Metrofile, SA`s market leader in the management of business records, has inked an agreement with i-Forest to offer records management consulting services to its clients. The agreement will also make information risk management and compliance services, as well as corporate training programmes, available to customers.
i-Forest is a multi-disciplinary information management practice that specialises in the legal, compliance and policy issues of information and records management. Working together, the companies will offer turnkey records management solutions, from designing policies to implementation and training.
"Companies of all sizes are overwhelmed by the increasing number of records in both digital and physical format they need to manage for legal, governance or simply efficiency reasons," says Paul Mullon, divisional director, marketing, at Metrofile. "Yet, while the need is great, there are few people available with the skills to develop and implement effective record management policies customised to each organisation`s requirements. This agreement will provide our corporate clients with access to the latest, proven best practices in the field."
"Metrofile is the market leader in the physical storage and digitisation of business documents in SA, providing services to the country`s leading corporations," says Brad Abbott, director of i-Forest. "It therefore makes sense to combine the expertise of i-Forest with the reach of Metrofile and offer customers a one-stop records management shop consisting of infrastructure and consulting in a legal framework."
The deal is unique in the South African market due to the inclusion of risk management and legal compliance services. This facet of the arrangement will be led by Lance Michalson, director of i-Forest and MD of Michalsons Attorneys, one of SA`s leading IT law firms. Michalson was a member of the team responsible for drafting the ECT Act and the Information Security Best Practice Guide for King II.
"Instead of focusing only on records, we will start by helping clients design and implement effective information management and security policies across their organisations in a legally compliant manner," Michalson says.
Another first the joint venture will offer is training in records management, information security and risk mitigation. Abbott has presented over 20 training workshops on various aspects of records management over the past two years, and lectures on electronic records management as part of the Unisa Intermediate Certificate in Records Management.
Metrofile`s clients can immediately take advantage of the new agreement and obtain a complete records management service, from design to implementation, covering all their infrastructure, consulting and legal requirements.
Companies wanting to learn and apply best records management practices themselves will be able to register for courses in 2005.
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Metrofile, an Empowerdex BBB-rated empowerment company , is the South African market leader in the management of business documents, and is committed to help customers reduce costs and improve productivity in processes that are centred on documents and corporate records.
All companies have a combination of paper and electronic documents, and are forced by law and customer requirements to secure the availability of the documents for the duration of their lifecycle. For most organisations, the volume of documents is growing at an exponential rate, and is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
Metrofile is uniquely positioned to provide consulting and implementation of full lifecycle paper and electronic records management solutions from storage and conversion through to destruction.
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