Item 1. Business.

A. Development of Business.

        We are the leader in information storage and protection services. We are an international, full-service provider of information storage and protection and related services, enabling customers to outsource these functions. We have a diversified customer base comprised of numerous commercial, legal, banking, healthcare, accounting, insurance, entertainment, and government organizations, including more than 95% of the Fortune 1000 and more than two-thirds of the FTSE 100. Our comprehensive solutions help customers save money and manage risks associated with legal and regulatory compliance, protection of vital assets, and business continuity challenges.

        Our core records management services include: records management program development and implementation based on best-practices to help customers comply with specific regulatory requirements; implementation of policy-based programs that feature secure, cost-effective storage for all major media, including paper, which is the dominant form of records storage, flexible retrieval access and retention management; digital archiving services for secure, legally compliant and cost-effective long-term archiving of electronic records; secure shredding services that ensure privacy and a secure chain of record custody; and specialized services for vital records, film and sound and regulated industries such as healthcare, energy and financial services.

        Our data protection services include: disaster preparedness planning support; secure, off-site vaulting of data backup media for fast and efficient data recovery in the event of a disaster, human error or virus; electronic vaulting to provide managed, online data backup and recovery services for personal computers and server data; and intellectual property management services consisting of escrow services to protect and manage source code and other proprietary information with a trusted, neutral third party and domain name management services.

        In addition to our core records management and data protection services, we sell storage materials, including cardboard boxes and magnetic media, and provide consulting, facilities management, fulfillment and other outsourcing services.

        Iron Mountain was founded in 1951 in an underground facility near Hudson, New York. Now in our 54 ^th year, we have experienced tremendous growth and organizational change, particularly since successfully completing the initial public offering of our common stock in February 1996. Since then, we have built ourselves from a regional business with limited product offerings and annual revenues of $104 million in 1995 into the leader in information storage and protection services, providing a full range of services to customers in markets around the world. For the year ended December 31, 2004, we had total revenues of $1.8 billion.

        Our growth since 1995 has been accomplished primarily through the acquisition of U.S. and international information storage and protection services companies. The goal of our current acquisition program is to supplement internal growth by continuing to establish a footprint in targeted international markets and adding fold-in acquisitions both in the U.S. and internationally. Having substantially completed our North American geographic expansion by the end of 2000, we shifted our focus from growth through acquisitions to internal revenue growth. In 2001, as a result of this shift, internal revenue growth exceeded growth through acquisitions for the first time since we began our acquisition program in 1996. This was also the case in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, revenue growth from acquisitions exceeded internal revenue growth due primarily to the acquisition of the records management operations of Hays plc ("Hays IMS") in July 2003. In the absence of unusual acquisition activity, we expect to achieve most of our revenue growth internally in 2005 and beyond. We expect to achieve our internal revenue growth through a sophisticated sales and account management coverage model that is designed to drive incremental revenue by acquiring new customer relationships, increasing the revenue generated by existing customer relationships and by effectively selling a wide range of

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records management and data protection services to expand our new and existing customer relationships.

        In February 2004, we completed the acquisition of the 49.9% equity interest held by Mentmore plc ("Mentmore") in Iron Mountain Europe Limited ("IME"), our European joint venture, for total consideration of 82.5 million British pounds sterling ($154 million) in cash. Included in this amount is the repayment of all trade and working capital funding owed to Mentmore by IME. Completion of the transaction gave us 100% ownership of IME, affording us full access to all future cash flows and greater strategic and financial flexibility.

        In November 2004, we acquired Connected Corporation ("Connected") for total cash consideration of $109 million (net of cash acquired). Connected is the technology and market leader in the protection, archiving and recovery of distributed data. Our acquisition of Connected builds on our mission to protect our customers' information and protect our customers through compliant records management.

        As of December 31, 2004, we provided services to over 235,000 customer accounts in 85 markets in the U.S. and 63 markets outside of the U.S., employed over 14,500 people and operated approximately 830 records management facilities in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Latin America.

B. Description of Business.

The Information Storage and Protection Services Industry

Overview

        Companies in the information storage and protection services industry store and manage information in a variety of media formats, which can broadly be divided into physical and electronic records, and provide a wide range of services related to the records stored. We refer to our general physical records storage and management services as records management. We define physical records to include paper documents, as well as all other non-electronic media such as microfilm and microfiche, master audio and videotapes, film, X-rays and blueprints. Electronic records include various forms of magnetic media such as computer tapes and hard drives and optical disks. We include in our electronic records storage and management services (1) data protection and (2) digital archiving services.

