Snip from John's comments:

>
>> From:    "Gervais, John" <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: CD stability
>>
>> The report Peter provided a link to on the stability of CD's states:
>> It is demonstrated here that CD-R and DVD-R media can be very stable 
>> (sample
>> S4 for CD-R and sample D2 for DVD-R). Results suggest that these 
>> media types
>> will ensure data is available for several tens of years and therefore 
>> may be
>> suitable for archival uses.
>>
>> Several tens of years!  Does this not worry you!  My goodness that is 
>> not a
>> long time in the world of archives/records management!

On Dec 23, 2004, at 12:02 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:

> IRON Mountain Archiving Dis-Connected
> Byteandswitch.com - New York,NY,USA
> The records-management giant will discontinue its ArchiveStore/EM 
> product
> next year because of overlap with its existing Digital Archives 
> outsourced
> service ...
> < http://www.byteandswitch.com/document.asp?doc_id=65009>


I read the List in Digest so I see things in relation to each other.  
In one Post we worry about the life of media and after downloading 
Peter's reference from NIST.  I think where they miss on some of these 
aging tests is that they do it in a controlled environment where the 
temperature and humidity do not track the same way a client typically 
stores the media.  Therefore we find out too late that the media did 
not even last as long as the study.  Storing your media in an 
environment where the media is protected from UV light, and has rigidly 
controlled temperature and humidity is critical to the life span of the 
media.  How many of you ask to see the Chart Recorder Files on the 
vaults where your media is stored?

Now onto the next problem, Connected has a product that was being used 
to store client's files, then it was acquired.  The acquirer then 
decides to eliminate the product and these clients then have an 
unsupported software system for storing email.

        Snips from
         Byte and Switch News Analysis
        "The records-management giant will discontinue its ArchiveStore/EM 
product next year because of overlap with its existing Digital 
        Archives outsourced service, says company spokesperson Lauren Drapala. 
ArchiveStore/EM became part of the Iron Mountain        portfolio with the 
acquisition of Connected Corp. in October ..."


        "Iron Mountain will also roll features and code from ArchiveStore into 
Digital Archives, she added. Those upgrades are expected within         18 
months."

         — Brett Mendel, Senior Analyst, Byte and Switch Insider

Now for the users of Archive Store, do they have a problem in the next 
18  months or will they have the problem after the 18 months or never.  
Did the records manager have a Software License so that if the software 
is not supported that someone else can do it.  If the records manager 
did their job or the IT Manager and required a software license so that 
in the event their records no longer have support that they could at 
least continue to use the product by creating their own support vendor.

How often do we sign up for a new technology thinking it will always be 
available.  Can the clients expect that Archive Store/EM will be 
supported ad infinitum?

No records should be stored using software that you the client do not 
control.  This is just another form of equipment obsolescence to worry 
about.  Even if your client swears they will always support it, how 
does that help you in a merger or a bankruptcy.  Technology must be 
managed.  Did the records managers at these 25 or so major companies 
protect themselves.

If they now decide to go back to their own methods of storing the email 
on CD-ROM, will they consider the fragility of the media? Will they 
require their offsite data storage company to protect the media in Data 
Rated protection with ANSI Specifications for temperature and humidity. 
  Do you pay attention to the environment for your media?  There are 
options out there.  You do not have to accept media failure as a given, 
this is where the Manager in your title comes in.  Many of you have 
this covered and should share your strategies here with the List.

But the answer is not "Store everything on paper" as management will 
not buy into that.  They will want you to investigate and have a 
solution.  How many of you have control of your software licenses and 
understand what level of control it offers you?  If you required this 
from your vendor as a condition of using a brand or model of software, 
then you still have some control if they fail to support the software.  
But you need to at least ask the questions before IT switches you into 
a non-supported mode.

Hugh Smith
FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults
[log in to unmask]
(610)  756-4440    Fax (610)  756-4134
WWW.FIRELOCK.COM

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