'Don't save, don't store' approach endangers email data
~ Iron Mountain Digital research reveals corporate drive to reduce data held in electronic communication systems ~

February 5, 2007 – Almost two-thirds (60%) of British businesses say they have had to take steps to reduce email storage requirements as they can't keep up with the ever- increasing amount of electronic data being saved on corporate systems.

This is according to a survey of 150 IT personnel undertaken by Iron Mountain Digital, the technology arm of Iron Mountain Incorporated.

Of those attempting to cut down the amount of data stored in email systems, more than half (56%) have slashed inbox size limits for employees. Nearly one-third (29%) have introduced archiving policies and 18 per cent have limited the amount of personal data that can be held on corporate systems.

Alongside this trend of trying to reduce storage volumes, 55 per cent of those interviewed said their organisation had experienced an email outage in the last 12 months putting valuable company information held in email out of reach.

Whilst eight out of ten said their systems were often back up and running within hours, almost one in five (18%) had to wait days or even weeks to get email back on line.

Iron Mountain Digital recommends a two-tiered approach to protecting business information within email. If organisations allow employees to save their archived email to local hard drives in order to reduce storage burdens on corporate systems, they must also ensure that users' PCs are backed up to a central location for fast and reliable data recovery. Second, companies should utilise a standby email system that can be rapidly activated following a network interruption, facility outage or other event. When an email system goes down, worker productivity goes with it.

“It's all very well attempting to limit the amount of email data held within corporate systems but this 'don't save, don't store' approach is short-sightedness in the extreme,” said Nick Cater, head of Northern Europe, Iron Mountain Digital. “Despite companies' best efforts, employees will always prefer to store emails and attachments locally due to the ease of use and access.”

“Companies must safeguard this data by ensuring it is properly protected so that in the event of data loss or email systems going down, employees can still access relevant information and get on with their jobs,” he added.

About Iron Mountain Digital
Iron Mountain Digital is the world's leading provider of data backup/recovery and archiving software and services. The technology arm of Iron Mountain Incorporated offers a comprehensive suite of data protection and e-records management software and services to thousands of companies around the world, directly and through a world-wide network of channel partners. Iron Mountain Digital is based in Southborough, Mass. with European headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. For more information, visit www.ironmountaindigital.co.uk

About Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) helps organisations around the world reduce the costs and risks associated with information protection and storage. The company offers comprehensive records management and data protection solutions, along with the expertise and experience to address complex information challenges such as rising storage costs, litigation, regulatory compliance and disaster recovery. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain is a trusted partner to more than 90,000 corporate clients throughout North America, Europe, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ironmountain.com.