Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, Aug 30, 2010 @ 08:20 AM
Hurricane Katrina made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the morning of Monday, August 29, 2005 in southeast Louisiana. It caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas, much of it due to the storm surge.
Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of New Orleans became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks. However, the worst property damage occurred in coastal areas, such as all Mississippi beach-front towns, which were flooded as boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland, with waters reaching as far as 12 miles from the beach. This damage forced a long-term evacuation of a significant portion of the population and labor force.
Hurricane Katrina inflicted incalculable billions in damage, altered millions of lives and destroyed thousands of small companies.
One of its biggest blows may have been to an old-fashioned way of doing business-on perishable, irreplaceable paper records that are easily destroyed by water and scattered by wind. The storm left many evacuees without drivers’ licenses, wills, credit cards or health care records. Without these paper records, storm victims faced fundamental challenges getting back on their feet in the 21st century economy.
Makeup and wardrobe consultant, Adrienne Moncrief Hemphill ran a small but thriving custom-label makeup business out of her Bay St. Louis, Mississippi home that was demolished by Hurricane Katrina. Essentially her most valuable possession was her mailing list of her some 500 customers she kept on her computer.
She lost everything in the storm, her catalogs, her Web site, her inventory of products and most disastrous of all, her mailing list. She was able to relocate to Jackson, Mississippi where she faced the prospect of essentially starting her business over again from scratch.
“I sat down with a woman who worked with me and we tried to recreate my customer list from memory,” she relates. “Eventually we were able to remember about 150 of the 500 customers I had and eventually about 200 more found me.”
But she admits, it has not been easy. But she has learned a valuable lesson. Today all the data on her computer is backed up at a remote location.
Scarier still, there were 3,000 criminal cases in progress in New Orleans alone when Katrina struck, but the District Attorney was forced to suspend many of those prosecutions because tangible evidence, including police reports, interview transcripts, fingerprints and DNA samples are lost.
In response to the disaster, New Orleans officials and the federal government started to beat the digital drum. They want companies to move from paper-based records to computerized records that can be stored off site, backed up cheaply and moved easily out of harm’s way.
Have you taken that step in your business? How long would it take you to get back to work if you were unable to access your office for four weeks? Would you be able to? Could document management make a difference?
Moving from paper to digital records is more than just a good idea – it can be a lifesaver. Ask any small business owner in New Orleans.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Tue, Jun 15, 2010 @ 08:51 PM
A few months ago (well, I guess it was more like SIX months ago), I took the family to see ICE at The Gaylord Palms in Orlando. It was interesting, to say the least, and VERY, VERY, VERY cold. But, the kids loved it. I wish I could prove that to you, but one thing I didn't know about ICE before I entered is that 100 degrees below zero temperatures (or however cold it really was) will ruin images on a digital camera. My image card froze and I lost two days worth of photos.
Why do I tell you this? Imagine if you walked into your office one morning and all of your documents were gone. Everything that was there the day before has vanished. Erased from your hard drive. Missing from your file cabinets. What would you do? How would you work the rest of the day? Week? Year? How long would it take for it to be 'business as usual'?
That's one of the biggest benefits of web-based document management, specifically. With a document management system like eBridge Solutions', you actually would know how to work the rest of that terrible day. You could grab your laptop, run to the coffee shop, log into your online file cabinet and find the paperwork you need to re-start/recover your business. Now, document management will only benefit your business if you've actually started scanning and printing your documents into your file cabinet. You aren't protected if the files aren't online.
P.S. Documents are just one part of your disaster-recovery program. Don't forget your e-mails, phone systems, hardware and non-online software programs.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Thu, May 27, 2010 @ 01:44 PM
The Colorado State University forecast team predicts an above-average 2010 hurricane season with 15 named storms to form in the Atlantic basin between June 1 and November 30 -- eight expected to be hurricanes and four developing into major hurricanes. Long-term averages are 9.6 named storms, 5.9 hurricanes and 2.3 major hurricanes per year.
With all of this activity on the horizon, have you given much thought to your paper files? If a storm hit, could you recover all of the information contained in your file cabinets? What about your electronic files (e-mails, efaxes and databases) stored on various hard drives throughout your office? HR files? Sales contracts? Corporate tax records? Do you even know what records you could lose?
"Hurricane season can be an uneasy time, especially for businesses operating near the water. But if business owners convert their paper documents into scanned images and store them online, they can relax knowing that when a storm does blow in, their information won't be effected," explained Leslie Haywood, CEO of eBridge Solutions, a Tampa-based document management provider. "It might be the only thing that allows you to resume normal business operations after a disaster."
In fact, Gartner Research recently released a chilling statistic; two out of five enterprises that experience a disaster go out of business within five years. The absence of adequate disaster-recovery and back-up plans hampers recovery efforts, resulting in a longer time period before day-to-day operations resume.
Now's the time to update your document storage plans so when a hurricane, tornado or other disaster strikes, your information will be protected.
Step One: Get Rid Of The Paper
One way to protect your information is to go digital with a web-based document management system. Then, all files will be housed online in a secure environment. By doing this, even if all your file cabinets are destroyed, you'll still be able to access your valuable information.
Document management involves scanning paper documents, organizing them using index values and then making them available to view across your business. In addition to paper documents, electronic documents and e-mails can also be stored online. A good document management system consolidates of all important documents within an organization regardless of the type of document. This consolidation creates a centralized electronic repository that not only improves operational efficiency, but also makes it possible to create and implement a successful disaster recovery plan.
