Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/43390
the software that will address the needs of the corporation for those interactions that rise to the level of a record, requiring action on the part of the corporation. CHARTING UNKNOWN WATERS Given the overwhelming technological changes we've all recently experienced, a few things have been staring many of us in the face for quite some time. Namely: • As the nature of the workforce has changed, the nature of interactions between knowledge workers with those inside and outside of the corporation continues to change. • The ways in which those interactions have changed have a profound impact on the way corporations decide which interactions rise to the level of "records" that require some form of declaration, along with the appropriate levels of retention, management and, ultimately, destruction or preservation. • IT representatives responsible for the company's risk assessment and risk management must begin the task of educating their constituency — as well as the software development community — of the changes that need to be made to successfully incorporate these tools into the corporate environment. Most recently, we've arrived in the age of a worker who is comfortable with myriad recent forms of immediate and social interaction: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Yammer, Skype, etc. Today's knowledge worker expects to be able to bring these skills and tools into the workplace. NAVIGATING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE TECHNOLOGIST The new tools for interaction are perhaps the most individualistic software applications ever to be brought into the workplace, making them (to some extent) the most difficult yet for corporations to navigate. They were designed from the ground up to be tools for the individual to interact with other individuals. Network installations, configuration options and management options are, at present, nonexistent or afterthoughts. For example, Skype Manager allows for an administrator to add a user, as well as manage credits for features (e.g., voicemail) and interactions (e.g., landline calls) that Skype charges for on a usage basis. At present, that's pretty much it for administration — no content preservation, no logging of interactions and no ability to use Active Directory or OLAP to bulk- allow users. That's not to single out Skype. The same can be said of most, if not all, of the tools the latest generation of knowledge worker is eager to use in the corporate environment. The lack of administration tools and features is particularly disconcerting to the technologist advising those responsible for corporate risk/ document/discovery management when taking into consideration that the medium of interaction is digital, not analog. This community now knows that digital interactions on behalf of the corporation can be managed. Furthermore, in many instances they ought to be managed because there are repercussions in the form of sanctions or cost inefficiencies associated with not managing these types of individual interactions. www.iltanet.org Corporate Law Departments 21