Talk the talk

Tom Hefferon, managing director of document management company DMG Services, talks to David Clerkin.

What trends are you seeing in demand for off-site file storage and document shredding services?

We have managed paper archives and live filing systems for companies for fourteen years, and have seen nothing but increasing volumes, year on year.

We often hear of private records being dumped illegally or information being stolen. Implementing an effective system can protect companies from these types of crisis in the future.

With changes in data protection, more companies are calling on our services.

Can we look forward to increased use of electronic data storage methods?

Electronic document management, like all solutions, must be appropriate to its purpose.

We now supply a service storing the originals and selectively destroying them on their destruction date, saving over 80% of the cost.

We recently launched our fully integrated FileWeb service whereby material is scanned and stored on the web for limited periods of access.

What is the general level of awareness of the importance of an efficient document management system?

We find people are increasingly pressurised in their jobs and we can remove the administrative heartache for many of them.

A good document management system is vital and part of our job is to educate companies on how we can make their lives easier not just from an administrative point of view but also with regard to confidentiality and cost. !

From your experience, how good are Irish businesses at managing their documents and files?

The story is the same all over people hate filing. Irish file management is a tale of two 'T's. One is Terrible "I'll file that stuff tomorrow" and the other is Terrific "I'll definitely file that stuff tomorrow!" I say forget it give it to us and we'll file it today.

What are the benefits of storing off-site rather than in the office?

People mostly see off-site document storage as a cost cutter, saving on expensive space, and it is.

From the original paper format, we can store conventionally, store on the web, scan-on-demand and offer a full scanning and indexing service. We can also retrieve and deliver any of the above formats within 15 to 90 minutes.