Nine Ways to Disaster Proof Your Business
Australia's News.com website has an article up today on preparing a disaster recovery plan for your business. As we role in the new year, there is nothing more important for 2009 than ensuring your business has the right plan in place to bounce back from disasters of all shapes and sizes.
GRM has been working with companies in every major business sector for more than 20 years, planning the necessary steps and implementing the right technologies to guarantee that even in the worst of times - data management still goes smoothly.
The article is an oversimplified version of what needs to occur in a thorough disaster recovery plan, but the nine steps will certainly begin moving you in the right direction. For full details on how GRM can custom tailor a program for your business, please follow the link to our website. Happy New Year!
Tips for Greener Legal Document Storage
One day before New Years and we're back in the saddle. I'll be posting on the document storage blog for two days this week (today and tomorrow), then back to an everyday schedule beginning next Monday. There hasn't been a ton of relevant articles in the news of late (
presumably due to the holidays), but I did come across one piece on making document storage and records management at legal firms more environmentally friendly.
The article provides a number of helpful, and practical ways to ensure you're doing the most you can for the environment. It ends with a handful of simple tips that will go a long way towards greening your offices. I've copied a few of them below, but follow the link for the complete list.
1. Whenever possible, print research and draft documents double-sided on recycled paper. Printing double-sided will also reduce space needed to file documents.
2. Switch from legal-sized to letter-sized for paper and file folders. Twenty-five percent more files will fit into a 1.2 cubic foot document storage box if the files are letter-sized.
3. Print draft documents in "draft" mode. This will significantly reduce the amount of toner used.
Happy Holidays
This is my last post before a much-needed holiday post, so I've decided to keep things simple today. Happy Holidays, and I hope everyone has a festive and merry week-and-a-half leading up to the New Year.
Safe Media Storage
Keeping a back log of your company's important files and information is becoming more important with each passing year. Using an external hard drive or data tapes are easy and convenient solutions for backing up all of the digital information in your office, but what is the point if a fire or natural disaster strikes your building? Keeping your backed up data in the same space as the original copies doesn't make sense, and document management centers provide a solution. Find a company that offers secure, off-site media vaults in which you may store older external hard drives and other back-up materials.
GRM's media storage program is one of the very best in the New York Tri-State. We're set-up to handle all forms of multi-media storage, and have proudly worked with production companies of all shapes and sizes. Our vaults not only offer the protection of being in a separate location, but also provide a far healthy environment for electronics than any office space. With computer controlled temperature and humidity and a minimal amount of dust and dirt - why would you trust your data to be stored anywhere else?
Environmental Storage
One of the crucial parts of any document management center is a solid environmental storage program. Traditional document storage utilizes boxes and other containers to safely store paper documents and files. Each of the boxes are tagged with a bar code and then matched with a shelf location that has its own bar code.
Environmental storage focuses on less traditional media and information storage, namely x-ray film and computer tape. For these types of media, specific and controlled storage environments are required to assure they stay in pristine condition. GRM employs many variations of environmental storage at our storage facilities - from film and video to climate controlled data vaults. If you're interested in learning more about the technologies we utilize to keep your documents protected, please visit
our website for full details.
EDM Transition can be Demanding
A recent article on
OneStopClick.com finds that the transition from a traditional document management program to an electronic counterpart can be trying for smaller businesses. But, those companies that are willing to make a transition now, as opposed to two years down the line, are far more likely to reap the most benefits from the cross over. We've discussed many times here at the GRM blog that Electronic Document Management increases office productivity, cuts back on lost time and makes for a more efficient information flow - and these findings are just one more example of those facts.
Here's a brief clip from the article:
"Research carried out by content management firm Metafile indicates companies able to enter the document management solutions industry quickly are likely to flourish.Vice president of technical services at the company Jim Mandt said organisations should take time to plan before attempting the shift as accounts receivable practices, including order processing and invoice delivery, remain highly paper intensive."
For more information on how GRM can help your business to transition to an EDM solution, please feel free to visit
our website.
