iron mountain maximum business value ebook final 2

7/29/2019 IRON MOUNTAIN Maximum Business Value eBook Final 2

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Drivig Maximum Busiess ValueFrom Records ad IormatioMaagemet


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Itroductio 3

Chapter 1: Market Drivers 4

Chapter 2: Sedig Records O Site to O Site 7

Chapter 3: Maagig ad Disposig o Legacy Paper Records 9

Chapter 4: Cosolidatig Vedors 12

Chapter 5: Expadig a Program From Oe Departmet

or Divisio Across the Compay 14

Chapter 6: Uiyig Physical ad Electroic Records 16

Chapter 7: Digitizig Your Workfow 18

Chapter 8: Workig With Iro Moutai 21

Coclusio 21

TABLE OF COnTEnTS


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Introduction

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act o 2002 and the Supreme Courts amendments to the Federal Rules o CivilProcedure in 2006 are two o many regulations that have changed the rules or records management

and litigation readiness during the past decade. The momentum o change in Records Management

and litigation readiness which got initiated by HIPPA regulation o 1996 and The Sarbanes-Oxley

Act o 2002 has been kept on the ore ront with Supreme Courts amendments to the Federal

Rules o Civil Procedure in 2006 or most recent Dodd Frank Reorms or recent Patient Protection

and Aordable Care Act o 2010. The impact has been to signicantly escalate the value and

importance o records management in the minds o executives. Companies have responded to

those changes by investing in the compliance o their existing policies or establishing new records

management programs. In addition, records management has become more complex due to the

dramatic growth in the volume and types o electronic records a company must manage. Just as

organizations have adapted and retooled their programs to meet these challenges, they are enteringa new era o inormation management. Having invested in their records and inormation manage-

ment (RIM), companies and their executives are now turning their attention to quantiying and

driving valuerom these initiatives.

In this new era, it is widely accepted that a best-practices approach to RIM is essential to managing

litigation and compliance risks. Even while this delivers reduced costs and reduced risks to the

business, executives are still asking or increased evidence o the overall value created by their

investments in RIM. This heightened scrutiny rom business executives poses a challenge or

records and inormation managers: Defning and demonstrating the value that organizations can

achieve is becoming more important than ever. By the mere nature o their roles, RIM managers

create value every single day. However, the vast majority o RIM proessionals are challenged torame the value appropriately, to measure it and then eectively communicate it to their manage-

ment. It is a conundrum: The value is there, but it is not always recognized or clearly delineated.

Heres how this conundrum plays out in the market: Most companies 78% are actually looking

to maintain or increase spending on RIM in 2013, according to research rom Forrester Research.

This demonstrates concern about the compliance burden and the growing costs and risks o litiga-

tion. However, 73% o records managers said that the planned budget increases were insucient

to meet their organizations needs, and 69% said that records management was not a top priority

or the senior executives in their company even i they do realize that they must have a records

management program in place. Because records management is not seen as a signicant priority

in many organizations, records managers oten eel they lack clout: Only 13% o records managers

say they have a strong infuence in improving their organizations inormation governance posture,

according to one report.1

1 Records Management Still Lacks Executive, Organizational Support, CMSWire, Oct. 2, 2012
http://www.cmswire.com/cms/information-management/records-management-still-lacks-executive-organizational-support-017591.phphttp://www.cmswire.com/cms/information-management/records-management-still-lacks-executive-organizational-support-017591.phphttp://www.cmswire.com/cms/information-management/records-management-still-lacks-executive-organizational-support-017591.phphttp://www.cmswire.com/cms/information-management/records-management-still-lacks-executive-organizational-support-017591.php


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There are lessons to be learned rom the 13% o RIM managers who are successul at gaining

organizational infuence. This e-book outlines lessons rom these records managers, who haveproved to be eective at demonstrating, delivering and articulating business value. They elt

this was the time and they had no time to wait.

For all organizations, this is a critical time in records management. It is a time when businesses

must drive maximum value out o their RIM technologies, processes and strategies. In additionto taking lessons rom successul market leaders, this e-book will also discuss the major approaches

companies are using to drive maximum business value rom their RIM programs, providing insight

and guidance as to how and why organizations o any size can get the most value out

o records and inormation management while signicantly reducing their risks.

Chapter 1: Market DriversThere are a range o mega-trends coming together, the confuence o which is not only creating thisnew era in records and inormation management, but also providing an unparalleled opportunity

or records managers to demonstrate and deliver enhanced business value to their organizations.

These trends include the prolieration o electronic records, the rise o social media and the dramatic

increase in worker mobility. However, while these big shits revolve around electronic records,the reality is that organizations must recognize that they have to apply best practices to all o their

records, physical and electronic. In act, or many organizations, getting physical records under

control and properly managed is an absolutely critical rst step in moving toward a best-practices

approach, with the recognition that the lessons learned in managing physical records can and mustbe applied to the management o electronic records as well.

Paper records, indeed, are not going away. In an AIIM survey cited by Iron Mountain, 66% o respon-

dents said paper was not decreasing and, in act, 42% said it was increasing.2 Delivering value

in managing physical records can be a critical actor in gaining senior management support and

buy-in or moving toward a best-practices approach. By eliminating unnecessary inventory o paperrecords and applying consistent policy to these records, RIM proessionals can save their organiza-

tions signicant dollars while also reducing the risks o noncompliance and massive discovery

and litigation costs.