Physical Records

        Physical records may be broadly divided into two categories: active and inactive. Active records relate to ongoing and recently completed activities or contain information that is frequently referenced. Active records are usually stored and managed on-site by the organization that originated them to ensure ready availability. Inactive physical records are the principal focus of the information storage and protection services industry. Inactive records consist of those records that are not needed for immediate access but which must be retained for legal, regulatory and compliance reasons or for occasional reference in support of ongoing business operations. A large and growing specialty subset of the physical records market is medical records. These are active and semi-active records that are often stored off-site with and serviced by a information storage and protection services vendor. Special regulatory requirements often apply to medical records.

Electronic Records

        Electronic records management focuses on the storage of, and related services for, computer media that is either a backup copy of recently processed data or archival in nature. Customer needs for data backup and recovery and archiving are distinctively different. Backup data exists because of the need of many businesses to maintain backup copies of their data in order to be able to recover the data in the event of a system failure, casualty loss or other disaster. It is customary (and a best

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practice) for data processing groups to rotate backup tapes to off-site locations on a regular basis and to require multiple copies of such information at multiple sites.

        In addition to the physical rotation and storage of backup data, we offer electronic vaulting services as an alternative way for businesses to transfer data to us, and to access the data they have stored with us. Electronic vaulting is a Web-based service that automatically backs up computer data over the Internet and stores it off site in one of our secure data centers. In early 2003, we announced an expansion of the electronic vaulting service to include backup and recovery for personal computer data, answering customers' needs to protect critical business data, which is often unprotected on employee laptops and desktop personal computers. In November 2004, we acquired Connected, the market leader in the backup and recovery of this distributed data. We refer to the physical rotation and storage of backup data and electronic vaulting as data protection services.

        There is a growing need for better ways of archiving data for legal, regulatory and compliance reasons and for occasional reference in support of ongoing business operations. Historically, businesses have relied on backup tapes for storing archived data in electronic format, but this process can be costly and ineffective when attempting to search and retrieve the data for litigation or other needs. In addition, many industries, such as healthcare and financial services, are facing increased governmental regulation mandating the way in which electronic records are stored and managed. To help customers meet these growing storage challenges, we introduced digital archiving services. We have experienced early market adoption of these services, especially for e-mail archiving, which enables businesses to identify and retrieve electronic records quickly and cost-effectively, while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Growth of Market

        We believe that the volume of stored physical and electronic records will continue to increase for a number of reasons, including: (1) the rapid growth of inexpensive document producing technologies such as facsimile, desktop publishing software and desktop printing; (2) the continued proliferation of data processing technologies such as personal computers and networks; (3) regulatory requirements; (4) concerns over possible future litigation and the resulting increases in volume and holding periods of documentation; (5) the high cost of reviewing records and deciding whether to retain or destroy them; (6) the failure of many entities to adopt or follow policies on records destruction; and (7) audit requirements to keep backup copies of certain records in off-site locations.

        We believe that paper-based information will continue to grow, not in spite of, but because of, new "paperless" technologies such as e-mail and the Internet. These technologies have prompted the creation of hard copies of such electronic information and have also led to increased demand for electronic records services, such as the storage and off-site rotation of backup copies of magnetic media. In addition, we believe that the proliferation of digital information technologies and distributed data networks has created an emerging need for efficient, cost-effective, high quality solutions for digital archiving and the management of electronic documents.

Consolidation of a Highly Fragmented Industry

        There was significant consolidation within the highly fragmented information storage and protection services industry in North America from 1995 to 2000 and at a slower but continuing pace in recent years. Most information storage and protection services companies serve a single local market, and are often either owner-operated or ancillary to another business, such as a moving and storage company. We believe that the consolidation trend, both in North America and other regions, will continue because of the industry's capital requirements for growth, opportunities for large information storage and protection services providers to achieve economies of scale and customer demands for more sophisticated technology-based solutions.

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        We believe that the consolidation trend in the industry is also due to, and will continue as a result of, the preference of certain large organizations to contract with one vendor in multiple cities and countries for multiple services. In particular, customers increasingly demand a single, large, sophisticated company to handle all of their important physical and electronic records needs. Large national and multinational companies are better able to satisfy these demands than smaller competitors. We have made, and intend to continue to make, acquisitions of our competitors, many of whom are small, single-city operators.

Description of Our Business

        We generate our revenues by providing storage for a variety of information media formats, core records management services and an expanding menu of complementary products and services to a large and diverse customer base. Providing outsourced storage for records and information is the mainstay of our customer relationships and provides the foundation for our revenue growth. The core services, which are a vital part of a comprehensive records management program, are highly recurring in nature and therefore very predictable. Core services consist primarily of the handling and transportation of stored records and information. In our secure shredding business, core services consist primarily of the scheduled collection and handling of sensitive records. In 2004, our storage and core service revenues represented approximately 86% of our total revenues. In addition to our core services, we offer a wide array of complementary products and services such as performing special project work, selling records management services related products, providing fulfillment services and consulting on records management issues. These services address more specific needs and are designed to enhance our customers' overall records management programs. These services complement our core services; however, they are more episodic and discretionary in nature. Revenue generated by our business records and data protection businesses includes both core and complementary components.

