Information Management Journal articles from January 2006

Information Management Journal archives from January 2006

Ready for anything? Preparation is the key to success, security.(IN FOCUS: A Message from the Editors)
January 1, 2006... Be Prepared. That's the lesson the Boys Scouts learn, and it's a good one for records and information management (RIM) professionals, too--especially in this litigious age. Lack of preparation and knowledge can land your organization's name in...

Small firms seek different SOX rules.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... According to a recent U.S. survey, almost half of all small companies say that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has made it more difficult for them to conduct business. The study, commissioned by financial and business management solution...

Who should control the World Wide Web?(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... The United States has retained its crown as king of the World Wide Web, but only after a long and, at times, contentious struggle with the rest of the world. During the World Summit on the Information Society held in Tunisia in November,...

Americans concerned about medical privacy, survey finds.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... Despite new federal protections, 67 percent of Americans are worried about the privacy of their personal health information and are largely unaware of their rights. Moreover, many consumers may be putting their health at risk with such...

Corporations seek to seal divorce records.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... According to The National Law Journal, U.S. courts are receiving more requests to seal divorce records--requests from corporations, not couples. Divorce lawyers say corporations, along with the rich and powerful, are increasingly asking...

Higher Ed fights FCC wiretap order.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... According to The New York Times, The American Council on Education (ACE), an association of universities and colleges, recently filed an appeal in federal court challenging a September 23, 2005 order issued by the Federal Communications...

Hospital loses patient data.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Kanai, Hawaii, contacted more than 130,000 present and former patients to report that a computer drive containing personally identifiable information had disappeared. The hospital says that the drive, which was...

Readers pay by the page.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... Amazon.com customers can now purchase books by the page. With its new "Amazon Pages" service, Amazon lets customers buy portions of a book for online viewing. A second program, "Amazon Upgrade," will offer full online access when a traditional...

Google offers public-domain books.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... Google Inc.'s Internet-leading search engine has begun offering the entire contents of books and government documents that aren't ensnared in a copyright battle over how much material from five major libraries can be scanned and indexed. ...

Cell phone records for sale.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... For as little as $100, anyone can buy your cell phone records online. BestPeopleSearch.com, for example, advertises the sale of cell phone records, claiming that the information is uncovered by private investigators. Locatecell.com also...

Old PCs dumped in developing nations.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... According to a recent report, "The Digital Dump: Exporting Reuse and Abuse to Africa," U.S. recycling businesses are donating or selling unusable computer equipment, phones, and televisions to poor nations to avoid the expense of recycling them...

Sox: $6 billion cost in 2006.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... According to AMR Research, companies will spend $6 billion this year to comply with requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AMR Research says companies spent $6.1 billion in 2005. In 2006 budgets allocated...

Report urges funding for HIPAA provisions.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... A recent report says Congress should fully fund the implementation of provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and encourages the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to speed up the...

HHS awards EHR grants.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently awarded four contracts worth a combined $18.6 million for the development of electronic health records (EHR) systems in 12 U.S. regions that will serve as models for the nation,...

E-records may end fraud.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Only a small percentage of the estimated 4 billion healthcare claims submitted annually in the United States are fraudulent, but the total cost of fraudulent or improper claims is substantial. The National...

Tech leaders release e-health roadmap.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... Chief executives of the United States' leading high-tech companies say that building a networked healthcare system is a national imperative and called on policymakers, U.S. businesses, and healthcare providers to develop the policies,...

U.K. shells out millions to boost e-gov.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... The U.K. government is spending 5 million [pounds sterling] (about $8.6 million U.S.) to persuade the public to use the electronic services that local authorities have spent billions putting in place, according to Silicon.com. The "Lose...

SOX compliance costs U.K. firms.(UP FRONT: News, Trends & Analysis)
January 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to Accenture, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) regulations cost U.K. businesses $1 million per $1 billion of revenue. The good news is that second- and third-year compliance costs could be 30 to 40 percent lower than...

