Attending our Strategic Partner (Users) Conference last week really brought home to me how much this is an interesting but increasingly challenging time to be in the commercial records management industry.  Over 100 record centers were represented and it was great to get their feedback on the state of the industry.  So what did I learn?  The status quo, which existed for many years, has gone away.  The dynamics of the market place have changed and new service requirements are prevalent. Increasing competition is everywhere, meaning that price pressures are squeezing margins more than ever.    

It’s clear that it is a completely different game to just a short while ago.  The unfortunate news is that many record centers will be caught out by the speed of this change. Unable to keep up, due to limitations in their software, they may find that they begin to lose business in an industry that is traditionally very stable.

Now the good news:  You only need to ensure that you meet three key requirements to ensure that you stay out of trouble and are able to meet future challenges head on.  Even better is that these requirements should be taken care of by your technology partner, so you can focus on delivering a quality service to your customers.  So what are they?

Firstly, you need to think of your technology as a foundation not just a piece of software.   The technology becomes a core component of your business and, as such, will be a foundation that everything else sits upon.  We all know what happens to buildings that don’t have solid foundations!  You need to examine the technology to ensure it meets your needs.  For example, did you know that not having a fully automated method for capturing revenue can result in missed revenue up to 10%?  Of course, you can live in denial: If you never had it then you never feel like you lost it, but who today can afford to let up to 10% of revenue slip through their fingers?  Not all technologies are built the same, even though they may appear similar on the surface and they could be costing you money.  Be thorough when checking those solid foundations so you can be sure that you don’t have to worry about your revenues.  You need to know that you can build your business with confidence.

Secondly, the ability to connect easily with other systems is going to become progressively more important over the coming years.  We are all becoming impatient with the need to have multiple systems in place when we simply want to do things once.  This is most evident in the mobile world, where we carry our email, contacts, phone numbers, appointments and photographs all in a device that we were once simply happy to make a phone call from.   This movement towards simplified systems will see clients of record centers requesting that their systems interface seamlessly with your systems.  I think this is still in its early days but, past evidence suggests, that it will be inevitable.  Whether through Application Programmers Interfaces (API’s) or hosted web-services, the capable to allow your customers to communicate with you through their systems is coming.  Make sure your technology partner is aware of this and has a clear plan to help you meet that challenge.

Thirdly, if you are going to rely on your technology to provide your business foundations, and you are going to need to connect to third-party systems, it is clear you will need a robust, industry specific solution.    Are the business rules built in to the technology based on years of industry experience? Are the features well documented, so you can learn their benefits?   Do you have trained technicians at hand to support you?  Can you get at the data inside, so you can have control over the information it can provide?  Industry specific solutions answer yes to all these questions and provide much more.  Solutions that grew out of asset-tracking products and were not designed for the industry are costing you money.  Don’t fall into the trap of think records management is simply about tracking items onto shelves in a warehouse.  Commercial Records Management is a business that profits when IT solutions are maximized. Your buildings and staff are by far your most expensive running costs.  The right technology can ensure that you maximise those costs.

So with three requirements met, you are positioning your business to adapt and grow, even in these difficult times.