It seems the world is going digital with data storage these days, but there’s still something to be said for keeping inactive and semi-active records in the form of good, old-fashioned paper.
“It’s still cheaper to store paper records,” just under a quarter per box, says Roy Radigan, president of Cleveland-based Midtown Professional Records Centre Inc.
“A good record management program has a good mix of storage – paper, CD-ROM, microfiche,” Radigan says. “Electronic storage is the new method, but there is no one silver bullet that solves all your needs.”
Midtown does handle electronic data storage, but its specialty is paper records. At its four facilities, Midtown stores more than one million cubic feet of data for its more than 800 clients – mostly insurance companies, law and accounting firms, and hospitals.
Radigan says off-site data storage companies essentially become extensions of a company’s file room. Customers can access their records during normal business hours, and even have them delivered within a few hours. However, there are a few extra benefits that most companies don’t have in their own facilities – increased security and limited access to the records, high-tech tracking systems that tell you exactly where every document is and better protection from fire and water damage.
