Companies that fail to protect critical business documents in their computer systems could end up costing themselves and may face damaging lawsuits, according to an information technology consultant.

TBS Ltd. managing director Danny Dunlop said: ?Unfortunately traditional records management disciplines that have been applied to paper documents are not necessarily being applied to the back-up electronic documents, thereby creating a significant information access exposure if the primary paper file is either lost or destroyed.

?Electronic documents are generally not maintained in the same order as the working paper file, and consequently they are not a realistic back-up information source to the paper file.?

TBS Bermuda has partnered with US-based software consultancy firm Image Architects to address the need by Bermuda-based organisations for professional assistance in the management of business critical information.

Anthony Mocklow, who has recently joined TBS as business development executive, said: ?Information and the management of information have typically been scattered throughout organisations.

?Industry research has established that organisations spend five to 15 percent of their revenue on handling documents, so even a relatively small improvement in the efficiency in document information management can result in a significant improvement to bottom line profits.?

TBS, an IBM business partner and part of the Igility Group of companies can help a company to effectively managethe retrieval of business critical information and maximise operating efficiency, asset security and compliance.

Image Architects has over 70 installations around the world using their scanning and retrieval systems.

Peter Nirenberg, founder of Image Architects said: ?All too often the primary source of a company?s critical business information is also its sole source of information.

?We?ve seen many times that the difference between success and failure is being able to prove you have a particular document.

?It might not be the most important one at the time but years later it can be worth millions of dollars. Our systems are designed to scan, store and retrieve each document with the care it deserves.?

Mr. Dunlop said unless corporate management practices are applied to all company information, organisations place themselves in a vulnerable position in terms of business accountability.

TBS strongly supports the argument that it takes a combination of technology, people and processes to implement information management that is of real value to an organisation.

?Organisations that don?t pay attention to document management will most likely be costing themselves significant wasted time searching for a document or using an incorrect version of a document,? Mr. Dunlop said. he failure to implement structured document management across paper and electronic files could lead to an absence of a consistent corporate view due to unavailability of vital documents throughout an organisation, loss of client confidence and failure to comply with legislative requirements for information retention.?

Organisations interested in learning more about Information Management Systems should contact Danny Dunlop at TBS on 298-1285 ddunloptbs.bm or Anthony Mocklow on 298-126amocklowtbs.bm