It will be clear rom the examples cited throughout this e-book that the continuing need to manage

physical records is one o the most important opportunities or RIM proessionals to drive maximum

business value rom records and inormation management. In addition, however, there are othermajor trends taking place that provide valuable context to the management o physical records anddene a growing belie among records management leaders, including Iron Mountain, that a going-

orward best-practices approach should include the unication o physical and electronic recordsmanagement. What are some o these trends, and how are they impacting RIM across enterprises

o all sizes?

2Inormation Governance records, risks and retention in the inormation age, AIIM, March 19, 2013
http://www.aiim.org/Research-and-Publications/Research/Industry-Watch/InfoGov-2013http://www.aiim.org/Research-and-Publications/Research/Industry-Watch/InfoGov-2013http://www.aiim.org/Research-and-Publications/Research/Industry-Watch/InfoGov-2013http://www.aiim.org/Research-and-Publications/Research/Industry-Watch/InfoGov-2013


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pMore stringent compliance requirements: As noted earlier, Sarbanes-Oxley set the stage or

a new level o scrutiny or companies, and since then, compliance requirements have becomeeven more stringent and the penalties or compliance ailures have become more onerous.

Because o the dramatic increase in electronic records, data privacy has become a major concern

everywhere, and certain industries, such as nancial services, are under increased scrutiny

or a wide range o reasons. Thus we are seeing tougher compliance requirements across the

board, maniested in legislation such as HIPAA in healthcare, Dodd-Frank in nancial services

and dozens o other mandates across various industries. As data privacy concerns have grown,

so have regulatory penalties, with nes reaching as high as $2.75 million or noncompliance

o document retention policies.

pMassive discovery costs: Litigation is a major risk or companies and one that has been

exacerbated in recent years by demands to produce documents o all kinds or discovery.

The cost o not knowing where your records are located can be dramatic.

One leading telecommunications company several years ago had to pay $9.2 million

in attorneys ees or negligent ailure to comply with discovery

A ederal agency spent more than $6 million just to respond to a third-party subpoena

because its counsel did not understand the agencys systems or know the locationo its records

A large nancial services company paid more than $16 billion in litigation costs

over a three-year period.

Think about how the ees can mount i you cant locate records: You are basically paying

attorneys their hourly rate just to sit through records looking or perhaps one document

or email or a specic set o documents. I you cant help them easily nd what they are looking

or, the meter just keeps running and running.

pProlieration o electronic records: In addition to managing legacy and new paper records, orga-

nizations are dealing with an unprecedented explosion o electronic records. According to IDC,

the amount o digital data is doubling every two years and the total size o the digital universe

will have grown 50-old during the course o this decade.3 Its not just the sheer mass o volume

that is posing challenges to inormation managers; it is also the changes that are taking place

in the types o records being created and how organizations must account or them. More than

90% o new records being created are o the unstructured variety, coming rom activities such

as social media and email. These records must all be managed and accounted or accordingto sound and consistent records management practices. Yet most organizations are ill-prepared

to handle social media: In act, in an Iron Mountain survey, nearly 50% o business managers

said they werent even aware that they are legally liable or their social media content, and one-

third o respondents described their management o social media as unmanaged and chaotic.4

3The Digital Universe in 2020: Big Data, Bigger Digital Shadows, and Biggest Growth in Far East, IDC, December 2012

4A View into Unied Records Management, Iron Mountain, August 2012
http://www.emc.com/collateral/analyst-reports/idc-the-digital-universe-in-2020.pdfhttp://www.emc.com/collateral/analyst-reports/idc-the-digital-universe-in-2020.pdfhttp://www.emc.com/collateral/analyst-reports/idc-the-digital-universe-in-2020.pdfhttp://www.ironmountain.com/Elq/Records-Management/~/media/Files/Iron%20Mountain/Knowledge%20Center/Reference%20Library/Brochures/Compliance%20Benchmark%20Report%202012.pdfhttp://www.ironmountain.com/Elq/Records-Management/~/media/Files/Iron%20Mountain/Knowledge%20Center/Reference%20Library/Brochures/Compliance%20Benchmark%20Report%202012.pdfhttp://www.ironmountain.com/Elq/Records-Management/~/media/Files/Iron%20Mountain/Knowledge%20Center/Reference%20Library/Brochures/Compliance%20Benchmark%20Report%202012.pdfhttp://www.ironmountain.com/Elq/Records-Management/~/media/Files/Iron%20Mountain/Knowledge%20Center/Reference%20Library/Brochures/Compliance%20Benchmark%20Report%202012.pdfhttp://www.emc.com/collateral/analyst-reports/idc-the-digital-universe-in-2020.pdf


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pNext-generation computing platorm: This may not have an immediate impact on driving maximum

value rom RIM today, but it is a actor that RIM and IT proessionals should take into consider-ation in building a best-practices approach to records management. Computer technology is inthe throes o the type o platorm shit that takes place every 25 years or so. This shit is being

dened by our main drivers: cloud computing, mobility, social media and big data analytics.

Why is this important or records managers today? In this new paradigm, consistent meta-tag-

ging o data and a ocus on the management o data quality will be critical actors to competitivesuccess. When organizations start thinking about using social media inormation to inorm and

drive big data analytics, they must start with a oundation that enables consistent quality across

all o the data they are collecting. As RIM proessionals move toward a best-practices approachto tagging data and shiting to a platorm that is more dependent upon a digital records manage-

ment solution, it is important to be aware o the major changes that are taking place and

to position your organization to do what it can now in terms o policies, procedures and

technologies to set the oundation or next-generation applications and solutions.

So what specically can an organization and those responsible or records management do

to address these market drivers and apply best practices to RIM so that they are able to delivermaximum value to the business. In the next six chapters, we will discuss some o the key challenges

and opportunities in RIM and how to go about achieving the best approach or your business.

