strategies for
Bringing
Order tO
data ChaOs
BOTTOM LINE
An eRecords strategy
for record storage
means fewer and
broader retention
categories, which
helps companies
to accurately and
consistently retain
critical records.
By Dann Maurno
The regulatory environment has never
been more complex, but “Big Buckets”
can simplify managing the retention and
destruction of records
ELECTRONIC RECORDS, (OR ERECORDS,
digital information) have their charms.
First, they pack small. The physical space
allotted to records storage is shrinking among
Iron Mountain’s client base, while more
economical server space is growing. “Some of
our clients are assessing the costs associated
with imaging and storing hard-copy records
and then declaring the eRecord the official
record,” says Susan Trombley, director of Iron
Mountain Consulting Services.
Second, with the right processes and technology,
eRecords are easy to copy, move, send, sort and search.
In fact, using so-called “big buckets” of broadly classified
eRecords is more efficient for storage and retrieval than
are smaller pigeonholes.
But the discovery rules for eRecords are as stringent
as for hard-copy records. Trombley singles out the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, amended in December 2006,
under which electronically stored information must be
as available for production or discovery as its traditional
counterpart.
“There are a number of rules related to the amended
FRCP,” says Trombley, “but Rule 26 states that before any
sort of litigation involving eRecords commences, there has
to be a meet-and-confer session where opposing counsel
meet with a company to review the state of its electronically stored information.” That meeting must occur within
a relatively short period of time, she adds.
