Whoever thought folders were a good idea? Perpetuating the deficiencies of a physical filing cabinet onto a computer system never made sense.

So, you could put a file in only one place without making another copy; even if it was the wrong place or a different place than someone else would have filed it. Or you may only find an empty folder at the end of the hierarchy. Never mind the structure and naming conventions which often have no rhyme or reason.

Apparently, many modern systems still follow this crazy convention, and once they start down this route it is almost impossible to change. Metadata allows you to find the What not an unreliable Where.

Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics are powerful tools to enhance and automate classification. Metadata can be richer and more extensive without any further effort on your part.

I automate repetitive work processes, however critical, so I make the correct decisions every time. Even the auditors can see the evidence for themselves.

I know how to keep secrets and only show documents to the right people at the right times. And I can change the rules as often and a quickly as circumstances demand.

I talk with many other systems on a daily basis to ensure that your view is as complete as possible.

I even talk Microsoft so that email, spreadsheets and documents are quickly and correctly dealt with and available for as long as you need them.

Everyone tells me how easy I am to get on with, even those who have just met me. I am easy to live with long term as I evolve with you. Some will find I have a deeper side and am more complex under the skin but no less accommodating.

Compliance is now pervasive – rules, regulation and procedures to which you need to adhere. But complying is not sufficient alone – it must be demonstrable.

This additional burden on top of your day job can become intolerable by detracting from you actually doing anything. The only way to survive this potential tyranny is to embody compliance as part of your systems and practices; better still let automation take the load.

Systems are the only sane approach – start now and break-out of the straight-jacket of regulation rather than end up in that straight-jacket yourself.

Life today is more immediate and mobile than ever before. No longer is it feasible to rely on the filing cabinet back at base so we rely on Cloud sharing services. Great! You have access to your records everywhere, so presumably your colleagues do also.

Who has the one version of the truth? Whose copy is the most current, whose is obsolete, whose is dangerously incorrect? If it matters to you then ensure the information you are viewing is current and up to date even if someone else updated it minutes ago.

Delivering one version of the truth every time everywhere to everyone whether that is on the office PC, Web, iPhone or tablet.