ABSTRACT
Companies have a duty to safeguard the records of their activities and manage organizational memory. The performance of this role depends on the degree of sensitivity and registration activities. In this study, we reflect on international initiatives regarding the preservation of business records, focusing on the Portuguese case, ending up with trends in the use of technology in these organizations. For this purpose, we did a literature review, including Portuguese legislation. The results and findings reveal a trend for the replication of international models, and the early character, intermediate or late international initiatives, triggered by companies, with or without partnerships with public institutions, mainly archives and universities. On an initial stage the focus was on the protection and enhancement of heritage, but more recently other goals were added such as organization and access to information. National initiatives are no exception, noting some novelty in the quantity and quality of legislated materials without impact on concrete strategies to preserve digital information. The use of technology and modernization initiatives are associated with Public Administration and assimilation processes derivatives of electronic environments. The comparison with other European countries reveals a less intensive use of cloud services.
Keywords:
Business archives; Information technology; Portuguese Public Administration; Portugal; Cloud computing