Once the documents are scanned, the original paperwork can be securely shred. That frees up space in the office and more importantly, puts the documents out of harm's way.
Some business owners are proactive and scan before the first sign of a storm."I feel I'm better prepared for any disaster that might occur, because I can access my files from any online computer allowing me to operate and protect my agency from possible E&O scenarios," explained John Chapetta of Chappetta Insurance in Metairie, Lousiana. Chapetta has been a client of eBridge Solutions' since 2008. Living on the Gulf coast post-Hurricane Katrina gave him plenty of reason to start scanning his documents.
The financial cost of lost business information climbs when important customer records, product information, or business files cannot be found. Re-creating documents is only one aspect of the cost associated with lost information - the loss of proprietary knowledge can be an even greater cost.
Step Two: Back-Up Electronic Documents
Web-based document management systems also take the burden of backing up those electronic documents off the business owner. As files are added to the document management system, they should be backed-up in real time. In addition, some document management companies offer monthly back-up CDs of scanned documents business owners can keep for additional peace of mind.
Wayne Risher of Preddy-Risher in Houston, Texas said, "In case of a hurricane or other disaster - natural or man-made - all of my documents are accessible online at eBridge Solutions or on back-up CDs in my office. Rain. Oil. Thieves. You name it, I'm covered." Risher is another insurance agent who has seen his fair share of inclement weather and the disaster-recovery benefit of document management made his decision to go paperless an easy one.
Step Three: Test Your Back-Up System
If your document management provider gives you back-up CDs, make sure they have all of the information you need on them. Don't wait until there is a disaster to pop them in your computer. Then, make sure you store them off-site. The CDs won't help if they are underwater in your office.
Step Four: Rest Easy
Once you've converted your paper documents and started storing them together online with your electronic documents, you'll be better prepared for a hurricane, flood or fire. Hopefully, you'll never need to refer to your disaster-recovery plan or back-up CDs, but they're there if you need them.
In the event of a disaster, the goal is to be able to quickly establish a temporary office and restore all critical documents. Using a web-based document management system should let you and your employees resume working as quickly as possible.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Mon, May 10, 2010 @ 01:34 PM
Lately, we've been getting a lot of interesting calls at eBridge Solutions from prospective and current clients who are in transition. They may be selling or closing a business. Or, they may be starting a new venture or taking over an existing business or branch office. Either way, document management - especially eBridge's web-based version - is the perfect solution for workers in transition.
Selling/Closing A Business: In most industries there are record-keeping requirements. In a physician's office, for example, patient records should be kept for 10 years after the patient was last seen. But, what happens when a physician wants to sell his (or her) practice and/or retire? If he has file cabinets or off-site storage filled with patient records, are they his responsibility or someone else's?
A provider is bound by applicable federal and state laws and regulations after closure, as well as during its operation. Many state health departments and licensing authorities govern health care facility closures and may outline to whom records should be transferred. In some states, a state archive or health department will store health records from closed facilities. More commonly, state regulations recommend records be transferred to another health care provider.
If the physician selling or closing the practice began digitizing documents and storing them in eBridge Solutions' web-based document management system BEFORE the transition, both parties would be happier. The transfer of data would be as easy as handing over a CD or DVD (or several, depending on how long the practice had been open) to another health care provider or local health department. Or, the physician could simply transfer ownership of his eBridge electronic file cabinet. It would be that easy.
Starting A New Business: If someone is starting a business from scratch, that is the BEST time to get into document management. It's easier to start scanning documents from day one than to go back and handle years worth of files. When new paper comes into the office, scan it and then shred it. You won't even need file cabinets.
Taking Over An Existing Business: If you are taking over a branch or business that has a document management system, I would definitely recommend leaving it in place. Then, once you've learned it, use it on all of the new paperwork coming into your EXISTING business.
In today's economy, transition is inevitable. With a web-based document management system like eBridge Solutions, new and old businesses alike can benefit from powerful online archiving capabilities -- reducing liability along with storage space needs. Try it today at www.eBridgeSolutions.com.
Posted by Stephanie Jones on Wed, May 05, 2010 @ 07:41 AM
The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee was one of the businesses hardest hit during the recent flooding.
"What I understand is that as of yesterday one of my friends floated through the Opry House in a canoe and there was 4 feet of water on the stage at that time," one employee said. "The dressing rooms are a total loss."
It has yet to be determined if the Grand Ole Opry Museum, the Acuff instrument collection and the archives were lost. If those things were destroyed, it would be "a profound American loss."
"I would say you lost photographs," another employee said. "I would say you lost film. I would say you lost audio and the costumes, instruments, manuscripts, boots. You know, just everything that goes along with the Opry and Opry stars."
While the dressing rooms and instruments couldn't have been protected with eBridge Solutions' web-based document management, the photos, old sheet music and archived programs could have been. Anything paper could have been scanned and archived -- even just as a back-up. Now, there is fear that nothing is left at the Opry House except water-soaked paper and damaged hardwood.
I've been at the Opry House and the Gaylord Palms Hotel steps away. If the first floors of those two large buildings were mostly underwater, the majority of the businesses' corporate and HR documents are likely gone as well. Imagine your business? How many days, weeks, months, years would it take for you to be back up and running if you lost all of your file cabinets? Or even your computer if your hard drive was under your desk?
Today is the day to start protecting your documents. Scan the most important ones first, if that makes things easier. And say a little prayer for the people of Nashville...