ECRM Software vs ECRM Solutions

The end of the year is looming, and many people tend to reflect on topics large and small - good things that have happened to them, usually, but also those "tics" large and small that seem to stick in one's mind.  A recurring theme that seems to sound like fingernails scratching a blackboard to me is the tendency to term ECRM software as a "solution".  You know the mantra:  "Our Acme All-In-One magical software solution will answer all your needs and desires to implement an information and records management program."  To believe the sales hype is to believe that all you need to do is purchase the magical software and your RIM problems are solved.

Now, I certainly understand the need for catchy phrases and terminology in the sales and marketing realm for any product; perception is important, your product must stand out by having a sense of strength or dominance in its given industry.  What concerns me is the tendency of even impartial commentators to use this term - even the well-respected Gartner Group has been known to use "solutions" when referring to various software applications, albeit in general terms and not to specifically call out an individual product.  To me, this only heightens the perception given to those intrepid records managers, IT and compliance managers and others who are ardently searching for a true solution to managing their information.  There has been a tendency over the past few years to perceive software as the answer; I believe this approach was strengthened with the advent of ECM/ERM/ECRM software development that was considered as quite advanced and complex - and complexity often seems to imply "heaven-sent" resolution to all life's ills, as in "I don't understand what I need so will take this as my solution - it must do everything I need."  There seems to be a tendency to believe that the software application provides all the pieces to the solution puzzle, rather than being just a piece of the solution. 

There are certainly many excellent ECRM products available, with tremendous capabilities.  But, at least to me, are tools, not solutions.  In order to develop a successful RIM program, one needs strategy, buy-in, policies and procedures, plans, AND the tools to implement and deploy the program.  Software is one of those tools, of course very likely an expensive, central and powerful tool.  I will concede that the term "tool" is not very attractive on its face - not a marketable term.  But even when I try to rationalize the term "solution" with some sort of clarifying statement, it still rings a bit hollow or at worst weakens the entire comment about the product.

But education and knowledge about developing a RIM program in general should alleviate some mis-perceptions and re-weight significance back to the need for developing all aspects of proper records management.  If only a true "solution" to a company's RIM needs could come in a package, holiday shopping would be much simpler.

In A Rage Over Information

Craig Roth from Gartner posted interesting comments about Information Rage, a term cooked up by editorialists in New Zealand regarding the stress felt by knowledge workers over what used to be called "information overload".  Mr. Roth correctly called out the writers of the opinion piece for dramatizing the issue and seemingly mis-interpreting comments made by interviewees.  While many of the individuals interviewed mentioned "giving up", it is highly unlikely we will see a mass walk-off of employees who will prefer not working and no paycheck to dealing with their information management issues.  This is wonderful fodder for some media folk to feast on, especially as the US mid-term election hoopla recedes, but as Mr. Roth ably points out there's a lot of noise here with poor substance.

My thought is that knowledge workers aren't frustrated so much by too much information, often aptly and comically referred to as TMI; rather, I tend to think the frustration is finding the right information when the users need it - maybe they are suffering more from "search overload" than information overload.  I do know that I am happy when I stumble across, or am rewarded with an abundance of hits when searching for information on a topic - when the results are accurate and applicable.  It's the lack of results, or irrelevant information returns that really bug me...having to sort through 10 pages of stuff to find one or two applicable bits of information, for instance.  I relish the fantastic reservoir of information we have available, literally at our fingertips; and I often look forward to embarking on a quest to discover information about a new topic, or more information than I thought existed about something I am familiar with.  But there are times when I am also frustrated by the surfeit of incorrect or irrelevant "stuff" that can pour onto my screen, seemingly mocking my attempts to just "get the facts".

Maybe this is just another way to talk about, and implement, appropriate information management practices - learning how to find what we want when we want it, but also learning how to shrug off or shut out the noise that comes with such instant and comprehensive access to information.