Customers First
At GRM we take great pride in ensuring that our customers are always in the know. One of the ways we do that, is providing an invaluable tool for learning how to get the most out of GRM’s vast array of services. After interviewing both customers and prospects to see what they would like to see in a Customer Handbook, GRM got to work. What was developed is a description of how to use each form and service offered by GRM.
Also included, as suggested by the end user, is a section that can be used to centralize and maintain all contracts, Authorized Personnel forms and other important GRM documentation. Most importantly, managers can now use this handbook, also supplied on CD, to train other employees, saving hours of training, increasing efficiency and ultimately creating standardization. Feel free to take a walk through a sample of GRM’s Customer Handbook.
Information Management Deficiency Syndrome
There's a
fantastic article out of Australia today on how many businesses are lagging dangerously behind in their information and document management programs. As the author notes, IMDS (a syndrome he made up, obviously) "affects the "health" of the organisation, and it has symptoms which managers - or even a "company doctor" - could spot."
He then goes on to list a number of the "symptoms," which include inconsistent document management policies, accidentally lost documents and lost work time due to insufficient document management. According to the article:
"IMDS easily creeps up on many email-reliant companies. Suddenly a member of staff is away- documents are not found where they are expected and projects become avoidably delayed.
IMDS, then, can be recognised across many organisations, and in many ways both large and small it adversely affects business performance by slowing processes and costing money in inefficient activity. The problems it represents will undoubtedly increase as information levels increase and the demands companies make on that information expand and become more complex."
Obama and EDM
On the
Fierce Content Management website, there's a blogger writing about another blogger (that's a bit complicated) discussing President-Elect Barack Obama's plans to streamline online records and data management in the medical field. The question both these writers are musing on - would more intense oversight and regulation of the industry be a good thing or bad thing for EDM businesses? The two experts reach slightly different conclusions.
On fierce, Ron Miller says - "Bex Huff, who is a consultant specializing in Oracle Enterprise Content Management, wonders in a recent blog post if President-elect Obama's recent radio address calling for the modernization of medical record keeping would be a boon for content management vendors. It's Huff's contention that it would be, but I'm not sure this particular aspect of the president-elect's plan would help ECM specifically. It could certainly help related industries around scanning and pure document management."
Follow the link for the rest of Miller's post, as well as a link to Bex Huff's thoughts.
InfoStage & GRM Protect.
GRM InfoStage, powered by GRM eVault, is online backup software utilizing advanced disk-to-disk technology for protecting an entire company’s business-critical data. GRM InfoStage cost-effectively backs up data from all locations over the network to a remote or centralized storage server (or vault). Automated, disk-to-disk backup eliminates labor-intensive manual tasks, as well as the frequent error-prone results associated with traditional tape-based solutions.
GRM is also proud to offer GRM Protect - also powered by GRM eVault. GRM Protect is a premier managed service for secure online backup and recovery—backs up an entire organization’s business-critical data to one of GRM eVault's secure data centers. Safely off-site, the encrypted data is available online at all times for immediate, user-initiated recovery. GRM Protect works seamlessly in an organization’s existing infrastructure with no additional hardware required.
Introducing EDM
There's a fascinating article running today on Search CIO Midmarket today. The topic, the future of electronic records and document management. The findings - a lot of companies still don't have a program in place. According to the start of the piece:
"Despite all the hoopla over the need for electronic records retention policies -- particularly given the need to produce records for litigation for compliance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure -- many midmarket companies fail to have or enforce standard practices to retain electronic records. In fact, recent research shows that a third to a half of U.S.-based organizations still do not include electronic records as part of their records retention policies." The story goes on to say, "Part of the problem is that most midmarket companies have not been able to shift from a hard-copy records management mind-set to an electronic document management mind-set. "They just haven't made that leap," said Brian Hill, an analyst at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc."
If you're interested, the author also points out the many benefits of introducing EDM to your business (many of which I've already covered at this blog). Follow the link for the link for the full article.
The Importance of Proper Destruction and Bin Rotation
Why use open wastebaskets or recycling bins when GRM can provide security containers for the safeguarding of critical information? GRM's certified document destruction program guarantees that all of your sensitive documents marked for disposal will be completely and properly destroyed. At GRM, we employ a comprehensive bin-rotation system, in which you have two styles to choose from.