This guide to best practices and successul approaches is based primarily upon Iron Mountains

work with market leaders that have tackled some o these challenges and have been successulin capturing, reraming and consequently communicating the business case and value o RIM

within their organizations.

The six areas o RIM covered in these chapters come rom research Iron Mountain conducted

during December o 2012 with 691 records management decision-makers who delineated

and described the six top business drivers in addressing their records and RIM challenges.

Digitizing Workfows

Managing Legacy records

Uniying Records

Expanding Program across Enterprise

Consolidating Vendors

Sending records Osite

Top Business Drivers or RIM Managers

13%

9%

30%

22%16%

10%


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In each o these chapters, we will summarize the issues; present the challenges acing most

companies; describe the approach a company may typically take; rerame the challengesin a way that enables companies to derive enhanced business value; and then give examples

o market-leading companies that have successully reramed the challenges and reaped

the business benets.

Chapter 2: Sending Records On-Site to O-Site

Summary: Sending records o-site has been a standard practice or a long time, yet many RIM

proessionals are unaware o the many ways in which o-site management can deliver business

value to their organization. Many think in terms o real estate and the savings they can achieve

in using their on-site acilities more productively than or storing paper records. To be sure, moving

records rom on-site to o-site can eectively ree up valuable real estate and dramatically improveeciencies. In reality, however, moving records rom on-site storage to an o-site acility managed

by records management proessionals will do much more than simply ree up real estate: It will

deliver cost savings, improve productivity and reduce overall risks or the organization.

Challeges

pSpace: Paper is not going away: As noted, 42% o organizations say their volume o paper

is increasing, and paper can consume up to 35% o oce space. Using this space to store

records rather than or oces or conerence rooms is inecient and costly, particularly when

you compare the typical cost o oce space with the cost o o-site storage. Whats more,

the traditional oce is undergoing a transormation and companies are ocused on reducing

the amount o space allocated per employee, while demanding greater productivity.

pCosts: Storing records on-site is extremely costly and wasteul: A typical our-drawer ling

cabinet takes up 9 square eet o space and costs $1,500 a year.5 Real estate is only one part

o the value proposition in reducing costs. You are not only devoting valuable oce space

to paper records, but you are paying to maintain that space as well. I you keep the records

on-site, new regulations require that you continue to upgrade your acilities and train your

employees. This is an ongoing expense you can avoid by moving records o-site.

pProductivity: Storing paper on-site is a drain on productivity. The average employee spends

25% o the week ling, copying, indexing or retrieving documents and even with all o that

time invested, 83% o organizations report that they are unable to locate hard copy records

when needed.6

5The Paperless Project

6Five Proven Ways to Maximize Your Resources With Records Management Eciencies, Iron Mountain, 2012
http://www.thepaperlessproject.com/what-are-the-facts-about-paper/http://www.thepaperlessproject.com/what-are-the-facts-about-paper/http://www.ironmountain.com/~/media/Files/Iron%20Mountain/Knowledge%20Center/Reference%20Library/White%20Paper/1/5%20Proven%20Ways%20to%20Cut%20Costs%20with%20Records%20Management%20Efficiencies.pdfhttp://www.ironmountain.com/~/media/Files/Iron%20Mountain/Knowledge%20Center/Reference%20Library/White%20Paper/1/5%20Proven%20Ways%20to%20Cut%20Costs%20with%20Records%20Management%20Efficiencies.pdfhttp://www.ironmountain.com/~/media/Files/Iron%20Mountain/Knowledge%20Center/Reference%20Library/White%20Paper/1/5%20Proven%20Ways%20to%20Cut%20Costs%20with%20Records%20Management%20Efficiencies.pdfhttp://www.ironmountain.com/~/media/Files/Iron%20Mountain/Knowledge%20Center/Reference%20Library/White%20Paper/1/5%20Proven%20Ways%20to%20Cut%20Costs%20with%20Records%20Management%20Efficiencies.pdfhttp://www.thepaperlessproject.com/what-are-the-facts-about-paper/


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pSecurity/compliance risks: Records stored on-site are much less likely to be properly tagged

than i records management is outsourced. Records that are untagged expose the companyto signicant risks or compliance violations and e-discovery expenses. Adding to the risk,

a study ound that 62% o employees who stole business inormation took it in hard-copy

orm7, and the average cost o an inormation breach is approximately $5.4 million.8

pBusiness continuity and disaster recovery: How well protected are your documents in case

o a food or re? Do you have redundant copies in a sae place? Are your acilities state

o the art in terms o their disaster preparedness? Losing records can cripple a business

or worse. According to one study, 94% o companies went out o business within two years

o suering a catastrophic loss o data.9

Typical approach: Most companies tend to be ocused on real estate savings as the primary driver

o business value in moving records management to an o-site provider. They may be paying a loto money to store records and are concerned about the cost o sel-storage. They also may be dealing

with multiple locations and the challenges o managing records management processes consistently

across the entire organization.

Reramig the challege

In reraming the challenges involved in managing records and exploring the opportunities to derive

maximum business value by moving to an o-site provider, organizations should be looking

to achieve the ollowing objectives:

pFree up valuable and expensive space currently consumed by paper records.

pRepurpose space or higher-value activities additional oces, conerence rooms,

or even an on-site daycare acility or recreation room.

pAccess records quickly at any time, rom any location, in any ormat.

pEnsure the security o records and control access to records.

pMake inormed decisions about which inormation should be kept on-site and which

should be kept o-site.

pMake sure records management is in compliance with the companys records retention schedule.

