Oz company to manage privacy information for New Zealand citizens

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) New Zealand has selected an enterprise content management (ECM) solution from Objective Corporation to support its role in promoting and protecting the privacy of New Zealand citizens.

The OPC has been in operation for 14 years and acts as a public watchdog against intrusive behaviour in the public and private sectors providing advice to Parliament and the New Zealand government on Privacy policy.

Under the agreement Objective will support all work conducted by the OPC, in both their Wellington and Auckland locations. Objective will be the single, central information repository for the OPC, delivering improvements in searching, availability and sharing of information.

It will also be used as an active case management tool supporting the Office’s investigations into breaches of privacy.

Gary Bulog, general manager, Office of the Privacy Commissioner said through public tender, the OPC sought a solution that would: enhance its ability to find information that existed within the organisation; effectively retain information and knowledge gathered throughout its processes and practices; break down information silos to share information across teams, functions and locations; and comply with the Official Information Act 1982 and the Public Records Act 2005 requirements.

“Having a single source for all information means existing multiple systems and information silos are eliminated, streamlining business processes and providing a sound foundation for sharing information across processes and teams of people regardless of their location,” Bulog said.

He said only two of the respondents demonstrated they were able to handle its case management requirement as part of their core document and records management capability.

“We were looking for rapid adoption of the new solution therefore the system needed to be easy to implement and easy to use. Objective was seen to be the easiest transition for our staff, requiring minimal change in management,” he said.