The Southern State taps the experts
The Southern State taps the experts
March/April Edition, 2007: Some of our leading document, records and imaging specialists are making the move down South. One company, Acrodata, has successfully launched into the Tasmanian market, taking its employees along for a lifestyle change.
It’s been 18 months since John Groom announced the opening of Tasmanian business Acrodata in IDM. Back then, Groom had just made a lifestyle change that involved crossing the Tasman while preparing to undertake a major professional test – to establish a document management consultancy in Australia’s most Southern state.
A former lawyer, ten years in Melbourne and Sydney honing his document management knowledge was enough for Groom. Realising a potential gap in the market down South, he returned to Hobart to put his knowledge to the test.
“I always intended to return to Hobart at some point but at the same time needed to experience life in the big city so I went on a quest to gain some career skills that would allow me to return with a business idea,” says Groom.
Groom’s legal knowledge was a key component in the early success of the business. Having dealt with some major matters working in a firm specializing in the litigation support and document scanning space, his experience was later complemented by time spent with a records management services provider.
“I feel extremely fortunate that I was exposed to industry best-practice in the largest commercial centres in Australia”, he says.
“I was involved in very large scanning projects such as the conversion of all of Westpac’s mortgage documentation (tens of millions of pages) to digital format as well as consulting to major Australian organisations on their approach to the broad document management challenge.”
Peter Walker joined Acrodata in 2007, having spent over 25 years in the document management industry, most recently with a major records management services provider in Sydney. For Walker it was a lifestyle change and having previously crossed paths with Groom, it made sense to make contact.
“John and I maintained regular contact after meeting in Sydney, and the timing suited both parties in terms of my relocation to Tasmania”, he says. “John was looking for a senior consultant and I was seeking career progression with an innovative business, ideally in the document management space. The fit was natural”.
Already Acrodata has developed an impressive list of clients including large financial institutions, health (and aged) care organisations and law firms. The government sector, including state and federal agencies, Government Business Enterprises and local councils are also seeking out Acrodata’s services.
Groom says the experience at Acrodata suggests that business’ are looking for more than a scanning bureau or a document storage facility, they are seeking guidance and advice on their document management strategy. “We are increasingly providing consulting services around issues such as retention/destruction schedules, file classification schemes and document naming conventions,” he says.
“Drafting RFP’s and evaluating responses on behalf of clients for the purchase of EDMS and outsourced document storage is also popular with clients.”