In this country, there are three levels of government. At the federal level, more than 100 departments and agencies deal with national and international matters ranging from mail and taxes to law and defense.  
 
In my department, our role is to deliver high-quality, central programs and services to the federal government, so they can effectively serve citizens. We employ around 17,000 people who are experts in various fields, from purchasing and accounting to software engineering and solution development. 

Keeping the wheels of government turning 

One of our key services is document management. Just like in the business world, the day-to-day workings of government departments depend on data. The volume and velocity of information created and received by the government is growing exponentially, and it is essential to manage that information in compliance with the latest regulatory and information security requirements. 

Most of our departments and agencies have similar requirements when it comes to managing documents and records. As well as storing the information securely, our stakeholders need to be able to find documents quickly and handle them properly at the end of the lifecycle: for example, by deleting or archiving them.  

In addition, government agencies must manage, transfer, and dispose of official records in compliance our archiving policies.  

Building on a decades-long partnership 

For nearly 30 years, our department has provided OpenText Content Management (Extended ECM) as a shared service to teams across the government. We started our journey with OpenText way back in 1997, and their ongoing investment and innovation in product development means their enterprise content management solutions continue to be the right choice for our stakeholders. 

One of the capabilities that makes OpenText Content Management such a good fit for government users is its high level of security and control. For example, we can automatically tag documents with the appropriate security clearance marking, which helps us ensure that we apply the correct encryption and access control policies.  

Meeting evolving document management needs 

Over the years, we’ve gone through several iterations of OpenText content management solutions, and we’re continuing to evolve our environment to meet the needs of our users. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we deployed OpenText Content Management for Microsoft® 365™ to help our remote users work more effectively.

Using the integration with Microsoft 365 allows government employees to bring records from the OpenText platform into custom workspaces in Microsoft Teams. They can even work together with their colleagues in real time on documents stored on the OpenText platform—allowing effective data governance without impeding collaboration. 

Collaborating with OpenText Professional Services 

Over the years, we’ve built up a close working relationship with OpenText Professional Services. The team played a key role in helping us get up and running quickly with OpenText Content Management for Microsoft 365, and we can call on them for guidance and support when we need it. We’re currently working on a major upgrade to our OpenText platform, and we plan to work with Professional Services on the project. In addition, the Learning Services teams played a key role in supporting our ongoing training and knowledge requirements. 

Today, we’re using OpenText solutions to support more than 115,000 users across 36 federal government departments. Our users span a wide range of agencies—from transport to the office that supports our leader and cabinet. Running a country wouldn’t be possible without fast, reliable access to information, and our partnership with OpenText is helping us to deliver vital document management capabilities to our stakeholders. 

To learn more about how we’re working with OpenText to support teams, read our case study. 

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