit enormously from the mission of this organization, which much like its subject matter, has swiftly transformed to meet evolving civic and corporate demands. This rich history and dedication to its members, the business community and the public is exactly what I’d like to see continue in the coming decade. But my hope would also be for all of our membership, from fellows on down, to more enthusiastically apply the insight, lessons and strategies they’ve acquired over their careers to help ARMA in both achieving its long-term strategic plans and in exceeding its annual goals.
ARMA can lead the way by developing and fostering cutting edge information strategies that sit on the peaks of this new horizon and by driving the conversations that illuminate the valleys in between.
For the last twenty years I’ve held prominent leadership roles at both Fortune 500 companies and revered legal firms including Farmers Insurance, Paramount Pictures, Relativity Media and Kilpatrick Townsend. My work history has taken me from the trenches of service bureaus to the hot seat of penthouse boardrooms. Along the path I’ve attained a set of credentials beginning with a CRM from the Institute of Certified Records Managers in 2013, followed by an IGP from ARMA International in 2014. In June of 2016 ARMA International selected me for its Member Profile and in 2017 my team’s efforts at Farmers Insurance earned us ARMA’s coveted Excellence for an Organization Award. Because of all this I am eternally grateful for the opportunities which ARMA has provided along my career path. I’ve also been affiliated with the local ARMA-GLA chapter for the better part of the last decade and had the chance to see how powerful and influential a local chapter can be in bringing education and awareness to members of the organization as a whole. Those chapters need our resilient support and their leaders deserve most of the credit for keeping ARMA together all these years. They are the pillars of this intellectual edifice.
The next few years will see organizations in all industries balancing a world ripe with business opportunities with an evolving universe of risk and regulations. Technology, processes, people and the associations they subscribe to are being forced to adapt to this dynamic new digital landscape in both their personal and professional lives. ARMA can lead the way by developing and fostering cutting edge information strategies that sit on the peaks of this new horizon and by driving the conversations that illuminate the valleys in between.
As we dive into the second decade of the 21st century, I want ARMA to emerge as a defining voice in the global digital disruption and transformation discussion. By the same token, the professional development and success of ARMA’s members is central to that voice being heard loud and clear. The imminent need for effective information governance throughout the software and document lifecycle will likely broaden ARMA’s appeal to groups, professionals and verticals once unfamiliar with its offerings. In continuing to partner with and perhaps exploring mergers or acquisitions of like-minded organizations and businesses, ARMA can enhance its niche, enrich the knowledge offering and bolster its network.View image on Twitter
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With the right choices, ARMA is poised to stand as a premier educational and professional service offering for this brave new world, in part by having established itself as the knowledge and resource mecca for Information Governance standards, but equally as a promoter and champion of its members, helping them connect to tangible digital transformation solutions. This means enabling and encouraging our colleagues to rise to the challenges that will shape and define the newest careers in the Information Age.
ARMA should also find new ways to play an instrumental role in highlighting and refining best practices and approaches around not just Enterprise Content Management but Big Data, Blockchain, AI, Privacy, the Internet of Things and Quantum Computing. It must pursue unique engagements with new corporate sponsors who are at the forefront of much of the change and innovation we’re witnessing. I would hope ARMA would want to have a valued and notable sponsorship level presence at the major technology conferences in the coming years including BoxWorks and BlackHat which are hungry for our narrative and talent. ARMA must strive to remain platform agnostic but must also accept the realities of dominant technologies and embrace their significance.
The association should work closely with the legal, regulatory and ethical bodies and communities that study the impact of digital transformations on businesses as well as the individual in society. This need is evidenced by the increase in privacy regulations and laws recently passed in the EU and in the United States. Building on these relationships will lend credibility to our certifications and designations. That credibility should in turn be used by ARMA leaders and members to participate in media commentary on newsworthy information management events and issues. ARMA should strive to have those perspectives sourced by popular media and journalists alike, thus bringing further recognition to the organization and marketing its relevance. ARMA should act to elevate its experienced speakers as well as new disruptive voices. Our expertise is newsworthy and needs to be heard!
The next few years really are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to seize on this demand for Information Governance solutions and tap the potential of the professional community that supports it. My hope is that community will be the people that love and celebrate ARMA.
Rafael Moscatel, CRM, IGP, is the Managing Director of Compliance and Privacy Partners, LLC. Reach him at 323-413-7432, follow him on Twitter at @rafael_moscatel or visit http://www.capp-llc.com
Rafael, thanks for your post. I agree, I have held ARMA Board positions in Nashville and Phoenix, joined ARMA in 1997, been a CRM since 2005 and am the author of Records Management For Dummies. I want ARMA to keep their eye on the RIM/IG horizon but also want them to not lose focus on or forget the newest RIM employee who by chance was assigned the responsibility, who is attempting to wrap their mind and arms around what basic records management means, who has never heard of IG, AI, content management, Blockchain, big data. My response is not a counter to your post. My response is that I think and hope that there is room within ARMA to provide for all members regardless of where they are in the career.
This is exactly my sentiment. I have an employee who is new to RIM. I have had a very hard time finding resources for her. The ARMA Conference is so focus on IG they don’t even offer basics any more. She’s like a very young child. She needs to learn how to crawl before she can learn how to walk and so on.
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I remember hearing at an ARMA Conference back in the 90’s that ARMA has covered the basics year after year and it is now time to move on from that. I thought, actually I think I blurted out what a stupid thing to say. It isn’t that I disagree with Rafael, I do believe we need to continue to grow and as we always have, keep up with the most current technologies. We are seeing more change than we ever have and ARMA should be our source of education and advising us how to remain relevant in the next decade. However, the first step in staying relevant is giving those interested in this profession a place to learn the basics. How will we ever grow if we shut the door on new people coming in? I am referring to Janet’s new employee, but we are also leaving out the Blockchain expert and the eDiscovery specialist that knows nothing about record retention. ARMA can expand their membership if they broaden the intended audience. And please remember, most of us got involved with ARMA because we knew little about RIM.
ARMA faces a tough balancing act when it comes to providing education at the annual conference. there is a limited amount of time in which to satisfy the educational demands of the fresh, wet-behind-the-ears new to the profession individual to the moss-backed curmudgeons like myself. thank fully ARMA provides a lot of online materials including two certificate courses one for RIM and one for IG.