M365, the opportunity to re-make records management and the race.

I try to keep a strict separation between my work, and this blog (even though the subjects are related). I also try and avoid vendor discussions - because the vendors aren't the point.

Making our practice effective is.

Today though, I wanted to break that a little.

M365, depending on where you are is either the highlight of your life, or the bane of your existence.

For me, it's a huge opportunity.

It's the first time ever that organisations have had broad, functionally agnostic toolsets designed for non-technical users to build their own business process management system.

And underneath it all, is a records management stack.

Not do your work - then do your records management.

Not records management by "here's where our automagic happens."

Records management by "we've built this thing that helps you do your work" (and it also organises the records really well too).

It brings with it an opportunity.

If we repeat the same practices in the past, we'll build things that we think are great - but that no one will use, and we'll waste 20 years on it.

If we build things WITH people - and learn to experiment, and understand that it doesn't always work the first time - and sometimes not the second or third either - we have the opportunity to remake records management into something that people want and actively ask for.

M365 does have its limitations.

It's manage in place - but only if that place is M365.

It's not up to Australian or New Zealand standards (although it's working its way there).

For many of us, it will be the front end to something else.

It is still (to me) the best technological opportunity that records management has to meet users where they are, and have them want us to be there.

There is a race on though.

Someone is going to own Microsoft 365 in every organisation.

If it's not records, we lose the opportunity.