Backup Tape Liability Management Service

Many organizations now understand the benefits of implementing proactive strategies for storing business critical data by way of streamlined archiving systems, retention programs in place, and "hold" policies in effect to achieve routine good-faith operation of electronic systems.

Does your organization address the volumes of data being stored on mountains of backup tapes that were created long before these proactive methods were implemented? What you don't know could hurt you.

RenewData's Backup Tape Liability Management Service enables corporations to proactively approach the liability issues and costs of storing thousands of backup tapes. This service enables corporations like yours to know what type of data exists and where it resides - allowing for the potential reduction of large amounts of data while increasing your corporation's ability to identify data deemed not reasonably accessible.

RenewData's Backup Tape Liability Management Service (BTLM) encompasses several steps corporations can take toward better management of backup tape inventories, including:

Physical Media Audit - Provides a physical inspection of all media, resulting in a Media Audit Report to identify specific information about the backup tapes, which can facilitate development of an initial response to Rules 26(a)(1) and 26(f) of the FRCP. The results of the Physical Media Audit also provide a foundation from which to identify the most productive and representative tapes for the sampling process.

Shipping Services - RenewData provides complete custom shipping services for clients wanting to send their media to RenewData's secure facility. Clients may choose one or all of the services offered which include on-site inventory, on-site packing, and transportation in custom shipping containers.

Chain-of-Custody Inventory - Chain-of-Custody (CoC) tracks and records the possession, movement, handling, and location of every piece of media throughout the duration of the BTLM project. Maintaining CoC helps minimize any allegations of spoliation or mis-handling of data, which can compromise a case and carry significant sanctions.

Container Classification - This stage designates the category of media by determining the backup format type and media date. All media will also be categorized in one of the following; complete set, incomplete set, corrupt, broken, or blank. This step of the process also includes provision of the backup dates for each piece of media to help identify the range of dates during which the backup was performed.

Data Separation and De-Duplication - Data Separation is intended to help reduce the overall volume of the data on the media. Files are extracted, categorized, and de-duplicated, while application and operating system files are removed. Data is classified into one of the following three categories; 1) email data, 2) unstructured data such as Office files or PDF documents, or 3) structured data such as databases, accounting systems, and financial applications. RenewData de-duplicates data at both the media- and individual file-level. Clients may specify which file types are required and whether they should continue through the BTLM process for inclusion on the final delivery media.

Click here to calculate your corporation's potential dormant liability.

IT and Compliance Executives

As an IT or compliance executive at a large corporation, you need to reduce the costs and manage the burdens associated with large backup tape inventories. Maintaining volumes of data on backup tapes means incurring compounded storage costs, and attempting to restore, extract, or delete data using internal IT resources can be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, because of the obsolete formats, software, and hardware likely used when the backup tapes were created. RenewData's Backup Tape Liability Management Service enables IT departments to more efficiently respond to Legal teams when e-discovery requests arise -- especially those involving historical data -- by having detailed information on-hand regarding what data your corporation has and where is it located, while dramatically reducing the overall volume of media in storage within the parameters of your corporation's retention policies.

Attorneys and Litigation Support Managers

As an attorney or litigation support manager at a large corporation, you are responsible for managing and storing business-critical data only as long as necessary to meet legal and regulatory requirements - and not one minute longer. While choosing to preserve everything or taking a "hands-off" approach can appear to be the easiest route, maintaining this ever-growing volume of data on backup tapes can dramatically increase your potential for exposure during litigation. RenewData's Backup Tape Liability Management Service includes analysis, de-duplication, reduction, and consolidation of documents on these backup tapes in order to reduce the dormant liability associated with storing historical data, with respect to your corporate legal requirements for preservation.