Drivig busiess valueCompanies taking a leadership approach in moving records rom on-site to o-site management have

been able to derive signicant business value in reducing costs, increasing control, reducing risks,

7 Data Loss Risks During Downsizing, Ponemon Institute, Feb. 23, 2009

8Ponemon data breach study nds costs up, notication major driver, SearchSecurity, June 5, 2013

9What Are the Consequences o Data Loss? CloudTweaks, Sept. 21, 2011
http://media.techtarget.com/Syndication/NATIONALS/Data_Loss_Risks_During_Downsizing_Feb_23_2009.pdfhttp://media.techtarget.com/Syndication/NATIONALS/Data_Loss_Risks_During_Downsizing_Feb_23_2009.pdfhttp://media.techtarget.com/Syndication/NATIONALS/Data_Loss_Risks_During_Downsizing_Feb_23_2009.pdfhttp://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/2240185420/Ponemon-data-breach-study-finds-costs-up-notification-major-driverhttp://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/2240185420/Ponemon-data-breach-study-finds-costs-up-notification-major-driverhttp://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/2240185420/Ponemon-data-breach-study-finds-costs-up-notification-major-driverhttp://www.cloudtweaks.com/2011/09/what-are-the-consequences-of-data-loss/http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2011/09/what-are-the-consequences-of-data-loss/http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2011/09/what-are-the-consequences-of-data-loss/http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2011/09/what-are-the-consequences-of-data-loss/http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/2240185420/Ponemon-data-breach-study-finds-costs-up-notification-major-driverhttp://media.techtarget.com/Syndication/NATIONALS/Data_Loss_Risks_During_Downsizing_Feb_23_2009.pdf


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repurposing real estate and establishing a more secure environment or their records. In addition,

moving to an outsourced supplier or records management enables the organization to:pCategorize in-house records as ocial or unocial.

pDispose o unocial records.

pAssess which ocial records are active and which are inactive.

pKeep most active records on-site.

pMove boxes to the nearest acility.

Heres one example o a company taking a leadership approach and how it was able to achieve

signicant value by reraming the opportunities made available by moving rom on-site to o-site

records management:

A large proessional services rm was maintaining a large in-house records program with more

than 20,000 square eet o dedicated real estate across the country. The rm was evaluating

its real estate portolio and looking or an alternative to maintaining on-site space or records.

The real estate alone cost the company $1.5 million a year, but the records manager realized

that the true costs o maintaining records on-site were actually much higher. He calculated

the ve-year costs as ollows:

$8 million or real estate, including saety audits and inspections.

$10 million or records program labor, including records managers, coordinators,

supervisors and ongoing training.

$40 million to achieve a 25% increase in the proessional stas access to inormation.

What at rst may have seemed to be a $7.5 million expense was actually a $58 million expense.

By working with Iron Mountain and moving records o-site, the company was able to ree up

valuable space, get predictable costs and gain better access to records, while saving money

and increasing eciencies.

Chapter 3: Managing and Disposing o Legacy Paper Records

Summary: Failure to manage legacy paper les properly can be both costly and risky. Many companiestypically look at reducing paper as strictly a cost-based decision, i.e., the company can save money

by reducing paper records that can be expensive to keep. While this is certainly true and a driver

o signicant business value, it is really just one o many actors to consider in deciding how

to manage legacy paper records, and when and how to dispose o them.


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Challeges

pLegacy inventory: A majority o companies have legacy inventory o paper. According to IronMountain research, more than 70% o companies could reduce their storage costs by 30%

i they knew what to destroy. That means savings could be signicant. For every 10,000 boxes

o records, an organization could be spending $300,000 in storage costs over a 10-year period.

pWasteul spending: The costs o not knowing what is in the boxes is actually greater than taking

the time and expense o going through the boxes to determine what is inside, what needs

to be saved and what needs to be destroyed, and then applying appropriate meta-tags to each

o the boxes. Savings will accrue in reducing the number o boxes that needs to be stored and

in searching or records. Beyond that, the company will reduce its risk o incurring compliance

violations and amassing massive e-discovery ees, which can dramatically impact the bottom

line and cause major damage to the companys brand and reputation.pLitigation and e-discovery risks: I you dont know what is in those boxes, it could signal major

trouble. You may have to pay attorneys or employees to go through each box in a utile search

or documents. They may nd documents that should have been destroyed years ago exposing

the company to even more risk or they may be unable to nd documents that are desperately

needed or litigation. Either way, the company is exposed to a potentially huge discovery expense

and a possible huge litigation loss or ne. According to one report, an average e-discovery event

can cost $2.5 million.10

Typical approach: Iron Mountain research ound that approximately 22% o decision-makers see

reducing paper as their key priority. Yet, organizations typically dont have the right tools, technologies,

processes and methodologies in place to eectively manage and reduce paper: 80% o companieshave ormal policies or records management, but 63% are unable to apply those policies consistently

and, perhaps not coincidentally, 63% also report having experienced a trigger event that cost their

company money.11

Reramig the challege:

In reraming the challenges involved in managing and disposing o legacy paper records, organizations

should be looking to achieve these key goals:

pLower storage costs and eliminate wasteul spending practices.

pDestroy legacy records deensibly to reduce risk and ensure compliance.

pBenchmark internal programs to methodically identiy inconsistencies.

pReduce the number o records to search or discovery inquiries.

