Records management is inexorably transitioning to a more digital environment. Decision-makers are well aware that the staggering growth of digital content will continue unabated, and the only way to achieve regulatory and e-discovery compliance is through an enterprisewide information management solution that goes beyond storing electronic records.
As organizations of all sizes transition to digital management of all of their records — paper and electronic — they are addressing a wide range of challenges that can slow their progress, particularly if they don’t engage the right tools, technologies, expertise and partners.
Recent research by Iron Mountain shows that 94% of organizations intend to apply more budget and resources to their information management programs. While that is an impressive statement of desire, many stop there and are confused as to how to get to the next stage - actually implementing any, let alone all, of any potential improvements. A massive 72% lack a strategic, multi-year plan for records and information management – so how can an organization actually deliver against their information management strategy?
Records and information management are terms that resonate with senior executives worldwide - indeed 94% of organizations intend to allocate more budgets to these areas this coming year. But look closer and you’ll find that despite wanting to do more in these areas, most organizations just don’t know where to start.
E-discovery is a term that almost everyone is now familiar with - several high profile court cases over the past 4-5 years have made sure of that. When an e-discovery mandate hits an organization it could have as little as 6 weeks to comply - 6 weeks to discover, hold and extract potentially tens of thousands of documents and files, and 6 weeks of highly stressful project management at best, thinly veiled chaos at worst. So do you start to plan for e-discovery now – or put your head in the sand and try and ignore it?
Optimizing Accounts Payable (AP) processes and eliminating manual invoice processing tasks empowers finance managers to achieve bottom line savings – and derive strategic benefits vital to remaining competitive. The operational benefits are cost reductions and faster, more transparent, easier to audit AP processes. Strategic benefits include better spend control, enhanced early payment flexibility, and overall improved cash management.
This IDC Government Insights White Paper discusses the challenges government faces in dealing with the enormous growth of information and the impact it has on government employees. It explores the potential advantages of using an information management provider to help manage, store, access, protect, and recover government records and information, both physical and digital. PDF ONLY
The EMR transition is full of unknown, unexpected variables — many of which make it harder and harder to understand and maintain HIPAA compliance.
With the possible exception of those who create them, not many people like rules and regulations. But, like death and taxes, they’re here to stay. And whether they stem from government statute or corporate mandate, marketers must follow them when positioning and promoting their companies’ products and services.
Choosing a fulfillment partner is more than picking a vendor with a flashy website or a slick marketing pitch. Picking a fulfillment partner, as with any third-party vendor, means matching your needs to their core capabilities. While it may seem like a “no brainer” to identify your own fulfillment needs and then evaluate vendors based on those needs, it’s often more challenging than people realize.Choosing a fulfillment partner is more than picking a vendor with a flashy website or a slick marketing pitch. Picking a fulfillment partner, as with any third-party vendor, means matching your needs to their core capabilities. While it may seem like a “no brainer” to identify your own fulfillment needs and then evaluate vendors based on those needs, it’s often more challenging than people realize.
Signed into law on July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is the most aggressive attempt to reform the financial services sector since the New Deal reforms that were enacted in the wake of the Great Depression.
Most organizations recognize the need to get their records management under control. In fact, in a recent survey, 63% of companies said they have experienced an event that cost them money. The survey also showed that more than 90% of companies plan to increase spending on information management, 80% have formal policies for records and information management (RIM) and 77% have formal policy-driven processes to protect private information from unauthorized or inadvertent access. Yet, only 37% of these same companies said they are able to consistently apply policies across all of their records types.
With the volume of records of all sizes, shapes and formats exploding, doing nothing to address the situation is simply not an option. Here are some issues to consider when determining how to manage your records effectively, efficiently and economically.
Disasters happen. When, where, how, how destructive – these are all impossible to predict. And because the impact of any disaster is impossible to predict, organizations must account for records management in all of their disaster recovery planning.
Records management is in the throes of a significant transformation. It has moved from a relatively tactical endeavor – where and how do I save and protect my physical records – to something far more strategic.
Businesses are using advanced collaboration tools and techniques to create dramatic new levels of agility. With digitally enabled collaboration, organizations can save substantial money in travel costs, employees can work from anywhere, teams can be located in a wide range of locations, and organizations can respond more efficiently and effectively to the needs of customers anywhere in the world. Employees anywhere and everywhere have access to the critical information and people they need to make informed decisions.
