As Information Governance professionals, we are constantly bombarded by news of new “disruptors” to our profession. As Michael P. Allen, MBA, CRM and Mary Beth Weaver, MLS, CRM, CIP, PMP discussed at a Metro Maryland ARMA meeting, being “disruptive” used to be a bad thing that got you sent to the principal’s office. Nowadays, we cannot escape the virtues of disruption. But what do all of these digital disruptors really mean for our profession? What industries are they affecting? What new disruptors are on the horizon? This article will discuss these questions.

Mike and Mary Beth guided a fascinating discussion on how some current disruptors like Big Data, the Internet of Things (“IoT”), Cyber Threats and Social Media are re-shaping the Information Governance landscape, and how emerging disruptors like Blockchain threaten current IG norms. However, we all know that the same disruptors may affect different industry verticals in very different ways. This is especially true when we look at these disruptors through the lens of government agencies and a private sector company. Government agencies and private sector organizations have very different missions that, in turn, affect how information is governed within their respective enterprises. So, how do the disruptors of today and tomorrow affect Information Governance in the public and private sectors, and how are they responding?

Social Media has gotten quite a bit of attention with the last election cycle, as well as major geopolitical events such as the Egyptian Revolution, commonly referred to as the “Facebook Revolution.” We know that Social Media posts contain records and, with the recent Cambridge Analytica controversy, we know that data created on social media can be quite valuable and have far reaching privacy implications. Information Governance professionals in the public and private sectors are grappling with issues such as data ownership, privacy, retention and Social Media use policy. The group shared the challenges they face in their current roles, and most cited the difficulty of governing viral, unstructured information outside of the direct control of their respective organizations, especially with regards to disposition. All agreed that Information Governance professionals must continue to engage with their IT counterparts to incorporate retention/disposition policy into more robust social media use policies.

The IoT is a more recent disruptor that is rapidly growing before our eyes. In fact, Gartner predicts that over 20 billion devices will be connected by 2020. The explosion of connected devices presents an enormous challenge for public and private sector Information Governance professionals. In the public realm, security appears to be the biggest challenge, as evidenced by the recent revelation that a fitness app was inadvertently tracking troop movements in Afghanistan. Security and privacy are also among the biggest headaches facing the private sector as well. Connected devices are creating vast volumes of data, much of which contains personal information. Who owns this data? Are they subject to GDPR and other privacy regulations? How are retention and disposition managed? What is the monetary value of this data? While most of the participants have not yet encountered IoT-specific challenges, they agreed that it is coming and they need to be prepared. Again, the group advocated a proactive approach to the problem that is soon to be lurking at their doorsteps. This means engaging our IT, InfoSec and Marketing counterparts to design a framework to mitigate the security risks associated with these massive volumes of data.

Of course, disruptors such as Social Media and IoT can feed the Big Data beast. Big Data is truly changing the way Information Governance professionals look at retention and disposition. This is no longer an issue of policing individual users. Larger questions loom instead, like how do we secure, manage, retain and dispose of these enormous volumes of data? Does traditional retention scheduling even apply? Should informational value (vs. legal risk) play a bigger part in retention decisions? The Big Data conundrum is now a major focus at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). As data sets continue to proliferate and grow in size, does it even make sense for permanent records to be physically or electronically transferred to NARA’s custody? Is managing permanent records in place the preservation method of choice in the future? Although Big Data has been around for a while, both public and private sector Information Governance professionals are still fighting for a voice when it comes to systems planning. Unfortunately, many attendees reported that the records lifecycle is still an afterthought when in the systems development lifecycle, leaving Information Governance professionals to clean up the mess instead of having a seat at the table during the planning phase. Indeed, all agreed that proactive lifecycle planning is a key prerequisite to taming the Big Data beast.

Recent events have highlighted the monetary value of Big Data. The value of this data is very attractive not only for Business Intelligence professionals to hackers and other profiteers with nefarious intentions. From Wikileaks to election meddling to holding hospital systems hostage, cyber threats have serious financial, privacy and public safety implications. All of this is happening as InfoSec professionals build increasingly elaborate defenses. The salient questions for us are why does this keep happening and what can Information Governance professionals do to help reverse this most worrisome of disruptors? Most participants agreed that the clear mandate for Information Governance professionals is to team with their counterparts in InfoSec to identify and redact sensitive data unnecessary for data analysis goals, remove sensitive data from vulnerable locations , and reduce legal risk by enforcing records retention schedules (which may be different for sanitized and curated data for longer term business intelligence goals). Again, one of the biggest challenges we have is to convince CIOs and other information leaders that we are valuable partners in defending against cyber threats.

An emerging disruptor that is the subject of just about every information-related conference or seminar is Blockchain. At its very core, Blockchain can drastically improve the integrity of information and remove the information intermediaries that slow down information transactions. Though in its infancy, Blockchain has captured the attention of governments, financial institutions and other data transaction-intensive organizations that stand to gain from this highly disruptive technology. Already, state and local governments are applying Blockchain in Public Health and other areas. Financial institutions have opened up their Blockchain source code to foster development of Blockchain-enabled applications. The U.S. General Services Administration is actively seeking private sector partners with Blockchain expertise, and NARA has stated that they are monitoring the evolution of Blockchain very closely. Many experts believe that Blockchain has the potential to at least partially replace many traditional human-led backoffice functions such as transactional accounting and reconciliation What impact will Blockchain have on Information Governance? The answer to that question is as clear as mud right now, but as thought leaders must raise questions about ownership, security and retention/disposition. Participants agreed that, though the technology is still somewhat immature, Blockchain will almost certainly play a prominent role in our information infrastructure in the not-too-distant future.

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Cadence Group co-writers on this article include: Michael P. Allen, MBA, CRM, and Marcus Durand.