10Accounting or the Costs o Electronic Discovery, Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology, Winter 2011

11 Ibid, Footnote No. 4
http://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/asset/ahc_asset_366139.pdfhttp://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/asset/ahc_asset_366139.pdfhttp://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/asset/ahc_asset_366139.pdfhttp://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/asset/ahc_asset_366139.pdf


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pDevelop a strategy and build common processes, language and training or consistent adoption.

pProperly tag legacy records to minimize employees time in searching or andre-creating inormation.

pReduce the risk o compliance violations and litigation losses.

pGain transparency into policy adoption across the entire enterprise via dashboards.

pCreate a common audit strategy across the enterprise.

Driving business value: Companies taking a leadership approach to managing and disposing o

legacy paper records are looking at business value as much more than saving money by reducing

paper. They are experiencing signicant value by:

pReducing costs in discovery.

pReducing risks o compliance violations and litigation losses.

pDeploying enorceable records retention and destruction policies.

pOutsourcing records management to improve productivity, reduce their number o records

and enable the proper tagging o records.

pUsing analytics to provide deensible tagging, without the need or manual review o each

and every record.

Here is an example o how a leading organization has been able to rerame the management

o legacy records and drive maximum business value:

A large telecommunications company was dealing with a situation where it had inherited poorly

indexed boxes o records rom past acquisitions and had not kept up with divisional and depart-

mental changes. Poor indexing caused the company to be storing more boxes than necessary

because it had no ability to destroy them deensibly. Discovery costs were also much higher than

they should have been because the company had diculty nding what it needed or litigation

and audits. To address these problems, the company utilized a proprietary system-based process

rom Iron Mountain to determine and assign record class codes and calculate destruction dates

according to a specied records retention schedule. The company was able to reduce costs

and signicantly improve the overall health o its records management program, eventually

using Iron Mountain to house and maintain a huge portion o its physical records.

12 Accounting or the Costs o Electronic Discovery,Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology, Winter 2011
http://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/asset/ahc_asset_366139.pdfhttp://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/asset/ahc_asset_366139.pdfhttp://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/asset/ahc_asset_366139.pdfhttp://mjlst.umn.edu/prod/groups/ahc/@pub/@ahc/@mjlst/documents/asset/ahc_asset_366139.pdf


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Chapter 4: Consolidating Vendors

Summary: Managing multiple vendors is wasteul and puts the organization at risk. Multiplevendors increase the costs o records management and give your organization ar less control over

deploying and enorcing enterprisewide policies and processes. It also gives you less leverage than

i you are using a single vendor. Having multiple vendors is not only costly in dollars, but it will also

put an unnecessary strain on worker productivity. You have to go to dierent places to nd your

records, utilizing dierent systems or legal holds and dierent processes or destruction. This exposes

you to major risk: An improper legal-hold application can result in nes as high as $5 million.

Challeges

pToomanyvendors: Over time, many organizations have stored records across a wide range

o vendors, or a multitude o reasons. The use o multiple vendors could be the result o mergers

and acquisitions, or because individual branch oces, departments or business units went

their own way.

pInconsistentpolicymanagement: With too many vendors, retention, destruction and legal holds

can be subject to multiple and inconsistent policies, along with multiple applications and

manual processes. Only 9 % o companies say they are able to achieve a best-practices level

o consistent enterprisewide policy adoption.12

pUnnecessaryexpenses: With multiple vendors and multiple systems, the organization is ailing

to maximize economies o scale and likely overspending on discovery costs, personnel, training

and management. Discovery is signicantly more complex and time consuming due to multiple

repositories, creating exponentially higher program and compliance costs.pHigher compliance/discovery risks and costs: Destructions and holds are inconsistent, and itis

much more dicult to nd specic documents or discovery i consistent tagging and policies

are not in place. This can lead to signicant e-discovery expenses as well as compliance

violations. According to one survey, the cost o noncompliance is three times greater than

the cost o compliance.

pLitigation risks: E-discovery costs are not the only major risk in having too many vendors or records

management. The organization may also be more susceptible to litigation losses, or even the

inability to properly deend itsel because it cant nd records due to inconsistent policy application

across multiple vendors. It can be quite expensive, disquieting and even embarrassing to have

to settle a lawsuit rather than post an aggressive deense because o an inability to nd records.

Typical approach: In most organizations, the challenge o multiple vendors has emerged organically,

not strategically. That is, through mergers or acquisitions, or through the emergence o empowered

silos within the organization, records management proessionals are aced with the task o dealing

with a large number o vendors, which is an inhibitor to achieving maximum business value rom


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records and inormation management. Unortunately, many organizations view the challenge

o consolidation through the wrong prism: Instead o looking at the signicant business valueconsolidation can bring including cost reductions, reduced risks and simplied manageability

some companies believe that it is too complex, time consuming, resource intensive and expensive

to consolidate vendors. The leaders in the market, however, have reramed the challenges and

recognize that it is actually more expensive, time consuming and risky to keep the status quo

and that consolidating to a single vendor and single system or records management is ar more

eective and cost ecient.


These are some o the ways in which market leaders have been able to rerame the challenge

o consolidating vendors so that they can achieve signicant business value:

pSave money by achieving better pricing through a single vendor and reducing vendor

management costs.

pImprove the consistency o compliance, e-discovery and legal holds, and destruction workfows.

pReduce the need or multiple records coordinators.

pSignicantly speed up recovery times with consistent record classication that eliminates

the need to search or records across multiple systems with variable classications.

pEnable the company to nd records more quickly, consistently and predictably to enhance

litigation preparedness.

pReduce the storage inrastructure or physical and electronic records.

pStrengthen the companys ability to keep up to date with shiting compliance requirements.

