Tailgating Under the Stars Auction - Chamber of Commerce of ...
Tailgating Under the Stars Auction - Chamber of Commerce of ...
Tailgating Under the Stars Auction - Chamber of Commerce of ...
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The electronic devices we use to manage our lives produce an enormous amount <strong>of</strong> data. This data comes in<br />
many formats: spreadsheets, emails, voicemails, video and photo files, web pages, blogs and social media,<br />
just to name a few. In <strong>the</strong> corporate world, data within <strong>the</strong>se formats constitute electronic records which<br />
differ from paper documents and files only in name and type.<br />
Like paper records, businesses have a legal responsibility to manage and protect <strong>the</strong>ir electronic records.<br />
Paper documents and files are easy to manage for most organizations. Electronic records, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand<br />
can pose more <strong>of</strong> a challenge since managing <strong>the</strong>m requires an understanding <strong>of</strong> ever changing technological<br />
advances and threats. A thorough corporate records management program will account for both paper and<br />
electronic record formats.<br />
Since technology is ever evolving, today’s “latest, greatest” device may be tomorrow’s has been. This makes<br />
<strong>the</strong> long term preservation <strong>of</strong> electronic records especially challenging. Much like archival paper records,<br />
some electronic data may need to be kept for several years. If <strong>the</strong> media you use to store electronic records<br />
is not maintained in <strong>the</strong> proper environment, electronic data can be severely compromised. Whe<strong>the</strong>r your<br />
electronic records are stored on magnetic media tape, hard drives, or optical disc, it’s necessary to have <strong>the</strong><br />
right facility and systems to ensure preservation and protection.<br />
You certainly don’t want to put all <strong>of</strong> your eggs in one basket, so to speak, when archiving electronic records.<br />
Data stored in one place is a risky proposition. For example, <strong>the</strong> crash <strong>of</strong> a laptop hard drive can easily result<br />
in <strong>the</strong> loss <strong>of</strong> important, corporate electronic records. Therefore, it’s important to implement redundant<br />
data storage and protection plans that cover <strong>the</strong> course <strong>of</strong> your electronic records’ retention periods.<br />
As follows, once your electronic records have reached <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir retention period, it’s crucial to have<br />
destruction policies and procedures in place. The sheer volume <strong>of</strong> confidential and private information on<br />
one hard drive or backup tape can be extraordinary. If not properly destroyed, this electronic data can easily<br />
be retrieved by <strong>the</strong> wrong person and prove to be a crippling event for your organization. As a result, any<br />
storage medium housing electronic records should be destroyed by a pr<strong>of</strong>essional media destruction partner.<br />
As a National Association <strong>of</strong> Information Destruction (NAID) member, Records Management Solutions<br />
provides secure media destruction services for clients throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Washington DC,<br />
Maryland and Pennsylvania. For more information about how we can help your organization properly<br />
dispose <strong>of</strong> its electronic records, please contact us by phone 304-263-0199 or via <strong>the</strong> web<br />
www.rmsshredding.com<br />
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RMSshredding<br />
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RMSshredding<br />
Properly Protecting and Disposing <strong>of</strong> Electronic Records<br />
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/company/rms-shredding-and-storage<br />
Jim Scott is <strong>the</strong> President <strong>of</strong> RMS one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Mid-Atlantic’s leading Information Protection Firms. Jim’s weekly blog s<br />
on Information Protection can be followed at www.rmsshredding.com or call RMS @ 304-263-0199.