No more confusion or uncertainty when dealing with important concepts like retention schedules, data classification, or information governance.
Our Glossary Section breaks down each term, offering clear definitions and practical examples that will empower you to make informed decisions and streamline your records management processes.
A B C | D E F | G H I | J K L | M N O | P Q R S | T U V | W X Y Z
Archiving: The process of moving documents and files to a separate storage location for long-term preservation and compliance purposes.
Batch Processing: A method of processing multiple documents or files in a group or batch, often used for efficiency in document management.
Business Process Review (BPR): A systematic assessment and analysis of an organization’s current business processes to identify areas for improvement, optimization, and efficiency. The primary objectives of a BPR are to streamline workflows, reduce costs, enhance productivity, and align processes with organizational goals and strategies.
Cloud Document Storage: Storing documents and files in remote servers hosted by third-party providers, offering accessibility and scalability.
Content Management: The practice of organizing, categorizing, and controlling access to digital content and documents.
Classification: The systematic categorization of records based on their content, purpose, or importance to facilitate retrieval and management.
Custodian: An individual or department responsible for the care, maintenance, and proper handling of specific records.
Contract Management: Contract Management is the process of overseeing, organizing, and optimizing an organization’s contracts with external parties, such as customers, suppliers, or partners, throughout their lifecycle. This involves contract creation, negotiation, execution, compliance monitoring, performance assessment, and contract renewal or termination.
Document Analysis: A systematic process used to evaluate, interpret, and extract meaningful information from documents. This involves the use of advanced techniques such as text analytics, data mining, and machine learning to understand and process the content of documents.
Document Management System (DMS): A software solution designed to store, organize, track, and manage electronic documents and digital files, ensuring easy retrieval and secure storage.
Digital Scanning: refers to the process of converting physical documents, images, or printed materials into digital format. Digital scanning involves capturing an electronic image of the document’s content, which can then be stored, edited, transmitted, and managed electronically. It is widely used in document management, archival purposes, and for creating digital backups of physical records.
Data Destruction: The secure and compliant process of permanently removing or destroying records and data that are no longer needed.
Digitization: The process of converting physical records into digital format for easier storage, retrieval, and management.
Digital Transformation: Digital Transformation is a strategic and organizational change process that leverages digital technologies to fundamentally enhance and revolutionize various aspects of an organization’s operations, products, services, and customer experiences. It involves a holistic shift in the way an organization operates and interacts with stakeholders, driven by the integration of digital technology, data analytics, automation, and a digital-first mindset.
Enterprise Content Management (ECM): A set of defined processes, strategies, and tools that allow a business to effectively obtain, organize, store, and deliver critical information to its employees, business stakeholders, and customers. ECM encompasses the management of all forms of content, including documents, images, emails, and other digital assets, across an organization.
Electronic Signature: A digital representation of a person’s handwritten signature used to sign electronic documents, often with legal validity.
Electronic Records Management (ERM): The practice of managing digital records, including email, electronic documents, and databases, to ensure compliance and accessibility.
File Format: The specific structure and encoding used to store digital documents, such as PDF (Portable Document Format) or DOCX (Microsoft Word format).
HRMS (Human Resource Management System): It is a software application or integrated suite of tools designed to streamline and automate various HR-related processes within an organization. An HRMS typically includes features and modules for managing employee data, payroll processing, benefits administration, time and attendance tracking, recruitment and applicant tracking, performance management, and employee self-service.
Indexing: The process of creating searchable references or keywords for documents, making it easier to retrieve them.
Information Lifecycle Management (ILM): The systematic approach to managing the flow of an organization’s information from creation and initial storage to final disposition.
Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR): An advanced form of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology that allows computers to learn and recognize handwritten text or different fonts and styles in scanned documents. Unlike standard OCR, which is limited to recognizing printed text, ICR uses artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to interpret and convert various handwritten styles and less structured texts into digital formats.
Information Governance Policy: A framework or set of guidelines established by an organization to govern the creation, use, management, and deletion of information. It encompasses policies, procedures, and standards that ensure information is managed effectively, ethically, and in compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
ITAD: IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) is the process of securely and responsibly managing the retirement, disposal, and repurposing of information technology assets, such as computers, servers, smartphones, and other electronic devices. ITAD involves not only the physical disposal of hardware but also data sanitization and compliance with environmental and data protection regulations. Proper ITAD practices aim to maximize the value of assets, reduce environmental impact, and protect sensitive data.
Metadata: Descriptive information about a document, such as title, author, creation date, keywords, and tags, used for categorization and search.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition): Technology that converts scanned paper documents or images into machine-readable text, enabling text search and extraction.
Offsite Storage: Storing physical or digital documents in a location outside of the primary business premises for backup or disaster recovery purposes.
Paperless Office: An office environment where physical documents are minimized or eliminated in favor of digital document management.
Quick Access: The ability to retrieve documents quickly and efficiently from a document management system, often facilitated by search and indexing capabilities.
Record: In the context of business and organizational records management, a record refers to any documented information, regardless of its physical form or characteristics, that is created or received by an organization in the course of conducting business. This includes a wide range of formats such as emails, memos, contracts, reports, financial statements, employee files, and electronic databases.
Records Management: The practice of classifying, storing, and disposing of documents and records in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements.
Retention Policy: A set of rules and guidelines that dictate how long documents should be retained before they are deleted or archived.
Security Permissions: Access controls and permissions that specify who can view, edit, or delete specific documents within a document management system.
Shredding: The process of destroying physical records by cutting them into tiny pieces to prevent unauthorized access or data breaches.
Version Control: The process of managing different versions of a document to track changes, revisions, and updates, often used to ensure document integrity and collaboration.
Workflow Automation: The use of technology to automate and streamline document-related processes, such as approval workflows and document routing.
Workflow Management: The planning, execution, and monitoring of document-related processes to ensure efficiency and compliance.