Drivig busiess value

The process o consolidating vendors brings signicant business value to the organization, which

can ar exceed the challenges involved in undertaking a consolidation eort. Besides being able

to achieve major cost reductions through consolidation, the organization will be able to reduce the

risks o huge expenditures or compliance and discovery. There was a time when the cost o risk

was considered a sot cost by CFOs, but that is no longer the case, particularly with e-discovery

costs continuing to skyrocket. The business value o consolidating vendors includes:

pSignicant cost savings.

pReduced risk o compliance violations.

pReduced risk o litigation losses.


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pPotential dramatic savings in e-discovery ees.

pMore consistent management o records or legal holds, retention and destruction workfows.

pImproved productivity within the RIM organization.

Heres an example o how a leading organization has been able to rerame the consolidation

o vendors to drive maximum business value:

A large nancial services rm had physical records distributed across multiple vendors and

applications, with inconsistent policies, extra sta expense and soaring e-discovery costs.

While cost was a concern, compliance risk was the primary driver o change. Although management

knew that consolidation would enable consistent policy to be applied in a single system o record,

the organization had more than 23 vendors and the management team didnt know where to begin.Iron Mountain was able to provide a complete solution, including a detailed move process map,

timelines, record assessments and vendor termination letters. The rm was able to reduce costs,

streamline its management program and improve the deensibility o records management across

the entire enterprise.

Chapter 5: Expanding a Program From One Department or Division Across the Company

Summary: Most companies recognize the importance o applying consistent records management

policies and procedures across the entire enterprise, but most are still struggling to achieve it.

According to research rom Iron Mountain, 80% o companies have ormal RIM policies in place,

but only 37% say those policies are consistently applied across the company. Whats more, 74%o companies say they do not audit their programs or compliance or do so only on an ad hoc

basis.13 Inconsistent policy management is costly in terms o both dollars and risk. This approach

exposes the company to nes or lack o compliance and the potential or massive litigation losses

or expenses. In act, legal teams will oten tell you that having no policy is better than inconsistent

policy application and having no policy is not an acceptable alternative.

Challeges

pStop the bleeding: One o the biggest challenges acing all organizations today is the massive

prolieration o electronic data. I your organization suers rom inconsistent classication and

policy application, you are likely experiencing a snowball eect as new records get led according

to the same inecient processes. This will become a nightmare i you dont get it under control.Iron Mountains research shows that only 35% o companies today can classiy and index user-

created electronic records at the time o their creation or later in their liecycle.14 It is important

to move quickly to address classication o incoming records then you can address legacy records.




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pIncreased costs and risks: When policies are not universally implemented and adopted, discovery

and litigation events are complex, time consuming, exceptionally expensive and distracting.As noted, 63% o companies have experienced a trigger event that cost their company money.

pReducing the number o silos: One o the biggest challenges in delivering business value in RIM

is the unortunate reality that in many organizations, records management is not homogenous

and is spread out across many dierent silos. Identiying silos is the rst step toward eliminating

them. Silos come in many shapes and orms: They could be individual departments that have

records on-site or in separate acilities, branch oces dened by geography, or separate business

units, or silos can be dened by specic computer applications or platorms, such as those

in social media.

Typical approach: Coordinating records management across departments, branch oces and

departments is quite dicult. The process can be exacerbated by organizational and cultural chal-lenges. Oten, successully implementing policies across the organization will require the support

o not only senior management, but also various departments and business leaders involved in some

way RIM proessionals, IT executives, compliance ocers, nance ocers and line-o-business

executives. Too oten, companies are unable to overcome these barriers without strong leadership

and a clearly stated need which may come in the orm o a signicant trigger event.


The key is in recognizing and communicating that everyone in the organization has a vested stake

in the consistent application o records management policies and solutions across the organization.

A single e-discovery event could cost well more than the cost o a ull enterprisewide records man-agement solution. Beyond that, having a single policy across the organization will help to eliminate

silos, oster integration and consistency, enable increased collaboration and set the oundation or

a more ecient, orward-looking approach to managing data or next-generation business initiatives.

Instead o looking at the obstacles to expanding your RIM program across departments, you should

be looking at the opportunities. Here are some ways to rerame the challenges and turn them

into opportunities:

pBenchmark your internal programs to systematically identiy gaps and inconsistencies.

pDeploy a clear plan o action that methodically addresses the program, platorm and people.

pSupport consistent adoption o policies across the organization with a strategy to build common

processes, language and sta training.

pGain transparency and enable policy adoption across the entire enterprise through technology,

standard reporting and establishment o a common audit strategy.


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By taking an approach adopted by market leaders, you will be able to understand where yourorganization is vulnerable and address all o the gaps and risks in your existing program. You will

also be able to work with stakeholders across the organization to break down some o the cultural

barriers that add risk to your organization. Heres an example o a company that was able to address

the challenges o inconsistent management with a solution that helped to drive down costs,

improve eciencies and simpliy discovery:

A large manuacturing company had a ragmented records management program that lacked

baseline controls, with records in multiple locations, managed by dierent systems. Records

classication was sporadic, and metadata quality was inconsistent. As a result, destruction

dates were lacking. The legal group was under pressure to be more responsive to litigation

and discovery requirements and to rein in ballooning discovery costs. Lack o metadata andthe disjointed systems created ineciencies, lowering deensibility and increasing risk.

Working with Iron Mountain, the company was able to enorce new policies and apply consisting

meta-tagging to its physical records. Iron Mountain was able to use its Data Integrity Services

to apply a consistent retention schedule to older boxes o paper records, while cleaning

up remaining exceptions with an Iron Mountain metadata SWAT team.

