Press Release: NAID & PRISM International Merge to Form New Industry Association
May 9, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Phoenix, Ariz., May 9, 2018 – The National Association for Information Destruction® (NAID®) announced today it will merge with PRISM International (Professional Records and Information Services Management), a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) corporation currently based in Chicago, IL, to form the new industry trade association International Secure Information Governance & Management Association (i-SIGMA). The merger will combine services to yield a wider range of information management and data protection offerings and services from a single industry association.
The rationale for such a move was explained by NAID and i-SIGMA CEO Bob Johnson, “From the perspective of the marketplace, proper information and asset destruction is only one piece of the information management and data security challenge; this merger will create a unified mission.”
NAID President, Angie Singer Keating, CISA, CISM, CIPP, CRISC of Reclamere, Inc., made sure to point out that NAID members will retain membership in the NAID division of i-SIGMA and that NAID AAA Certification isn’t going away. “Companies and government entities should rest assured that NAID will continue to stand behind the strength of the NAID AAA Certification program – and PRISM similarly with Privacy+.” Keating added, ”These long-standing programs are platinum standards of the industry and aren’t going anywhere.” Both NAID and PRISM International will carry on as the primary public-facing brands of the new umbrella organization.
Zeal over the merger was equally shared by newly installed PRISM President, Christopher Jones of Secure Records Solutions, “As a merged entity, we will have a stronger voice with policymakers, regulators, and decision-makers. Together we’ll be able to share resources to help grow our businesses. And combined conferences and events will grow our presence worldwide that serves to reduce member costs. This simply makes sense.”
Both the NAID and PRISM Boards of Directors voted unanimously in February of this year to adopt the new bylaws and merge the associations. However, in both instances, bylaws changes require ratification by the membership.
Following the publication of a document addressing all submitted member questions, the ratification decision was put to NAID Active Members by a third-party electronic ballot service between March 26 and April 6. In the end, 85% of all NAID voters favored ratifying the amended bylaws.
Similar to NAID, PRISM held a vote earlier today at its general membership meeting, conducted during the 2018 PRISM International Summit in Coral Gables, FL. Members in attendance or via proxy voted to ratify the bylaws, merge with NAID, and become part of i-SIGMA.
There are logistical components that will occur in the coming months to make the merger complete. An i-SIGMA Interim Board of Directors, formed by the combined NAID and PRISM International boards, will lead the organization until such time as general elections are held in 2020. The current management team overseeing NAID will stay on as staff for i-SIGMA.
As NAID and PRISM International will maintain their separate identities after merging, interested parties can continue to reference their existing websites.
ABOUT PRISM INTERNATIONAL
PRISM International is the industry trade association for physical record storage and management and data protection services. It also provides services and education related to imaging and conversion services and confidential destruction services. The organization is global in scope and serves members in more than 60 countries around the world. www.PRISMintl.org
ABOUT NAID
NAID® is the non-profit, international watchdog trade association for the secure information destruction industry. NAID advocates for a standard of best practices across governments and by service providers as well as suppliers of products, equipment, and services to destruction companies. NAID also works to improve the sales efforts of nearly 2,000 member companies by providing tools for compliance with all known data protection regulations. The NAID Certification Program, which is held by approximately 1,000 service providers on five continents, is now required in thousands of government and private service contracts. Learn more about NAID and its certification program at www.NAIDonline.org.
Contact:
Kelly Martínez
[email protected]
+1 602-788-6243, ext. 2008