Synopsis Of Service Provided

The iKAN Virtual Document Center helped achieve the implementation of a comprehensive information governance & document solutions that securely and properly managed all company records.

Results Of iKAN Document Solutions

• Hines edocs contains 150,000+ documents (over 2 million pages) with 1,240 users worldwide.
• The company saved $612,000 in due diligence, audit and discovery. Any user can find and gather thousands of documents in just seconds.
• Using edocs for the last three years, Hines Houston offices have reduced offsite storage space by 3,960 cubic ft and saved the company $40,629 in storage cost.
• Environmental impacts include the recycling of 137,899 pounds of paper and have saved 1,172 trees, 482,648 gallons of water and 282,693 KW-hrs of electricity.

About Hines

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,208 properties representing more than 488 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 104 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $23.8 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Hines is also a world leader in sustainable real estate strategies, with extensive experience in LEED®, ENERGY STAR®, BREEAM, Haute Qualité Environmental and DGNB green building rating systems. Visit www.hines.com for more information.

Executive Overview

Hines moved its records repository from a departmental system into a company-chosen global platform – Microsoft Sharepoint. Working with iKAN Software, the Central Records department at Hines turned Sharepoint from a collaborative tool into a first class records management system known as edocs, a first of its kind creation. Hines and iKAN transformed the Hines edocs system into a corporate standard information governance solution from data creation to final disposition with a built-in file plan which enables Hines employees worldwide to securely and properly manage their records in compliance with the current laws and Hines policies. edocs is now endorsed by upper management as indispensable and vital to continued business growth and maintaining operational excellence across the globe.

Business Objectives

Hines Central Records was challenged with developing and deploying a system that could meet the needs of a growing and diverse organization that was constantly acquiring new lines of business and expanding globally. Central Records anticipated the need for Hines to have a comprehensive information governance solution to securely and properly manage all company records from creation to the end of life which involve six key processes – Capture > Retrieve > Retain > Archive > Review > Destruction.

System Objectives

1. Provide employees worldwide with secure and easy access to all documents 24/7
2. Meet complex user security and user access requirements
3. Provide a single-point access and a standard user import/index platform that can be easily adapted by Hines offices world-wide
4. Enhance e-discovery and due diligence through robust search and legal hold capabilities
5. Provide cost savings and corporate sustainability and green initiatives
6. Integrate seamlessly with other company accounting management systems
7. Build-in compliance records management module to manage physical and digital documents
8. Provide audit trail in governing documents from creation to disposition
9. Provide access to outside counsel and auditors for quality assurance and audit purpose

Microsoft Sharepoint & The iKAN Solution

In 2009, Hines Central Records was challenged to evolve the basic Sharepoint into a workable document management system. Hines engaged iKAN Software to provide design, development and deployment capabilities for the system.

Within three months, a better, smarter, and more efficient document management system, known as edocs, was delivered with the following essential components:

1. Distributed Data Capture – Web parts were built to automate and standardize the process of importing electronic documents from any user into SharePoint using a simple drag and drop operation. Users worldwide can scan documents directly into SharePoint using any local printers/scanners.
2. Data Integrity – The built-in iKAN system barcodes and OCRs all documents before exporting to Sharepoint, allowing each document to be uniquely identified and key-word searchable. This provides audit and e-discovery readiness and compliance.
3. Security – A comprehensive security approach was created to accommodate the company’s complex business operation, and now serves as the Hines standard security model.
4. mySearch – A user-friendly, customized search engine was created, enabling users to quickly gather data profiles for potential business, audit and litigation support.

After accomplishing the above essential components, Hines Central Records and iKAN went further, building a Records Management system within the same Sharepoint environment, culminating with an information governance solution that encompassed data creation to end-of-lifecycle support. This system integrated with the Hines Records Retention Schedule allows:

1. Identification of inactive data to be placed into the edocs archive library for retention
2. Review for destruction per the company policy
3. Proper destruction of electronic and physical records in line with Hines sustainability and green initiatives

System Deployment Integrated Document Solutions

Once the platform and the objectives were decided, the document solutions system from iKAN Software was architected to meet the company’s needs. The system was deployed in four phases.

1. Migration of over 120,000 existing documents from the legacy system – This involved syncing taxonomy, data mapping and recreating security. During the process, problem documents were identified and updated before moving into the new system.
2. edocs core function enhancements – Robust system security, distributed data capture and customized search engine were implemented, as previously described.
3. Sync with other Hines core business systems – This allowed seamless updating of any company information changes and ensured the most reliable data is immediately available to edocs users worldwide, as well as users of the core business systems.
4. edocs archive library and records management implementation – This was employed to simplify e-copy and physical records management in conjunction with the third party vendor’s storage system.

Results & Benefits Of iKAN Document Solutions

• 24/7 secure access to users worldwide
• Document management and retention from users desktop
• Time saving “drag & drop” document importing
• Security control from data capture to importation to archive
• Better controlled and compliant information governance
• Standardized adaptable information management process
• A green and sustainable “paperlite” office for everyone
• Enhanced e-discovery and due diligence
• Incorporated document management, record management and retention and disposition core modules into a single SharePoint platform
• The governance conventions developed are now company standards used in managing email retention and will be expanded to other digital data repositories and social media

Conclusion

Hines Central Records and iKAN converted a completely paper-driven file process into a state-of-the-art electronic document solutions information management system that exceeds compliance and industry standards. Utilizing the existing basic Sharepoint system licensed by Hines, we created a complete information governance solution incorporating document management, records management and retention and disposition functions and saved the company millions in purchasing licensing and development costs. Since the roll out of the system, users have grown 500%, expanding from US-only to Hines employees in eighteen foreign countries. Consistent 24/7 access and drag & drop importing enables users to be more self-sufficient and do their job better, faster and more cheaply. Hines users and outside counsels and auditors praise the ease of use, security and flexibility of the system. Hines successfully met the challenges of modern information governance with this unique solution.

Hines has been a client of iKAN Software for over 15 years!