New technologies, new RIM challenges.

Isn't technology grand? Despite the challenges, costs, and occasional hiccups, consider where we might be without it.

This issue of The Information Management Journal takes a look at a few new technologies, products, and trends. You may have heard of content-addressed storage and active archiving, but in her article "Innovations in Information Management Technologies," Julie Gable, CRM, CDIA, FM, examines three products that have huge records management implications: EMC's Centera Compliance Edition, Princeton Softech's Active Archiving Solutions, and Microsoft's Sharepoint Portal Server version 2.0. Each represents a new way of thinking about managing electronic records.

In his article "The Digital Tsunami: A Perspective on Data Storage" Joe Straub discusses the dramatic increases in data storage that will be necessary in the near future and identifies existing and emerging data storage technologies. To meet rapidly multiplying data storage demands, Straub says, organizations will need to find technologies that can increase today's storage offerings tenfold in the next few years. If you have not considered what this might mean to your organization, now is the time to do so.

Something else to consider, given the proliferation of e-mail and the growing use of instant messaging, are the legal implications of using e-mail, voice mail, and instant messages in the workplace. John Montana, J.D., discusses these communication media from a legal perspective--are they or aren't they legally records?--in "E-mail, Voice Mail, and Instant Messaging: A Legal Perspective." Montana's article provides examples of messaging restrictions and guidelines in the United States and worldwide and examines considerations for polices that manage messaging data. It is based on a research study funded by the ARMA International Educational Foundation.

Alan A. Andolsen, CMC, CRM, explores yet another challenging technology --voice recognition--in the article "Can You Understand Me Now?" In the not-so-distant future, he says, records and information managers will be required to address the output of voice recognition systems as an integral part of their electronic records retention decisions.

Finally, learning what information flows are and how to map them can help records and information management professionals view their organization's needs from a strategic perspective--a skill that is definitely valuable to top management. In "Mapping Information Flows: A Practical Guide" Betty Jo Hibberd and Allison Evatt define information mapping and explain how it can help shift the information professional's natural bottom-up point of view to a top-down, strategic perspective.

Be sure to check out "On the Edge." This new section supplants "Capital Edge" and will feature in-depth news and analysis about how information is used within several arenas, including legislative, international, legal, and politics. It is meant to bring your attention to and spark discussion about current issues regarding the use or misuse of information. Turn to page 20 to read the first installment, then e-mail Nikki Swartz at [e-mail] and let us know what you think.