For over a decade, Sähke2 has guided the practices of electronic archiving in the public sector. Now, its certification system going to be put out of use, and the responsibility for assessing information management quality will shift more strongly to individual organizations and system providers. What does this mean for customers, suppliers, and the development of the entire field?
Regulation changes, responsibility grows
“Sähke2 was originally a set of guidelines created and maintained by the National Archives of Finland, describing how public organizations such as municipalities and cities should manage electronic archiving,” explains Petri Vesikivi, Product Manager at Profium.
The guidelines included a precise metadata model and technical requirements for systems. Now, more than ten years later, the digital environment has changed completely. New formats, such as videos and 360° materials, have rendered the old specifications outdated. Sähke2 certificates will expire by the end of 2025, and no new ones will be issued.
What does this change mean for customers?
“Since certification is no longer possible, customers can’t require a certified system, but they can require a system that meets the same criteria,” Vesikivi clarifies.
Customer organizations can no longer rely on an official certificate as a guarantee of quality. This increases their responsibility to define their own requirements, but also gives them more freedom to choose flexible solutions.
The Information Management Act and the Information Management Board’s recommendations define general principles for information management. Sähke2, however, went much deeper—it described in detail the field structures, and permissible values. Going forward, the Act and the Board’s recommendations will remain as general frameworks. Based on these, organizations must now independently ensure the preservation, integrity, and security of their data.
What does this mean for vendors?
“As the certificates expire, vendors can no longer advertise themselves as Sähke2-certified,” Vesikivi reminds.
From the vendors’ perspective, the change shifts the focus from certification to evidence. A mere reference to certification will no longer suffice — system providers must be able to demonstrate that their solutions meet the requirements of the Information Management Act and the Board’s recommendations.
This also represents an opportunity for vendors. With no official framework limiting technical approaches, systems can now be developed more freely, as long as they remain reliable and secure.
How should systems be tendered in the future?
“A good request for proposal describes the system as thoroughly as possible: integrations, capacity, and how documents are archived,” Vesikivi emphasizes.
In public procurements, requirement specifications now become the key tool for quality assurance. Without certification, the clarity and precision of the tender documents will determine success.
It’s important to define:
- what kinds of data the system handles
- how archiving is performed
- what metadata is stored
- how the information is preserved unaltered over time.
According to Vesikivi, tender documents should include not only individual requirements but also a description of the overall system, so that vendors can genuinely demonstrate how their solutions meet the buyer’s needs.
The future of information management is more responsible
The discontinuation of Sähke2 doesn’t mean the end of information management standards. It marks their transition into a new era. Regulation will move more into the background, making room for greater transparency and collaboration.
According to Vesikivi, the Sähke2 specification has provided a solid description of how archiving can be managed, but going forward, it will no longer dictate how it must be implemented. This brings more freedom for both customers and vendors.
