Wednesday’s – Interview with Steve Neilly
Published on 20 Jun 2007 at 2:29 pm.
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Filed under Ideas, Tracy Rambling.
Good Afternoon Mr. Neilly,
I would like to start off by introducing my self and my purpose for this interview.
My name is Tracy and I am the author of a website blog that caters to Calgary Business’s.
I feel that it is important for the business community to know that there is a place that they can learn,
vent and share ideas. A place that hopefully they will realize that they are not alone in the issues that
the Calgary market faces such as employment, sustainability in employees, cost of living ect.
Thank you for providing the time for me to interview you and learn more of what you do.
 What made you want to start on this venture of starting this company?
1) Desire to be my own boss,
2) Recognized a need in the business world for our services and a lack of qualified competition
3) found a partner that was enthusiastic and shared a vision for the new business.
 What is record management?
These days, we refer to it more as Information Management (people tend to think of records only as paper
 and forget about electronic records). So first let me define a record:Â
Record means recorded information, regardless of media or format, which demonstrates or is evidence of a
transaction of business and is in the custody or under the control of a Company.
Information Management is the application of systematic control over records throughout their life cycle,
including but not limited to forms and manuals management, records inventorying, filing systems development
 and implementation, file maintenance procedures development, filing equipment selection, and records scheduling
and disposition.
What is the “perception†of what you do verse what you do?
We (records people) are perceived as paper pushers or file clerks.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Information Managers are managers and should be sitting at the board table.
CDS has the knowledge to analyze a business from the inside out, linking systems and information,
finding duplicated effort, and putting in place the controls for today’s most valuable commodity – information.
Information Managers are the I in IT. That is, Information Managers deal with the information itself while
IT departments take care of the technology (hardware and software).
What is a key note that any business owner needs to learn?
Network, network, network, it’s one of the best ways to make business contacts.
And, if our company could tell all other companies one thing, it’s:
put in place a system of controlling your information that covers the complete lifecycle of the information.
This will help with legislative compliance, litigation risk management and efficient storage and retrieval of
information.
 What is the down side of record management? Is there one?
Like any system, there are up front costs to establishing a complete system.
However, there are returns to be realized: staff time reductions for information management,
reduction of lost files, quicker access to complete client information, reduction in duplication of information,
and more.
 Where can a business owner go to get help?
Joining the local Chamber of Commerce is a good place, so are professional associations
for your particular industry.
 Do you have a website that customers may go to?
We do, www.teamcdsi.com
 Do you offer any training, sessions, advice ect?
CDS is developing training sessions to provide companies with an overview of what an
Information management system is, as well as individualized training session to meet targeted needs.
 Is there anything else that you would to add?
CDS offers services that include Information Management consulting (all media),
off-site scanning services, off-site records warehousing, in-house or external training and privacy
law compliance consulting.
 Thank you for your time and I look forward to seeing you in the future.
Sincerely
Tracy