The first, is a 200-pound capacity, heavy gauge plastic mobile toter. the second is a 100-pound capacity, stationary executive console. Both are locked and tracked by advanced bar code technology. Customized rotation schedules are available and all rotations are performed by GRM personnel and vehicles. Document shredding or destruction is performed within 24-48 hours of retrieval, and a Certificate of Destruction is issued upon completion.
Document Management for Government - Digitizing Records
On
The Courier-Post Online today, there's an interesting story about Camden, New Jersey's decision to digitize thousands upon thousands of files and records. This move is one that's often recommended to government agencies by GRM sales representatives. The reasons in favor of shifting government records over to EDM are many, but I'll name just the most simple here.
First, storage of your government records electronically is safer than traditional file storage. If the information is properly backed up and stored in multiple locations - there is virtually zero chance that it will be lost. On the other hand, if a major fire or flood hits your storage space - important files and documentation will be lost forever.
And second, EDM increases efficiency. As much as many of us feel nostalgic for old search-systems like Dewey decimal and other forms of card cataloguing - finding a legal document from December of 1976 if far easier if you have an online search engine at your disposal. By digitizing Camden's back-catalogue, they are guaranteed to cut search times in half.
Industry Specific Solutions
Having a comprehensive document management program is important for businesses in all sectors - but having a document management company who understands the specific needs of your industry is a must.
GRM works with companies in every major industry in the country, and we've got the experience and expertise to know the problems your likely to encounter and needs that will be most important to address before we even create your program.
From law firms and medical practices to government agencies and a slew of small businesses, GRM has worked with every type of client. Each vertical market has a different business model, law firms are highly active; hospitals require STAT deliveries with a human life in the balance; with banking one tape in the wrong hands can be worth millions, the wrong tape delivery could shut down an entire operation. Each model requires different services and different service levels. GRM understands. With over 20 years experience servicing various vertical markets, we will work with you to identify your requirements and challenges.
EDM Improves Invoicing for Hospital
Another story today about a professional company streamlining business practice through
Electronic Document Management. This story comes out of Dorset County, where a hospital has massively increased the efficiency of their invoicing system through utilizing a document imaging program and other similar services. This particular hospital went the DIY route, purchasing software and a scanner - but hiring a professional EDM service like GRM will get you off the ground running with no hassle or learning curve.
According to the article:
"Dorset County Hospital is implementing document management and imaging software to speed-up the processing of 50,000 purchase invoices each year and free-up document storage space. These new systems are expected to go-live to up to 150 users in early 2009.It will significantly reduce the time-consuming manual entry of purchase invoice data and will also be able to electronically store and retrieve purchase invoices directly from its Smartstream system."
Electronic Imaging Saves Space
The Le Mars Daily Sentinel ran a story today about saving space through electronic imaging. It focuses on a space crunch in the Plymouth County courthouse - and the viability of utilizing electronic imaging as a solution. Ultimately they weigh the option of purchasing the imaging equipment themselves, but it's far more cost-effective to use a third party solution like
GRM for imaging and digitally
cataloguing your entire filing system.
According to the article,
"Darin Raymond, Plymouth County attorney, said currently records within the court system are being imaged into electronic Portable Document Format (
PDF) files. Raymond said he had spoken with Leesa McNeil, court administrator for the third judicial district, and that she had been in favor of doing the same project in Plymouth County. "
For information on how
GRM can image and streamline your records management program, please feel free to visit
our website.
Federal Digital Storage Rules
This an interesting article on eWeek today discussing often misunderstood federal digital storage regulations. Federal guidelines were changed two years ago to reflect the changing face of the online workplace, and the driving force behind this article is how little most people understand the changes.
According to the introduction of the article:
"The court-rule amendments, known as the FRCP and placed into effect on Dec. 1, 2006, say businesses must be able to quickly find and make available relevant data when required by a court. Often, business information that could also serve as evidence in a criminal or civil lawsuit is required to be made available in as few as 30 days. Many enterprises are still in the dark about this."
You can find the complete article on
eWeek's website.