Social media is fast becoming one of the defining applications for next-generation business environments. Social media platforms are being used not just for marketing, but also for collaboration, customer trending information, business communications, big data analytics and a host of other activities that organizations are still exploring and defining.
When most organizations think about business continuity and disaster recovery these days, much of the focus is on getting their computer systems back up and running and making sure that their business-critical electronic data is recoverable and uncompromised. It makes sense that this would be the primary concern, given the reality that most business-critical records are now produced in digital format.
The need for businesses to apply a strategic, comprehensive and unified approach to managing their physical and electronic records has never been more critical.
Although federal records management officials anticipated the general thrust of President Obama’s directive, their expectations of what the new plan would contain differed significantly in two key areas: cloud computing and disaster recovery.
In 1997, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued Rule 17a-4(f), which authorized broker-dealers to store their required books and records in electronic format. Broker-dealers who elected to store records electronically were required by the rule to retain a third party (“Designated Third Party” or “D3P”) who had the ability to independently download electronically-stored information to another acceptable medium for the SEC’s review (the “D3P Requirement”). The purpose of this provision was to ensure that, in the event a broker-dealer went out of business or refused to cooperate with the SEC, an independent third party could assist the SEC in retrieving information stored on electronic media.
The healthcare systems within the U.S. federal government - especially those of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and Department of Defense (DOD) hospitals and clinics - play a vital role in protecting and preserving the lives of the men and women who served this country.
Broadly speaking, any confidential business information which provides an enterprise a competitive edge may be considered a trade secret.
A survey of 200 information technology and security professionals revealed that 65 percent do not know what files and data leave their enterprises.1 And estimates on losses from economic espionage vary widely — from $2 billion to $400 billion or more a year — reflecting the scarcity of data and the variety of methods used to calculate losses.
The Software as a Service (SaaS) market continues to grow and gain significance as software delivery shifts from traditional on-premise, licensed software to a cloud-based, on-demand SaaS model.
A Comparison of NARA's Records Management Self-Assessment and Iron Mountain’s Compliance Benchmark Report
Advances in technologies and the increasing amount of information are transforming how business is conducted in many industries, including government.
Businesses and consumers have increasingly become aware of the need to securely destroy documents that contain confidential information. But the implementation of in-house shredding programs can bring new risks: not only the danger of fire, but even explosions from accumulated dust and shredded paper. Retaining the services of a professional shredding service can not only save you time and money — it can also make your workplace appreciably safer.
Iron Mountain asked over 200 health information professionals how they’re scanning paper patient records and planning to use them moving forward as part of their transition to an EMR system.
See how you stackup against your peers with this review from over 4,000 professionals on the state of physical and electronic records management best practices.
School administrators, take note: Incidents of child identity theft are on the rise, and identity thieves can target your information to steal the data — unless you exercise some key best practices.
Like many businesses today, you have probably been heavily focused on the challenges associated with the explosive growth of email, including storage costs, data security, backup or business continuity performance issues, and electronic discovery (eDiscovery).
Businesses have a choice of records disposal methods. Where paper records are concerned, businesses might put those records in the trash, turn them over to a recycling company, or use a more secure method such as burning or shredding.
Merchants that fail to comply with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (PCI Standard, the Standard) face heavy financial penalties and loss of their ability to accept debit and credit cards.
Throughout this paper, you will have the opportunity to learn about the depth and breadth of Iron Mountain Security Practices in the following areas: Information Security; Physical Security, Safety and Business Continuity; and Investigative Services.
This Executive Report provides seven factors that every executive should know about information destruction and three key strategies to improved information destruction. It also provides sample Records Management Procedures that may be customized for any size company or organization.
Evidence shows that in today’s business environment, most companies take a reactive approach to information management — choosing to implement the proper measures only after an event has revealed a weakness and created the need for improvement.
This White Paper presents transformational approaches and strategies for moving clinical documentation processes to EHRs, definitions, and an overview of types and stages in the journey to electronic records as well as considerations for provider organizations.
