On 1/11/07, Stephen E. Cohen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I'm seeing the midsize regional vendors working hard to be more than just
> warehouses to store boxes of paper files. To compete with Iron Mountain,
> and
> to stay relevent with business trends, more and more offsite vendors are
> offering storage and delivery of electronic records, as well as converting
> paper to electronic and migrating older electronic formats to newer ones.
> I
> also see many mom-and-pops getting swallowed up by the likes of Recall and
> then diluting their personal level of service.
>
> Stephen Cohen MLIS
To add to what Stephen has said, many independently owned operators are
attempting to differentiate themselves by the level of service provided in a
number of ways. As mentioned, scanning, imaging and conversion services are
being offered, along with media vaulting in independent facilities and
actual NFPA 232 compliant storage of paper records as well.
It costs more to run a facility that offers these higher levels of
protection, but some vendors and service providers appreciate the fact that
clients are asking for PROTECTION of their information assets, not simply
the cheapest method of storage. In the past, when I provided storage as a
consultant, I endeavored to make a client feel equally as comfortable to
store with me as they did managing their own facility. When you're paying
for a service, you should expect that the service provider will be doing a
job equally as well as you did it yourself, if not better.
Evaluation of service providers is a tricky proposition. Sure you'll pay
more to outsource, but you aren't paying for floor space, utilities, or
labor to directly manage the inventory anymore. And all of these components
are part of the cost to manage the assets within your own facility
directly. In most cases, all of the costs for a service provider become an
expense of your business that are 100% written off as a cost of doing
business, and you're allowed to re purpose space and staff that you
previously used for storage and management of the records previously.
What has to be calculated in is the risk you're taking by vending out this
function... and it's your organization's responsibility to determine if the
cost outweighs any risks. If you have privacy concerns related to the
records, make sure you have a third party business associates agreement in
place; this makes sure the service provider assumes liability for any
exposure of the information while it's in their control and custody.
If you have concerns related to security or other aspects, tour the facility
and do your "due diligence". Find out what other firms are in the same
complex or adjacent complexes, what types of business they do and if that
puts your assets at risk. Make sure the facility has been inspected by a
fire department and is protected by sprinklers, smoke and/or other early
protection systems, and has adequate security (alarms, cameras, etc.) to
protect against intrusion. Ask about their evacuation and emergency plans
and ask to see a log that they are routinely exercised. If you're in a
seismically active area, make sure the shelving is adequately braced and the
facility and shelving is designed for the types of loads it contains. Find
out what type of equipment is used in the facility to manage the material,
and how it's powered... if it's gas or propane operated, the equipment and
fuel shouldn't be stored in the same facility as the paper records.
The list goes on far beyond these items, but all of these ARE key concerns.
Larry
--
Larry Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972
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