In our 31 years in the records management business we have rarely been involved with the records storage companies. However, it is now a new day.

It is true however, that the customers use our software to manage both active and archived records and that in most cases, our software RecFind 6 contains a record of what has been sent off-site for safekeeping. 

It is also rare that the record of holdings in RecFind 6 matches the record of holdings of the records storage companies; primarily because in the past we have not communicated.

This complex relationship is soon about to change for the better now we have developed a full integration with O’Neil software. We are about to become the technology partner that facilitates the seamless communication between the customer and the commercial record centre.

It is clearly our job to both develop relationships with records storage companies and to develop a business model that provides tangible benefits to the records storage company as well as to the most important partner, the customer.

Bridging the gap

Managing in-house corporate records can be tough, and that challenge compounds when utilising off-site storage. Updating data and ordering services from an off-site vendor all require time-consuming steps, creating an additional burden and possibilities for errors. However, O’Neil DataTech has ‘bridged’ the gap, so that in-house Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software solutions like RecFind 6 can talk directly to off-site commercial records centres.

O’Neil DataTech has released oneilBridge, a series of web services that enables end users to simply, seamlessly and securely manage their corporate records. oneilBridge allows ECM providers like Knowledgeone Corporation the ability to have an integrated, virtual real-time interface, which automates and standardises the access and management of physical records stored in off-site records centres, using O’Neil Software’s RS-SQL. These web services provide a ‘bridge’ that can be used to access, manage and control records in a consistent manner, utilizing just their ECM software solution.

With oneilBridge and RecFind 6 we now have the opportunity to put complete control into the hands of the customer’s records manager. oneilBridge marks a significant step forward in helping to manage staggering amounts of corporate information.

Unified Records Management

Having off-site records able to be accessed directly from RecFind 6 delivers increased productivity, efficiency and accuracy. Being an Internet-based service, the solution runs on cloud-based servers for 24/7 availability.

A straight link between RecFind 6 and O'Neil's RS-SQL software simplifies the ordering process by allowing the customer to perform tasks such as searches, item updates and service requests directly from RecFind 6.

Security is provided by a series of barriers that maintain a high degree of data safety and integrity.

Passwords, encryption, firewalls, authentication protocols, and physical restriction of access to servers are all incorporated for end-to-end protection.

What does Knowledgeone Corporation bring to the party?

We bring simplicity and we bring accuracy and we bring efficiency and speed. This is because:

RecFind 6 already includes full details of all boxes and box contents, down to the details of individual documents in file folders.

RecFind 6 now includes a standard function to communicate to any records storage company via oneilBridge. The customer’s records people can now do everything from a single system and do it far faster and more accurately that they could do previously.

The list of transactions we support are as follows:

• Move records to the records centre
• Request records from the records centre
• Track records at the records centrr
• Request materials & supplies from the records centre
• Request service from the records centre
• Track orders for materials or service from the records centre

A screenshot of RecFind6 making a request in relation to records held off-site. This is received at the record centre as a 'Web' order.

RecFind 6 supports the complete list of oneilBridge transactions which means the customer rarely if ever has to resort to a fax or email or phone call to request service from the records storage company. Every request can be made from within RecFind 6.

The customer knows exactly what it sent for storage and can find any box or record in seconds using the sophisticated searches in RecFind 6. Once a record is found, RecFind 6 also tells the customer exactly where it is. That is, with Joe Brown in legal or at Access Records in Box AR333555777.

When records are sent to the records storage company we provide all the details online via oneilBridge. There are no faxes or emails or Excel spreadsheets to process. We make it as easy as possible for you to run your business profitably and with far more accuracy than was ever possible previously using a combination of faxes and emails and Excel spreadsheets.

Because we streamline all services and make it much easier for the customer to interface with the records centre we add value to the relationship saving time and effort for both parties.

Finally, here are a couple of testimonials from the O’Neil website:

"oneilBridge gives us the ability to seamlessly manage a wide range of documents stored off-site with Advanced Data Storage, an O’Neil Software RS-SQL User. These documents are tracked internally with our Iron Mountain Accutrac System. O’Neil DataTech’s oneilBridge provides us with greater control and visibility into our complete document base and has resulted in a unique process improvement." - Richard Daley, Director of Information Management at Tejon Ranch, California

"The ability to partner directly with O'Neil DataTech and access the oneilBridge web services results in a productivity improvement for our clients, who need to manage their off-site records. The need for a disparate system such as FTP transfers, or other direct contact to commercial record centres is eliminated with this new capability." - Gary Sanders, CEO Intandem Solutions Ltd., United Kingdom

Frank McKenna is CEO & Sales & Marketing Director at Knowledgeone Corporation. Contact him at f.mckenna@knowledgeonecorp.com or via www.knowledgeonecorp.com