Chapter 6: Uniying Physical and Electronic Records

Summary: Taking a unied approach to records management enables organizations to apply consistent

policy management and enorcement to all records across the company, no matter where they are

located, what ormat they are in or where they have been created. Policy enorcement, as noted,is a particular challenge or many organizations and one that is easier to overcome when all records

are approached under a single set o policies, procedures and management oversight.

Challeges

pDigital records growth: One o the biggest challenges in uniying records management is getting

a handle on the growth o electronic records. I these records are not being tagged properly, they

are just multiplying and continuing to create headaches, particularly i there is a compliance

or e-discovery request.

pGetting a handle on social media: As part o the growth o electronic records in general, there

is the specic growth o social media and the changes that is causing in records management.

As noted earlier, just a couple o years ago, 50% o business managers said they were unaware

their company was even legally liable or social media content. It is.

pWhos in charge? This is another area where management and cultural issues come into play.

The IT department is in charge o storing electronic records, but its not necessarily in charge

o compliance or policy management.


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pManaging legacy records: A unied approach can be a tool in helping to address the management

and disposal o unnecessary paper records. With a unied approach, the organization is orcedto get a better handle on inventory and do a benchmark o what it has and where it is located,

regardless o location or ormat. It will also help to determine which paper records to digitize

and which to keep saving in paper.

Typical approach: The unication o physical and electronic records will likely be relevant to all

companies someday, but now, it is mostly critical to companies that have vast amounts o inormation

and are in the process o transitioning rom physical to electronic records management. While the

concept o unied records is not a new one, the pressure to achieve unication is intensiying:

Many companies are creating voluminous amounts o records and, i they are not being properly

classied and indexed now, they will have to be classied and indexed at some point in the uture,

which could be a time-consuming and unnecessary expense.


Like the unication o physical records, unied records management is largely ocused on improv-

ing the way policies are applied to electronic records. Many organizations have ound that the task

is made easier by using the skills and knowledge they have learned rom uniying physical records

and applying them to the unication o electronic records. Iron Mountain advises organizations

to take a measured approach that starts rom a solid oundation and a single, consistent system

o record. In reraming the challenges o uniying records management, organizations can look

at the ollowing opportunities:

p

Apply retention, policies and holds consistently across all records rom a unied system.pClassiy records o all types upon creation or eciency, consistency and deensibility.

pEnable users to quickly and eciently nd the records they need.

pSave on e-discovery costs with an integrated platorm and consistently classied records.

pAdopt best practices or records o all types.


Uniying electronic and physical records can bring signicant business value to the organization,

including:

pReduced risk: With all records subject to the same policy management and enorcement,

the business will be adept at nding and accessing records when needed or either e-discovery

or regulatory requirements. The potential costs o e-discovery will go down signicantly, and

the costs o nding documents, accessing them and producing them in a timely manner will

also be signicantly reduced.


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pMore consistency: By establishing a single policy to consistently address electronic and paper

records, the organization can achieve economies o scale in training employees and in makingany adjustments or other changes in its policies. These can be rolled out at the same time

across the entire organization. In the event o a disaster, the organization will be much better

equipped to nd and recover important documents, regardless o their ormat.

pSupport or new platorms: Organizations are going to have to gain control o management

or social media records in order to remain compliant and be prepared or e-discovery inquiries.

Yet many organizations are behind in this endeavor. According to Iron Mountains research, 40%

o companies are still unable to apply retention to electronic document objects, such as Microsot

Word and Excel les. More than 50% cannot apply retention to database records, and 65% are

unable to classiy and index user-created electronic records at the time o their creation.15

Here is an example o how a market-leading company has been able to accrue signicant businessvalue through the unication o physical and electronic records:

A large sotware developer recognized that it needed to assess its physical records to reduce some

o its assets. In addition, the companys electronic documents were stored in a variety o locations

and were increasingly dicult to nd. The company was looking or a unied system or all records

to streamline the process o making business decisions. In addition, explosive data growth was

impacting user productivity. Finally, the company needed a unied solution to optimize business

processes or discovery and management, while ensuring global policy adoption or compliance.

Working with Iron Mountain, the company is streamlining its RIM program or consistency,

eciency and cost savings, with deensible policy adoption, management and reporting.

Chapter 7: Digitizing Your Workfow

Summary: With the dramatic growth rates organizations are experiencing in electronic records,

there is an inevitable transition that will take place where RIM will move toward digital-based

management and technology solutions. In Iron Mountains survey o customers in December 2012,

30% o respondents said their top priority is to digitize their workfows and make records integral

to the process. As part o these initiatives, they are seeking to have records management principles

integrated into their entire workfow.

Challeges

pStriking the right balance: Many companies think that in order to go digital, they need to scaneverything. However, they quickly realize that the cost to scan everything oten outweighs the

potential productivity gains.



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pChange isnt easy: Employees are going to continue to rely upon paper because change is dicult.

Some employees will resist moving to a more automated approach because they are comortablewith paper, while others may have concerns that automation may drastically change or eliminate

their jobs.

pSlowing down workfows: In many cases, paper-intensive manual processes are keeping companies

rom moving toward increased automation, which is critical in responding to customer needs,

reducing costs, addressing compliance and e-discovery requirements, and increasing productivity.

pLost productivity: An IDC survey shows that knowledge workers spend an average o 8.8 hours

a week searching or inormation, at an annual cost o approximately $14,000 per worker.

