From Chaos to Clarity: Why Ensuring Access to Connected Data Is the Key to Compliance and Growth

Access Information Management’s Paul Dimmig offers commentary on why ensuring access to connected data is the key to compliance and growth. This article originally appeared in Insight Jam, an enterprise IT community that enables human conversation on AI.

In 2025, success hinges on a deceptively simple concept: connected, accessible data. For years, businesses have wrestled with managing growing volumes of information, but the landscape has shifted. Today’s stakes are higher, and the margin for error is slimmer. Between emerging state-level data privacy laws in places including New Hampshire, Iowa, and Delaware, and the compounding complexity of hybrid work environments, the need for strategic, integrated information governance has become a business imperative.

According to the Association for Intelligent Information Management (AIIM), the average organization operates across four to five different information systems—and 14% use as many as ten different systems. This sprawl creates silos, slows productivity, heightens compliance risks, and leaves leaders without a clear picture of the data that drives decisions. The good news? With a thoughtful approach and the right tools to ensure connectivity and accessibility, businesses can turn information chaos into clarity.

Why Accessibility Matters Now More Than Ever

Data without accessibility is like fuel without a pipeline: it’s there, but it won’t power anything. And when retention policies and compliance standards are layered into the mix, the ability to instantly locate, interpret, and act on information becomes essential.

Organizations thrive when their information strategy evolves alongside their growth. It’s not just about avoiding penalties or meeting minimum requirements. It’s about unlocking smarter decisions, streamlined workflows, and greater resilience. The first step is future-proofing your retention and accessibility strategy — here’s how.

Make Your Tech Stack Work Together, Not Against You

According to AIIM, only 26 percent of content systems integrate with other business-critical platforms. That leaves the vast majority of organizations exposed to errors, duplication, and version control issues. Businesses can’t afford fragmented systems. Disconnected platforms increase the odds of compliance missteps and hinder day-to-day operations. That’s why the foundation of any future-ready strategy begins with integration.

Look for user-friendly platforms that offer open APIs so you can adapt quickly as your tech ecosystem evolves and seamless integration with existing systems like HR platforms, ERPs, and content management tools. Consolidating or bridging systems using flexible, cloud-based solutions can simplify compliance across all repositories, centralize visibility, and scale as your business grows.

Move Toward Simpler, More Scalable Retention Policies

A robust policy framework is the backbone of compliant information governance. But complexity can be the enemy of execution. Many organizations inadvertently create retention schedules that are too granular to manage or maintain. The result? Noncompliance by neglect.

To counteract this, consider the “Big Bucket” approach. Instead of assigning unique retention rules to every record type or department, group records into broad categories (e.g., financial, employee, legal). This reduces complexity, eliminates redundancy, and helps teams maintain consistency without overburdening staff.

Another way to approach this is through Time-Based Triggers. Traditional event-based retention (e.g., “retain until employee termination”) is susceptible to ambiguity and human error. A shift toward time-based rules (e.g., “retain for 7 years after creation”) allows automation and eliminates guesswork, especially in remote or decentralized environments.

Simplified policies like these don’t mean cutting corners, they’re about making compliance achievable at scale.

Design Processes That Stand the Test of Time

Technology and policy are critical, but they don’t operate in a vacuum. Future-ready organizations build processes that continuously align people, systems, and goals. That includes:

• Regular Reviews: Schedule quarterly or annual audits of your information lifecycle. Are retention rules being followed? Are employees confused or circumventing policy out of frustration? Use reviews as a chance to identify weak points and correct course.
• Departmental Ownership: Designate a point person in each team or function to act as a retention liaison. This ensures that knowledge flows both ways—from compliance teams to business users, and back again.
• Automated Policy Updates: As state and federal regulations evolve, your systems should too. Relying on manual updates or hoping that policy trickles down is no longer sustainable. Automated tools that update in response to legislative changes can reduce compliance risk while freeing up internal teams to focus on strategic work.

Enable Decision-Making with Clean, Connected Data

The ultimate benefit of connected, compliant information isn’t just regulatory peace of mind, it’s about sharper business decisions, which aren’t possible if your systems are siloed or your records are out of date. When data is accessible, current, and trustworthy, it becomes a strategic asset. Executives gain clearer visibility into trends and teams can collaborate in real-time without version confusion. Metrics are accurate, analysis is faster, and customer experiences improve.

Get access to that clean, connected data by implementing a single source of truth. Consolidate critical business information into a centralized repository or system of record. Rather than pulling data from multiple disconnected systems, create a master database where the most current, validated information resides. Solutions like cloud-based content management platforms can help bring together documents, contracts, and customer records in one searchable location.

Then, use technology that tracks and controls document versions automatically. Ensuring that teams always access the most current information—and archiving outdated versions—helps prevent confusion, avoid rework, and accelerate project timelines.

Building Toward Resilience

We’re at a turning point in information governance. The volume of data will only grow. Regulations will only multiply. And yet, the organizations that thrive in 2025 and beyond won’t be the ones that try to manage it all manually—they’ll be the ones that make smart investments in systems and processes that scale. Information should be a source of strength, not stress. With the right approach, any organization can turn complexity into clarity and compliance into a competitive advantage.