Ginny,

I think it is fair to say that in regard to protection from fire, in the 
most part IT (and RM if they have had input) have been well educated in 
what to look for in a provider. This can be evidenced by the fact that it 
is reasonably rare to lose tape through fire at a vault facility.

Where tape has been lost, or at least where the lost has become public 
knowledge it has been due to mishandling, or in some cases theft.

What do you as a RM look for in a handling process to reduce loss? From my 
perspective it is critical to entrust your vendor to store individual 
tapes rather than tapes in closed or locked containers.

Many vendors encourage clients into storing in cases as it moves the 
management burden away from them, but this undermines the value of a third 
party ensuring that the right volumes are off-site.

What is your position on letting the vault manage the media?

I would also value your opinion on the guide we have put together at 
http://www.baremetaldata.com/pdf/ProtectingData.pdf.

Gerard

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