Company applauds ambitious vision, believes achieving it will require
significant investment in time and resources
BOSTON & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 2012--
Iron
Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the information management
company, released the following response to the Managing
Government Records Directive, issued Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA):
By issuing its Managing
Government Records Directive, the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), have
set forth an ambitious vision for a digital government, one that values
openness, transparency and efficiency. In line with President
Obama’s vision that records management is the backbone of open
government, the Directive calls for federal agencies to manage records
and information more efficiently. Such efficiencies will enable federal
agencies to better assess the impact of programs, reduce redundant
efforts, save money, and share knowledge.
To their credit, OMB and NARA have incorporated many records management
best practices that have been proven out in our experience in private
industry including: senior level accountability in the form of a new
designated responsible party the “Senior Agency Official” (SAO),
agency-wide training requirements, revised record scheduling and more.
Moreover, the Directive recognizes the critical role OMB, NARA and other
agencies will play in driving this initiative forward, outlining
specific plans to support federal agencies in their push to achieve
compliance. Still, while Iron Mountain credits the OMB and NARA for
proposing such an ambitious vision, the company believes achieving it
will be a tremendous undertaking that will require significant time and
investment.
This view is supported by Iron Mountain’s recent survey
of federal records managers, which found that despite near universal
support for the President’s Memorandum, only 9 percent felt confident
using newer technologies like cloud applications. Iron Mountain believes
the ability to secure adequate budget for training, technology and
consulting is a critical step for federal agencies to achieve
compliance. The company believes that federal agencies should rely on
best practices from the private sector and partner with it to secure
these necessary resources. NARA’s plan to create a Community of Interest
with industry experts in technology, records management and the legal
field will help tremendously as well. Consequently, the private sector
should stand ready to support the federal government on this ambitious
but worthwhile plan.
As a starting point, Iron Mountain offers records managers our
professional guidance on first steps to start on the path to compliance
in our blog, “The
Directive is out. Now what? – First Steps for Federal Records Managers
to Start on the Path to Compliance.”
About Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) provides information storage and
management services that help organizations lower the costs, risks and
inefficiencies of managing their physical and digital data. The
Company’s solutions enable customers to protect and better use their
information so they can optimize their business and ensure proper
recovery, compliance and discovery. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain
manages billions of information assets, including business records,
electronic files, medical data and more for organizations around the
world. Visit www.ironmountain.com
or follow the company on Twitter @IronMountain
for more information.
Source: Iron Mountain Incorporated
Iron Mountain
Christian T. Potts, 617-535-8721
christian.potts@ironmountain.com
or
Weber
Shandwick
Brad Baker, 617-520-7043
bbaker@webershandwick.com