Living up to its Name

Scranton, Pa.-based Diversified Information Technologies operates according to a very simple philosophy: “We focus on you, so you can focus on profitably growing your business.” This may seem like a common marketing platitude, but in Diversified’s case, this approach drives every aspect of its business. Diversified has invested heavily in its infrastructure during the past several years, growing into a full-service, coast-to-coast document management solution provider characterized by a consultant-style assessment and client-interaction model. The company’s aspiration is to be “the only trusted partner in information management.”

With its broad service offering and a roaring growth rate, clients seem to be responding to the message.

At the company’s helm is Scott Byers. Byers received his doctorate in law from American University Washington College of Law and his MBA from American University Kogod School of Business. Under his watch, Diversified has made several key acquisitions that have spurred a consistent double-digit growth rate—in both revenue and customer base.

“We take our clients paperless,” says Byers. While this may seem a strange statement for a company founded in 1982 to manage paper files, Byers is speaking with his clients’ future in mind.

The company no longer considers itself a commercial records center and hasn’t for quite some time. Instead, Diversified defines its value proposition this way: “Diversified’s secure end-to-end solutions, tailored to your business model and seasonal cycles, transform your data into useful information while reducing expenses, shortening cycle time and mitigating risk.”

In addition, the company’s website describes its commitment to “No errors. Every service. Every customer. Every day.” This type of client commitment is a reflection of experience.

The Catalyst
On May 5, 1997, a fire destroyed the Diversified document storage facility in West Pittston, Pa. Nearly 800,000 cartons were lost in the blaze. In a historic industry case, Mobil Oil sued Diversified and the building’s sprinkler system provider, Grinnell Sprinkler, and was awarded more than $20 million in damages. Settlements with other clients were negotiated as well. The event caused Diversified’s leaders to rethink the company’s business and service model.

Byers was not in the picture at the time of the fire, but says he realizes that the tragedy of this fire ultimately helped the company transform into the forward-thinking entity it is today.

“Ultimately, that fire was a catalyst for Diversified to increase our commitment and infrastructure to handle digital documents for our clients. Around that same time, we had a client involved in a very large class action lawsuit where they needed our help digitizing paper records and managing both physical and electronic versions throughout the litigation process, which went on for years.”

He continues, “Considering both the fire and the evolving needs of our clients, the company realized the need to rethink the value that it could deliver. This was the point where we committed ourselves to a solution that went well beyond paper.”

Beyond Borders
Diversified operates 24 domestic facilities across the U.S. and one international location in Barbados but does not define its markets by geographic footprint. “We have positioned the company to serve more of a national model. Our focus has been on growth in the Maine to Miami corridor, and we have expanded to the Midwest, but the reality is our ability to manage client documents doesn’t depend on our physical location,” Byers says.

The company’s growth and expansion bears witness to the success of this strategy. Diversified has been named to the Inc. 5,000 List of America’s Fastest Growing Companies two years in a row. Inc. reports Diversified’s three-year growth rate at 36 percent with revenues just under $50 million. This places the company in the rarefied air of consolidators and public companies with respect to size.

What’s the secret of Diversified’s success? Byers alludes to a customer-centered approach.

“Every client’s needs are unique, and we’ve developed a system to provide secure, compliant solutions as diverse as our client base,” says Byers.

Most service organizations tout customer focus, but Byers is talking about a much deeper level of client commitment. “We meet our clients at their point of comfort. If they are paper-based, we start there. We spend a lot of time listening to clients and understanding their pain points. We don’t begin by pushing services. We align our capabilities to the needs of their business, not the other way around.”

Uncommon Practice
Byers says this is not a common practice among the company’s competitors. “We are focused on our clients and what they need to manage their information more effectively. We don’t spend a lot of time looking over our shoulder. When we encounter competitors, we observe them tending to stay focused on a point service. Our approach is more broad based. Clients managing complex information systems need service offerings that are multichannel solutions.”