Social media is all around you. From tweets to blogs to Facebook® postings, millions of people are interacting through social media every day in both their professional and personal lives. From a business perspective, these online social outlets present you with a real opportunity to connect more closely with your customers, prospects and partners. But when you open up these new channels for regular usage — without understanding the potential implications — you can create risk and face a slew of records management considerations.
Inside, we’ll show you how to get more out of what you spend by helping you improve the efficiencies of your information management processes, allowing you to gain more strategic advantages.
On January 1, 2011, financial institutions and creditors in the United States were required to comply with a “Red Flags Rule” adopted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) and the various regulators of the nation’s financial institutions. The Rule requires each of the affected businesses to develop and implement programs designed to detect, prevent and mitigate the effects of identity theft.
It’s no secret that companies of all sizes in all industries are creating and storing more documents, in more formats, than ever before, driven partly by regulatory and compliance pressures. PDF ONLY
This report identifies five proven ways you can significantly reduce your costs while delivering the records management capabilities your business really needs. Each of them is backed by real-world examples and statistics — and accompanied by specific steps you can take to start saving now.
This report identifies five proven ways you can reshape your information management processes to drive a stronger compliance posture — while helping you maximize the value of your hardcopy and electronic records in the process. Each of them is backed by real-world examples from actual Iron Mountain customers — and accompanied by specific steps you can take to start improving compliance today.
The economic downturn, tight credit, and declining margins have come together like a perfect storm, forcing companies to scrutinize their internal business processes as they seek ways to cut costs and bolster their bottom lines.
Inside, you’ll find exercises to help you identify and understand the different types of costs in your current processes, so you can better evaluate less expensive, more effective alternatives.
To assist in your efforts to improve the bottom line, we’ve compiled a list of five best practices you can employ to significantly reduce the cost of information management.
The Iron Mountain Escrow service provides physical and electronic vaulting with secure, real-time, online account management.
Historically, data protection laws in the United States have required businesses to adopt "reasonable" information security methods but have not stated in detail what those methods should be.1 The vagueness of these laws can be frustrating, but it also serves a purpose: by keeping data security requirements general, lawmakers avoid locking in solutions that might become obsolete, and give businesses the flexibility to choose measures that are appropriate to their circumstances.
This white paper presents practical recommendations for organizations wishing to define and implement retention policy for electronic information.
With expertise developed over decades of experience in information management workflows and business processes across industries, Iron Mountain helps customers lower costs and trim expenses via unique and comprehensive solutions. Our solutions and services help companies refine information management processes for optimal cost efficiencies.
To help you realize the goal of more productive operations, we’ve compiled this list of things you can do to streamline your information management processes and promote efficiencies across your company.
To help your company lower its risk profile and boost audit and litigation readiness, we've developed a list of the top five things you can do today to make your information management practices a key contributor to ongoing compliance.
Companies today are creating and storing more documents, in more formats, than ever before. Knowing what your physical and electronic assets are, and where they can be found, is critical – and never more so than when confronted with the prospect of discovery.
Federal records are crucial to documenting U.S. history and providing future generations with an understanding of the government challenges and strategies that drive actions. Through the Presidential Memorandum for Managing Government Records, the Obama administration indicates that records management, by enabling participatory, transparent, and collaborative government, is the backbone of open government. This memorandum places an importance on the appropriate preservation of government records not seen since the Truman administration. The Presidential Memorandum for Managing Government Records instructs agencies to transition to electronic records as a feasible way to save taxpayer dollars, promote accountability, and increase transparency. However, even with the executive support required by the memorandum, agencies face challenges modernizing records management policies and practices, especially while preserving vital records. PDF ONLY
As federal agencies modernize their records management programs and implement their Open Government plans, they are responding to transparency mandates. These mandates require not only posting data that is relevant and useful to the public but also administering new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) initiatives that have the presumption of openness — "in the face of doubt, openness prevails." PDF ONLY
Holders of patents and other intellectual property balance security with discovery during litigation. They must defend themselves against lawsuits and must assert their rights against infringement. Intellectual property represents the crown jewels of an organization. Revealing details of intellectual property is unwise, but rules of legal discovery may compel exposing proprietary material.
Healthcare organizations have a mandate to transition to electronic medical records. And, while the challenges may appear daunting, a proper transition strategy can help you achieve a paperless environment – painlessly. Download our free report and learn specific strategies to help you manage the transition from paper to pixels.