Why Information Management is Making a Resurgence – And How To Make It Stick

For years, Information Management was seen as a necessary but often overlooked discipline, tucked away in the back office and left to records teams. But in 2025, governance, compliance, and information protection are once again at the centre of organisational strategy. Why? Because the stakes have never been higher.

Why Information Management is Back in the Spotlight

1. The Data Explosion

The volume of data organisations generate is growing at staggering rates – and not just in familiar formats. AI-generated content, chat messages, IoT feeds, and cloud files all add to the complexity. Without proper governance, valuable information quickly turns into a liability.

2. Regulatory and Legal Pressures

Tougher privacy and compliance laws – from international frameworks like the GDPR, through to CCPA to New Zealand’s modernised Privacy Act 2020 and incoming IPP 3A amendments  – are forcing organisations to treat information as a regulated asset. The cost of non-compliance, whether through fines or reputational harm, means that the stakes are too high to gamble with.

3. Cybersecurity and Breach Risks

High-profile breaches in recent years have been a wake-up call. Uncontrolled, poorly governed, data not only attracts attackers but also multiplies the financial and reputational impact when breaches occur.

4. Cloud and Digital Transformation

The move to Microsoft 365, Teams, and cloud platforms has unlocked productivity, but it has also introduced new challenges around governance, data sovereignty, and lifecycle management. Organisations need a smarter way to keep control without slowing people down.

5. The Rise of AI

AI is transforming how we work – but also how we must govern. Non-human identities, automated decision-making, and AI-generated records all require new forms of oversight. Organisations that get this right will balance innovation with trust.

The Challenge: Making Good Information Management Stick

Despite the clear risks, most organisations struggle to embed good information management practices. Why? Because traditional governance models focus on rules and restrictions, often at odds with how people actually work. Workers default to convenience, not compliance, when systems are hard to use.

This is where a benefits-led approach makes all the difference.

iWorkplace: Governance That Works With People, Not Against Them

At Information Leadership, we’ve developed iWorkplace – a framework and set of solutions that connect governance and compliance directly to business value. Instead of treating information management as a burden, iWorkplace makes it a natural part of how people work in Microsoft 365.

How iWorkplace Makes Governance Stick:

• Ease of Use, Not Extra Work: Information lifecycles and secure access are automated and built into your M365 stack. People don’t have to think about compliance – it just happens.
• Confidence and Control:  Leaders gain visibility into where critical information lives, who can access it, and how it is being protected – without creating bottlenecks.
• Flexibility for the Business: iWorkplace adapts to the realities of each organisation – whether that’s high assurance requirements, regulated industries, or complex multi-entity structures.
• Compliance with Benefits: Governance is not only about avoiding risk. Done right, it reduces clutter, improves search and retrieval, accelerates collaboration, and builds the trust needed to adopt AI safely.

The Bottom Line

Information Management and governance are having a resurgence because organisations finally see the cost of getting it wrong – and the opportunity of getting it right. But making it stick requires more than policies and procedures. It requires embedding governance into the way people already work.

That’s exactly what iWorkplace delivers: a benefits-led, people-centred approach to Information Management that makes compliance effortless and long-lasting.

If your organisation is ready to shift from chaos to clarity – with confidence, control, and flexibility – then now is the time to explore how iWorkplace can help.