2016 Information Governance Trends

As the news is filled with yet another story of a company suffering from a data breach—this time in the form of an attack on medical data at a hospital—businesses and consumers alike are reminded of the importance of secure records storage and information governance.

With so much at stake, it is critical to keep on top of trends in this industry, and how they are affecting information management as a whole, in order to understand how these developments in information governance may affect your business and your bottom line. There are three major areas of concern that will make a difference in how and where you store data throughout 2016.

1. Mergers and Acquisitions

There have been some major mergers, in the US, Canada, and the UK, happening within our industry over the last couple of years. Some are full company mergers, and others include just one service, like the secure shredding portion of the business. In the last two years alone: portions of Cintas and Iron Mountain were acquired by Shred It; Shred It was purchased by Stericycle in the last quarter of 2015; and Recall Holdings is pending purchase by Iron Mountain. (Source: Bloomberg Business; The Street)  

2. Emerging Consumer Storage Companies

A lot of smaller businesses have been led astray for their document storage solutions by simply defaulting to self-storage, or even on site maintenance of their records. And recently, consumer storage on-demand companies have begun offering records storage to businesses, which further dilutes the message around information governance standards on maintaining records in compliance with the law. Solutions that don’t address compliance may leave you legally exposed. Business clients should be careful before investing their valuable data in burgeoning companies that may not be prepared to help you with your specific compliance needs. It is important to work with a reputable records storage and management company that are certified by the agencies who govern compliance.

3. Increased Investment in Information Governance

Finally, a quick look at governance expenditure. Most of you will be aware of the rise in concerns about data safety. Data leaks are never far away, as we just saw in the news, Hollywood hospital pays $17,000 in bitcoin to hackers, their confidential medical data not just stolen—but held hostage for ransom. We are in hostile territory when it comes to securing our data. According to CSO, the incident was random, likely meaning a hospital staffer clicked a malicious link or attachment that ultimately spread the malware throughout the network. Whether it is a list of Sony employees and how much they earn, a disgruntled staff member leaking information out in a fit of pique, or confidential data that is being held for ransom, companies must be on the offensive. Many firms are doing their best to tackle the problem and have committed to allocating budget toward the security of their data in 2016. According to research by Forrester, 1 out of 10 firms is still not investing in keeping their business data safe. And this number is surely even higher when it comes to businesses who have yet to consider information security when it comes to storing their files.