The Information Management Survey conducted in 1996 by Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu International, stated that 38% of staff in large organisations rarely have the right amount of information to do their jobs properly, and this is a statistic that's not getting any better. It has even been suggested that the average office makes nineteen copies of each document, but that the average office also loses one in twenty documents (source: Coopers & Lybrand, March 2000). Having the right information in the format you need, at hand, and immediately, is what managers need in this technological, super-fast world in which we work, to enable them to perform to their peak KPIs.
One thing is sure: there are no two FM archives the same, because the role and responsibilities of a facilities manager differ in nearly every post, as do the files they keep and the information they need at hand. sds FM recognises that is the case, and actively encourages FMs to work openly to create the system of archive that they need. By assessing your FM archive, and working with you to develop an understanding of your needs and business drivers, is one of the first of our ten point plan to successful data storage.
Many of these will be paper records sent to you by service providers; many will be check lists completed by hand and kept to prove the audit trail; and some may be digital files already. Facilities management is as much about risk management in that the audit trail of records we keep needs to be robust and accurate. But if those records are paper-based, how can we prove accuracy? If a record is removed to be copied or used, how can we be sure it is returned to the correct place? Even when printed, e-mailed or posted, with your digitised records from sds FM you can be assured that that record always remains in the archive, and that your audit trail is entirely safe and accurate.
disaster recovery
Can your business be without access to documents? Do you have a disaster recovery plan that accounts for all sorts of contingencies, however fantastic? In the US, the Fire Defence Association has calculated that 70% of small and medium-sized businesses which have serious fires go out of business within twelve months. But your company does not need to have the disaster to be affected. At the recent Buncefield Oil Depot Fire it was the neighbouring offices and factories that have had to relocate and subsequently search for their data. It may not even be near to your location. A disaster at your company’s storage depot can wipe out your ability to produce records.
The only way to truly survive any disaster is to store items digitally on multiple servers. We understand these risks and so sds FM stores your data at eight separate locations in two European countries. Your key information is copied and backed-up every night and stored safely to ensure maximum recovery is possible.
But don't wait for the disaster to happen! There are immediate gains unrelated to disaster recovery to be had from storing your files electronically. When your documents are stored online your staff get an "anywhere, any time" solution, enabling them to work more flexibly in terms of location and times.
The sds FM digitised data storage system also allows for ease of access over the internet, and can even ensure your files can be read in text format on a PDA from really anywhere. The is no need to have expensive software like AutoCAD or CAFM, because the documents we scan are stored as Acrobat PDF, and can be viewed, zoomed, searched and sent via e-mail to anyone who has the free Adobe Reader software. Our Internet supported files can also be linked to any of your disaster recovery software solutions, in picture or text format.
why use sds FM?
