The AvePoint Solution
Kerri had heard from a colleague that AvePoint was “flexible, agile, and listened,” which was important to BKI: they didn’t want a product, but a partnership. It was also critically important that their new records management system fit into their overall enterprise architecture roadmap. This is part of what made AvePoint Cloud Records so appealing to BKI.
“Because AvePoint’s tool sits on SharePoint, we are just adding new functionality to a Microsoft product we’re already using,” explains Kerri. “SharePoint is great for end users, but a little scary for record managers. AvePoint’s knowledge of SharePoint and record management was reassuring.”
Cloud Records offers advanced records and information management, enabling records managers to easily automate business rules to manage the entire content lifecycle - from creation to classification and retention. The solution can centralize content from Microsoft 365, SharePoint on-premises, Exchange Online, social media, and file systems directly alongside physical records.
Using Cloud Records, BKI set business classifications in the back end, automatically implementing retention periods based on the rules they set for each, and came up with procedures for proper record destruction, ensuring no information would be kept longer than necessary.
Kerri says, “Cloud Records automated a heap of things I would have to do manually or get the end user to do – which we know is never successful.” And because Cloud Records was purpose-built to assist organizations in meeting global regulatory requirements, BKI can easily meet PROV compliance requirements.
BKI partnered with AvePoint to move their 10 TB network drive to SharePoint as well. AvePoint Fly delivers a three-step approach – via a self-guided tool or with help from AvePoint – to migrate on-premises or cloud-hosted mail, content, and collaboration into Microsoft 365 or SharePoint.
“The migration was fantastic,” Jon says. “The three-step process works and has less impact on users. It was clear AvePoint had done it many times. We already had a mitigation plan in place for the small percentage of thing that did go wrong, making it the smoothest migration I have ever been part of – even though it was completely remote.”
Centralizing to Microsoft 365 has been huge for the Institute, even outside of records management. Previously, BKI’s users were relying on VPNs to connect to the network shares, making access to files disjointed. The migration granted users accessibility and mobility, empowering them to solve issues as they arise, no matter where they are. “People are less panicked about where things are and how they are managed,” Jon says. “That allows me to have different conversations than what we were having 12 months ago.”
BKI recently acquired AvePoint Office Connect – which merges content from applications like Exchange Online into SharePoint and Microsoft 365 – to help streamline and automate content integration. The Institute is currently developing guidelines and trainings for users and will deploy the solution soon.