A survey by Iron Mountain appears to indicate that federal agencies have been spending funds on information management beyond their allocated budgets.
Iron Mountain polled federal records managers and finance professionals in 2012 for the “Federal Records Management: Navigating the Storm†online survey intended to examine their practices, budgets and savings opportunities, the company said March 18.
Agencies spend $34.4 million per year to store increasing volumes of data, or 17 percent more than their annual budgets.
Excessive records, uncontrolled information growth and the A D-I-Y approach have caused the overspending, according to Iron Mountain.
Federal agencies are under pressure to meet the requirements of Presidential Directive on Managing Government Records intended to modernize infrastructures for managing records, the company says.
Records handlers said training, increase in funds and records management support can help address information management issues, the survey shows.
Finance professionals and information management experts expect 24 percent and 36 percent in savings, respectively, or $330 million to $495 million per year if these measures are implemented.