A tighter focus also allows a deeper understanding of clients’ businesses. Diversified’s clients are grouped under four practice areas: insurance and financial services companies, health care and pharmaceutical, nonprofit organizations and federal government. According to the company’s website, these focused efforts have produced clients that represent seven of the top 12 U.S. financial services companies, three of the top 10 U.S. life insurance companies, four of the top 10 electronic health records providers, key government agencies, more than 170 hospitals and more than 10,000 physicians.

“We have senior directors that manage each of the practice areas. They know their particular industry segment very well,” Byers says.

These individuals were hired from the particular industries they worked in prior to becoming employees of Diversified. When asked about the difficulty of recruiting these individuals, Byers adds, “It was not difficult. The persons we recruited to serve in each of our practice areas were deeply involved in serving a single entity. What we offered them was an opportunity to serve 300 clients at the same time. That’s a great way to develop an understanding of best practices.”

Diversified remains committed to continuing education for these experts, as well, Byers says.

What is the new client acquisition process for a company attempting to serve a client’s information needs on all levels?

“When we are talking with a potential client, our experts spend days on site to understand their workflow and business practices,” he says. “Because we are focused on a limited number of industries, we already understand the general business rules, risks and compliance regulations. What we have to understand is the specific rules and processes that drive the individual business. Only after we have engaged in this process are we prepared to propose a solution that’s designed to make them more effective, efficient and boost the bottom line,” Byers adds.

Diversified’s approach takes consultative selling to a whole new level. When employees enter a potential client operation, they function as business consultants, so their assessment and advice is not free.

“We provide this assessment on a billable basis, but very often these charges are rolled into the actual fees for services we provide after the assessment,” Byers says. “What we are doing is freeing the client from being forced to manage a process outside their core competency.

“Document management is our core competency; we are experts at storing, maintaining, retrieving and accessing information across multiple channels while maintaining compliance standards,” he continues. “We can do that more effectively than anyone else out there, which allows our clients to focus their resources on what they do best.”

Perfection Sought
As for the claim of no mistakes, Diversified is heavily invested in quality initiatives to maintain an error-free environment, Byers says. The company began with ISO certification for quality and has progressed to Six Sigma certification to ensure consistent operational quality. In addition, the organization receives periodic external audits including Statement on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) 16 Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 audits.

According to Byers, this is especially important as societal demands for information access have shifted. “We have become a 24-7-365 information access society,” he says. “Clients are very concerned with compliance, and so are we. There has to be secure access available whenever, however, wherever the information is needed, and that’s what we can provide.”

One of the most attractive things about managing hard-copy information is the annuity revenue generated through the physical records management business model. How is Diversified coping in the new digital services arena?

“We actually prefer to convert paper to digital form in order to facilitate retrieval and access,” Byers says.

“There is a great deal of risk involved in transporting information on the road,” he continues. “Yes, data breach is also a significant risk, but most digital records represent redundant copies that can be adequately protected by technology, work processes and effective training. If there should be an accident and physical files are lost, they may represent the only copy of the document.

“As far as recurring revenue is concerned,” Byers says, “as long as you are tied to streams of information to be managed, there is recurring revenue. We understand that paper is not going to go away, but it is also not going to grow. We are focused on a complete information management solution, not one piece. We believe the best way to maintain long-term business success is to focus on the client, not push for a short-term revenue stream.”

Total Solution
What is the future like for information management companies who are not investing in the same kind of total document management solution for clients?

“We believe that in five years, if you can’t handle multiple streams of information, you will become part of the problem instead of part of the solution,” Byers says of records and information management companies. “As an industry we need to take information management solutions to the CIO level. This requires a different type of selling and different kind of salesperson. We need to communicate clearly to clients that the information management solutions we offer are as broad as the challenges and problems they face.”

Jim Booth is records and information management practice group leader for Brightstone Insurance and Brightstone Consulting. He is the former executive director of PRISM International and can be reached by email at jbooth@brightstoneins.com.

Top photo: Rob Lettieri Photography