Congress assesses data security proposals: a number of bills have been introduced in the Senate and House, but no further action is expected until later in 2006.(ON THE EDGE: The Use & Misuse of Information)
January 1, 2006... Americans demand security and privacy for their personally identifiable information. The establishment of new technology systems that allow for the easy access and transference of personally identifiable data between parties has raised concerns...

New toolset monitors compliance.(MARKET PLACE: New Products & Industry Announcements)
January 1, 2006... InvenioWorks has released KeepTrack for Microsoft SharePoint products and technologies. KeepTrack is a toolset that addresses records management and compliance requirements for companies. KeepTrack, an application atop a suite of software tools...

O'Neil software upgrades RS-SQL program.(MARKET PLACE: New Products & Industry Announcements)
January 1, 2006... O'Neil Software has introduced an upgrade to its record storage management product RS-SQL, Version 2.08. Some features of the upgrade include outcards supported with pick sequences, fully translatable buttons, tracking of account and price...

Tool helps password-protect files, folders, drives.(MARKET PLACE: New Products & Industry Announcements)
January 1, 2006... NewSoftwares.net Inc. has released version 5.2.8 of its security tool for the Windows XP/2000/NT/Me/98/95 plat-forms, a software tool designed to password-protect files, folders, and drives from unauthorized users. Folder Lock allows PC users...

Software inventories companies' assets.(MARKET PLACE: New Products & Industry Announcements)
January 1, 2006... Liberty Street Software has released AssetManage 2005, a multi-user Windows application that tracks expenses, creates inventories for multiple locations, and allows the user to attach images, documents, and hyperlinks to each asset. AssetManage...

Software tool identifies file formats of digital files.(MARKET PLACE: New Products & Industry Announcements)
January 1, 2006... The U.K. National Archives has released PRONOM 4, the latest version of its web-based technical registry to support long-term digital preservation. PRONOM 4 now holds detailed technical information about individual file formats, including links...

Online records tracking system launched.(MARKET PLACE: New Products & Industry Announcements)
January 1, 2006... Whitefoot-Forward Ltd. has launched ArchiveLive, an individually configurable, web-based software package to provide users of the O'Neil records management system and other database systems with the first alternative method of online records...

Condition critical: developing records retention schedules: hot topics in the records management field warrant a new look at old retention schedules or the need to build a well-planned, comprehensive retention schedule. This ongoing process requires thought, planning, and documentation to ensure the proper maintaining of important records.
January 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Enterprise content management, data privacy, Sarbanes-Oxley internal controls, and e-mail mismanagement are all high-profile, hot topics that have garnered the interest of senior-level management--topics that have...

Get smart! About intellectual property.
January 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Over the past 50 years, there has been a meteoric rise in claims to intellectual property around the globe. In fact, intellectual property has in many ways become the foundation of some economies. Since the existence...

CIOs: information program leaders in transition: chief information officers have a lot to learn from records and information management professionals. The two professions must work together to provide leadership, innovation, and sound information management practices to benefit their companies' growth and stability.
January 1, 2006... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In recent years, the number of information professions and careers has grown dramatically. Among these additions to the field are chief knowledge officer, strategic information specialist, imaging specialist,...

A 30(b)(6) can sink your ship: good records management policies and knowledge of the law will help records managers keep their companies afloat in the face of possible litigation.(Legal Watch)
January 1, 2006... In several recent court cases, corporate IT representatives have incorrectly testified under oath that their company positively had or did not have certain potentially relevant documents or other data. When the truth was revealed in court that...

Product liability: retention and risk management solutions: records managers should take the lead in developing a cross-functional team to prepare for possible product liability litigation issues.(Management Wise)
January 1, 2006... A 15-year-old boy disassembles his new paintball- gun after using it. His friends hear a hissing sound and then a "pop." The carbon dioxide container that powered the paintball gun detached and struck the teenager above his eye, causing a...