Newly published research from Iron Mountain shows that records and information management in the public sector is contributing to government cost-saving and efficiency targets.
However, the pace and scope of change across the sector presents a challenge, the records management contractor adds. While seven in ten, 72 per cent of the public sector information leaders surveyed in the study say their approach to information management is fit-for-purpose, 61 per cent admit their organisation has lost or misplaced important documents and 40 per cent say they have suffered a data breach.
Iron Mountain says that it spoke to senior executives responsible for managing public sector information and implementing the government’s digital transformation strategy. The study found that reform is welcome and already delivering considerable benefits ‒ for example by enabling 1.3 million students to apply online for loans and generating £1.4 billion from the sale of government-owned land and buildings, saving £600 million a year in running costs in the process.
However, the study also found that developments such as the merger and relocation of offices and job roles can result in over-burdened staff (81 per cent), a disconnected approach to information across teams (71 per cent), a lack of information management skills (60 per cent), and a failure to stick to guidelines (57 per cent).
Phil Greenwood, responsible for delivering Iron Mountain’s services to the public sector, spoke of a need for greater collaboration between the public and private sectors. He said: “The UK’s public sector is going through a period of transformational change. Almost everyone we surveyed said that cost cutting had resulted in the loss of valuable skills in records and information management. More than half reported reduced operational efficiency and many had experienced a data breach or loss. For the public sector to further its success in bringing services online, freeing up its estate and reducing cost, the transformation must be met with improvements in how records and information are managed. With four in five public sector bodies identifying an opportunity to make additional cost savings by optimising their records and information management, this looks like an area that deserves consideration and review. It is important that the individuals, teams and departments responsible for the government’s vast estate of information have the support they need to proceed into a digital future with confidence.”
Iron Mountain has prepared a whitepaper on the main findings of the study and provides guidance on what public sector organisations can do to address the challenges and harness the opportunities. Copies of the whitepaper, The Public Sector – managing information through the challenge of change, can be downloaded at: http://www.ironmountain.co.uk/knowledge-center/reference-library/view-by-document-type/white-papers-briefs/i/information-and-the-public-sector.aspx