In addition, an organization employing 1,000 knowledge workers loses nearly $6 million a year

in time wasted when employees reormat inormation as they move between applications.16

Typical approach: I you look at real-world examples, you can see where organizations can achieve

signicant business value by incorporating records management as a strategic part o operations.

For instance, Iron Mountain ound that originators o mortgages scanned in their documents to get

them into the workfow, then went back and indexed them and then nally classied them. This

process resulted in unnecessary duplication o eort and diminished productivity. I records man-

agement principles had been incorporated into the workfow processes upront, several steps could

have been avoided and the records would have been consistently classied, indexed and stored.


Digitalizing the workfow is an opportunity to dramatically improve productivity, reduce costs and

enable the organization to respond more quickly and eciently to e-discovery and compliancerequests. So, the challenge can be reramed as ollows:

pQuickly locate and access documents online without the high costs o scanning everything.

pEliminate delays and ineciencies associated with retrieving and working with physical les

by increasing workfow automation.

pConvert documents rom physical to digital in order to optimize business applications and

automate manual processes in areas such as HR, accounts payable and work orders.

pAccurately index and classiy documents or improved productivity and much less costly

response to e-discovery requests.

16 Managed Print and Document Services or Controlling Todays and Tomorrows Inormation Costs, IDC, Jan. 2011
http://www.ricoh.ru/Images/IDC_Executive_Insights_January2011_t_80-4420.pdfhttp://www.ricoh.ru/Images/IDC_Executive_Insights_January2011_t_80-4420.pdfhttp://www.ricoh.ru/Images/IDC_Executive_Insights_January2011_t_80-4420.pdfhttp://www.ricoh.ru/Images/IDC_Executive_Insights_January2011_t_80-4420.pdf


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In addition to cost and productivity improvements engendered by incorporating records managementinto digitalized workfows, organizations will be able to accrue other benets as well, including:

pManage growth: A greater ability to absorb and strategically manage the dramatic growth o

electronic records. This is a dening actor in RIM, and digitalizing workfows will establish

consistent policies and tagging o electronic records, in all ormats and in all locations. Digital

transormation is inevitable, and organizations must transition with it or risk being let behind.

pManage social media: Managing unstructured data such as social media emails, text, instant

messages, Facebook posts, tweets and the like is one o the most important challenges

in this new era o records management. As noted, 65% o companies are unable to classiy

and index user-created electronic records at their time o creation. By digitalizing workfows,

organizations will be able to address that problem with an elegant solution that ts intonext-generation business initiatives.

pEnhance collaboration: By reducing duplication o eort and speeding workfows, organizations

will be able to modernize many o their workfow unctions, and create processes and systems

whereby they can enhance collaboration across groups and applications.

pSet the oundation or next-generation business initiatives: Digitalizing workfows and managing

the quality and integrity o data are becoming increasingly important actors in business initiatives

that are centered on the new computing platorm o cloud services, mobility, social media and big

data. Building the right processes now and deploying the right tools and technologies will not only

drive immediate business value, but it will continue to drive value or many years to come.

Here is an example o how digitalizing workfows enhanced business value at an industry-leading

company:

For a large airline, managing employee records was a challenge because a merger had resulted

in a hybrid document environment. Consistent access to data was required to keep planes fying

saely. For example, engineering plane drawings are vital records and their loss could result

in millions o dollars or a single plane. Also, the HR department needed access to employee

records or job transers and investigations. Working with Iron Mountain, the airline was able

to scan, index and consolidate HR records. In addition, it was able to convert vital records

to digital ormat and store critical engineering records o-site at a secure location.


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Chapter 8: Working With Iron Mountain

In this e-book, we have outlined and discussed six key ways in which organizations can evolvetoward an approach to RIM that market leaders have deployed to deliver maximum value to the

business. They are:

1. Send records on-site to o-site.

2. Manage and dispose o legacy paper records.

3. Consolidate vendors.

4. Expand a program rom one department or division across the company.

5. Uniy physical and electronic records.

6. Digitalize your workfow.

Iron Mountain is there to partner with you on every step o this journey. We have more than

60 years o experience assisting more than 156,000 organizations with storing, protecting and

managing their inormation. We provide world-class acilities or the storage o records, proven

methodologies or all aspects o records management and state-o-the-art technologies that will

help your organization move quickly and eciently toward better practices in records management.

Iron Mountain has expertise and experience in dealing with compliance issues across all industries

and in helping organizations manage physical and electronic records. Our methodologies include

benchmarking your existing state, developing a roadmap or moving orward, auditing the integrityo your data, deploying the right technology solution or your organization, collaborating as a general

contractor, and maintaining ongoing dialogue and guidance at a senior level at all times beore,

during and ater the process.

Conclusion

Records and inormation management has never been more critical to the success o the business.

By taking a strategic approach to records management, organizations can reduce costs, improve

eciencies and dramatically reduce the risks o massive and unexpected e-discovery and compliance

expenses. In order to move in that direction, however, the business value o a sound records man-

agement approach must be clearly articulated and aptly described. Management support is critical,

and nding the right partner is a necessary and important step in the right direction. With Iron

Mountain as a trusted partner, you have the best opportunity to not just articulate a vision or

delivering business value through records management, but actually deliver on that vision and turn

the promise o sound records management into a successul reality. Now is the time to get started.


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About the Research

ResearchconductedbyIronMountainDec.12Jan.13

Targetaudience:Decision-makersaroundrecordsmanagement

Goal:IdentifytopopportunitiesforvaluewithinRIM

56,000TOTAL CUSTOMERS RESPONDING

1,410Involved With Records Management

691RIM Decision-Makers

iron mountain maximum business value ebook final 2

Documents