Profile: Iron Mountain Incorporated (IRM)

Iron Mountain Incorporated (IMI) provides information protection and storage services. These services can be divided into three service categories: records management services, data protection and recovery services, and information destruction services. The Company offers both physical services and technology solutions in each of these categories. Media formats can be divided into physical and electronic records. Physical records include paper documents, as well as all other non-electronic media such as microfilm and microfiche, master audio and videotapes, film, X-rays and blueprints. Electronic records include email and various forms of magnetic media such as computer tapes and hard drives and optical disks. IMI derives most of its revenues from the storage of paper documents and storage-related services. In May 2008, the Company acquired the DocuVault, a provider of records storage, secure shredding and data backup services in Denver and Colorado Springs.

The Company’s physical records management services include records management program development and implementation based on best-practices to help customers comply with specific regulatory requirements, implementation of policy-based programs that feature secure storage for all major media, including paper (which is the dominant form of records storage), flexible retrieval access and retention management. Included within physical records management services is Document Management Solutions (DMS). This suite of services helps organizations to gain better access to their paper records by digitizing, indexing and hosting them in online archives to provide complete information life-cycle solutions. IMI’s technology-based records management services are comprised primarily of digital archiving and related services for secure, legally compliant long-term archiving of electronic records. Within the records management services category, it has developed specialized services for vital records and regulated industries such as healthcare, energy and financial services.

The Company’s physical data protection and recovery services include disaster preparedness, planning, support and secure, off-site vaulting of data backup media for fast and efficient data recovery in the event of a disaster, human error or virus. Its technology-based data protection and recovery services include online backup and recovery solutions for desktop and laptop computers and remote servers. Additionally, it serves as a neutral third party and offers technology escrow services to protect and manage source code and other information.

IMI’s information destruction services are comprised almost exclusively of secure shredding services. Secure shredding services complete the life cycle of a record and involve the shredding of sensitive documents in a way that ensures privacy and a secure chain of custody for the records. These services typically include either the scheduled pick-up of loose office records, which customers accumulate in specially designed secure containers it provides or the shredding of documents stored in records facilities upon the expiration of their scheduled retention periods. Its technology-based information destruction services include DataDefense, which provides automatic, intelligent encryption of sensitive personal computer (PC) data and, when behaviors that are inconsistent with authorized use are detected, that data is automatically eliminated and the PC is disabled, this is designed to render the data useless to unauthorized users.

Physical Records

Physical records may be divided into two categories: active and inactive. Active records relate to ongoing and recently completed activities or contain information that is frequently referenced. Active records are usually stored and managed on-site by the organization that originated them to ensure ready availability. Inactive physical records are the principal focus of the information protection and storage services industry. Inactive records consist of those records that are not needed for immediate access but which must be retained for legal, regulatory and compliance reasons or for occasional reference in support of ongoing business operations. A large and growing specialty subset of the physical records market is medical records. These are active and semi-active records that are often stored off-site with and serviced by an information protection and storage services vendor. Special regulatory requirements often apply to medical records. In addition to the Company’s core records management services, it provides consulting, facilities management, fulfillment and other outsourcing services.

Electronic Records

Electronic records management focuses on the storage of, and related services for, computer media that is either a backup copy of recently processed data or archival in nature. Customer needs for data backup and recovery and archiving are distinctively different. Backup data exists because of the need of many businesses to maintain backup copies of their data in order to be able to recover the data in the event of a system failure, casualty loss or other disaster. In addition to the physical rotation and storage of backup data that the Company’s physical business segments provide, its Worldwide Digital Business segment offers online backup services as an alternative way for businesses to transfer data to IMI, and to access the data they have stored with the Company. Online backup is a Web-based service that automatically backs up computer data from servers or directly from desktop and laptop computers over the Internet and stores it in one of its secure data centers.