In our digital age the use of technology to engage with partners both internal and external to organizations is paramount. Collaborative elements of software systems are critical as they provide the ability for internal and external document sharing. This leads to the question of “how” to manage the sharing of information. We don’t want to inhibit stakeholders’ ability to get their work done, but there needs to be an assurance that company information is protected from both security and knowledge breaches. Governance of how collaborative tools are used is an important element of the Information Management Program.
Governance for the use of collaborative tools should include control of “what” information may be shared and “who” it may be shared with. Ultimately, this is an extension of an organization’s confidentiality policy. The Use of Collaborative Tools Policy should identify “who” is granted authority to share documents and “which” documents may be shared externally. Additionally, if documents are subsequently brought back into the company, there needs to be definition for how those documents are received to ensure there are no cyber security issues and to ensure the document content is approved for company use.
One means to manage external document share is to designate an area within the Document Control System exclusively for external document sharing and define specific owners for the area. This limits the number of external touch points from a cyber security perspective. Each department may have their own folder within the external share hub and designate who in the department manages the folder. Allowing ALL stakeholders to share ANY document from their individual drives is not recommended as this results in a lack of control over company information. Other elements of the policy may include the use of email and USB sticks for sharing documents. While convenient, these options also contain security risks.
The creation of a policy surrounding the use of collaborative tools is an important first step when implementing a collaborative document sharing tool.
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