Iron Mountain

Type:	Public
Industry:	Information Management
Founded:	1951
Founder(s):	Herman Knaust
Headquarters:	745 Atlantic Ave. Boston, MA 02111
Products:	Information Management Services
Employees:	20,000
Website:	ironmountain.com
Facebook:	Iron Mountain
LinkedIn:	Iron Mountain
Twitter:	@IronMountain
Key People
John Boruvka, Vice President of Sales Mary English, Vice President of Operations Frank Bruno, Director of IPM

Iron Mountain is a world leader in information management services, assisting more than 140,000 organizations in 39 countries on five continents with storing, protecting and managing their information. Publicly traded under NYSE symbol IRM, Iron Mountain is an S&P 500 company and a member of the Fortune 1000 (currently ranked: 643).

In 2001, Iron Mountain was the first company ever selected to protect registry data via escrow agreements. As part of its Registry Agreement with ICANN, each Registry Operator must comply with provisions contained within a Registry Data Escrow Agreement. This agreement requires registries to periodically transfer registry data for their gTLDs to a reputable escrow agent to be held in escrow in order to protect registrant interests in the case of a registry’s failure.

In 2007, Iron Mountain was selected by ICANN to function as its Registrar Data Escrow agent.

The company regularly has a booth and is a frequent sponsor at ICANN Meetings.

Iron Mountain Business Scope and History

Organizations in every major industry and of all sizes—including more than 97% of the Fortune 1000—rely on Iron Mountain as their information management partner. Iron Mountain safely stores some of the world’s most valuable historical artifacts, cultural treasures, business documents and medical records. To properly protect and render this information, Iron Mountain employs almost 20,000 professionals and boasts an unrivaled infrastructure that includes more than 1,000 facilities, 10 data centers and 3,500 vehicles. Iron Mountain recently celebrated its 60th birthday.

For a look “inside the mountain” visit the company scrapbook.

Richard Reese, Iron Mountain’s CEO and chairman, discusses the information management industry in this this Q&A.

The Original Mountain

The company takes its name, and started its growth, from the original mine purchased by Herman Knaust in 1951. It is arguably one of the most secure sites in the country, evidenced by the fact that the U.S. government has chosen to keep many confidential files and other important physical items in its own special vaults in the mine. The mine is 3 miles long and 2 miles wide, 220 feet underground. The U.S. government is the largest client of Iron Mountain's original facility. 95% of the customers of the site demand that the company keep their identity and their records absolutely secret. They have never had a security breach. The mine notably houses documents from the U.S. patent office; the U.S. social security office; a Smithsonian Institute records collection; over 700,000 original vinyl audio recordings, such as Frank Sinatra's original single, and Michael Jackson's studio masters; physical evidence from flight 93, involved in the infamous terrorist attacks of September 11th; Bill Gates' company, Corbis, stores its collection of famous, historical photographs, the images are in a huge, moisture sealed vault with controlled temperature and humidity levels, and the most famous images are specially sealed and frozen to preserve them.

The mine is so extensive that it houses its own water and sewage systems, and fire department and security teams. The mine is in an ideal location given that Pennsylvania is not in any danger of earthquakes.

Iron Mountain and ICANN

ICANN selected Iron Mountain to be the digital escrow agent for its Registrar Data Escrow program. This program is designed to secure the Internet's domain name system by protecting important data through Iron Mountain's digital department.

At the time of the agreement in 2007, Iron Mountain immediately made itself available to the more than 900 ICANN-accredited domain name registrars, though any registrar could also choose to use a different third party provider as the escrow agent. ICANN now requires registrars to escrow critical registration data that could then be released to ICANN in case there is a termination of the registrar's accreditation agreement.

Highlights of Iron Mountain Registry and Registrar Escrow Services

• 75% of all the Registry Service Providers use Iron Mountain for escrow services
• More than 99% of all gTLD Registry Data is in escrow with Iron Mountain
• More than 99% of all gTLD Registrar Data is in escrow with Iron Mountain as well
• Iron Mountain has the most experience of any escrow agent and has been committed to the business since the first required escrow (.INFO) in 2001
• Iron Mountain has partnered with several Registry Service Providers to be their preferred escrow agent, including: Afilias, Central Registry Solutions (CRS), Key-Systems, Qinetics (Registry ASP), Register.IT, and Urban Brain (Interlink).

Registry Data Escrow

Registry data escrow is one of the essential stakeholder protection mechanisms for gTLDs. Registry Data Escrow ensures that the data associated with registered domain names is never at risk of being lost or inaccessible. Registry Data Escrow is a specialized data protection service designed to meet the compliance and “best practice” needs of domain name registrants worldwide. The service ensures that up-to-date copies of domain name ownership and contact details are held in escrow by a trusted, neutral third party (such as Iron Mountain), to be accessed and released only under pre-defined and controlled conditions. The purpose of Registry Data Escrow is to help safeguard registrar and registrant interests in the event of a registry’s business or technical failure.

Registrar Data Escrow

ICANN began implementation of its Registrar Data Escrow program in 2007. This program is designed to help ensure the stability and security of the Internet's domain name system through escrow of critical gTLD registration data, ensuring that the information associated with registered domain names is never at risk. In accordance with the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), this data can be used by ICANN to allow continuity of registrar operations in the event a registrar's RAA is terminated or expires without renewal. Iron Mountain was selected by ICANN as its designated escrow agent for the Registrar Data Escrow program through a competitive RFP bidding process. Through their participation in the Registry Data Escrow program, registrars can assure their customers that their domain name registration information is safe, and will be accessible by ICANN in the unlikely event that the registrar's operations are disrupted. There is no additional cost to registrars who escrow their registration data with Iron Mountain, as ICANN's selected escrow agent. Registrars who elect to use a third-party provider must do so at their own expense.

Data Escrow and the new gTLDs

As the new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) become a reality, ICANN is carefully preparing applicants for their new role as Registry Operators. One of the requirements of operating a new gTLD is to engage an independent entity to act as a data escrow agent. This neutral, trusted third party (such as Iron Mountain) will provision your data escrow services as specified by the Registry Agreement. Data escrow is one of the five critical registry functions and is a requirement for all new gTLDs. It is covered in question #38 of the application, and details are given in Specification 2 of the Registry Agreement. New gTLD applicants need to articulate that a plan is in place to escrow gTLD data. Iron Mountain offers the most comprehensive and trusted Domain Name Registry Data Escrow Services in the industry, making it as simple as possible to comply with ICANN’s escrow requirements.

Awards & Recognition

• In September, 2011, Iron Mountain was ranked on #47 on Information Week's list of the top 250 most Innovative Business Technology Organizations for 2011. Iron Mountain and Information Week credited their cutting-edge performance enhancing studies and developments related to their fleet of nearly 3,000 cargo vans used to deliver and pick up their clients' documents and materials.