        Our various operating segments offer the products and services discussed below. In general, our business records management segment offers records management, secure shredding, healthcare information services, vital records services, and service and courier operations in the U.S. and Canada. Our data protection segment offers data backup and disaster recovery services, vital records services, service and courier operations, and intellectual property management services in the U.S. Our international segment offers elements of all our product and services lines outside the U.S. and Canada. Our corporate and other segment includes our fulfillment, consulting and digital archiving services. Some of our complementary services and products are offered within all of our segments. The amount of revenues derived from our business records management, data protection, international, and corporate and other operating segments and other relevant data, including financial information about geographic areas, for fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004 are set forth in Note 12 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Business Records Management

        The hard copy business records stored by our customers with us by their nature are not very active. These types of records are stored in cartons packed by the customer. We use a proprietary order processing and inventory management system known as the SafekeeperPLUS ® system to efficiently store and later retrieve a customer's cartons. Storage charges are generally billed monthly on a per storage unit basis, usually either per carton or per cubic foot of records, and include the provision of space, racking, computerized inventory and activity tracking and physical security.

Data Protection

        Data protection services consist of the storage and rotation of backup computer media as part of corporate disaster recovery and business continuity plans. Computer tapes, cartridges and disk packs are transported off-site by our courier operations on a scheduled basis to secure, climate-controlled facilities, where they are available to customers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to facilitate data

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recovery in the event of a disaster. We use various proprietary information technology systems such as MediaLink ™ and SecureBase ™ software to manage this process. We also manage tape library relocations and support disaster recovery testing and execution. In addition, we offer electronic vaulting services as part of our data protection services product line. Our electronic vaulting service automatically backs up personal computer and server data over the Internet and stores it off site in one of our secure data centers, always available in the event of a disaster.

Healthcare Information Services

        Healthcare information services principally include the handling, storage, filing, processing and retrieval of medical records used by hospitals, private practitioners and other medical institutions. Medical records tend to be more active in nature and are typically stored on specialized open shelving systems that provide easier access to individual files. Healthcare information services also include recurring project work and ancillary services. Recurring project work involves the on-site removal of aged patient files and related computerized file indexing. Ancillary healthcare information services include release of information (medical record copying), temporary staffing, contract coding, facilities management and imaging.

Vital Records Services

        Vital records contain critical or irreplaceable data such as master audio and video recordings, film and other highly proprietary information. Vital records may require special facilities or services, either because of the data they contain or the media on which they are recorded. Our charges for providing enhanced security and special climate-controlled environments for vital records are higher than for typical storage functions. We provide the same ancillary services for vital records as we provide for our other storage operations.

Service and Courier Operations

        Service and courier operations are an integral part of a comprehensive records management program for all physical media including paper and electronic records. They include adding records to storage, temporary removal of records from storage, refiling of removed records, permanent withdrawals from storage, and destruction of records. Service charges are generally assessed for each procedure on a per unit basis. The SafekeeperPLUS ® system controls the service processes from order entry through transportation and invoicing for business records management while the MediaLink ™ and SecureBase ™ systems manage the process for the data protection services business.

        Courier operations consist primarily of the pickup and delivery of records upon customer request. Charges for courier services are based on urgency of delivery, volume and location and are billed monthly. As of December 31, 2004, we were utilizing a fleet of approximately 2,900 owned or leased vehicles.

Secure Shredding

        Secure shredding is a natural extension of our records management services, completing the life cycle of a record. The service involves the shredding of sensitive documents for corporate customers that, in many cases, also use our services for management of less sensitive archival records. We believe that customers are motivated by increased privacy regulation and the desire to protect their proprietary trade secrets. These services typically include the scheduled pick-up of loose office records which customers accumulate in specially designed secure containers we provide. Complementary to our shredding operations is the sale of the resultant waste paper to third-party recyclers. Through a combination of plant-based shredding operations and mobile shredding units comprised of custom built trucks, we are able to offer secure shredding services to our customers in all of our existing business records management markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. We seek to expand our presence in this

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business through acquisitions and internal start-ups that leverage our existing records management infrastructure.

Intellectual Property Management Services

        We provide intellectual property management services through our wholly-owned subsidiary, Iron Mountain Intellectual Property Management, Inc. ("IPM"). IPM specializes in third party technology escrow services that protect intellectual property assets such as software source code. In addition, IPM assists in securing intellectual property as collateral for lending, investments and joint ventures, in managing domain name registrations and transfers, and in providing expertise and assistance to brokers and dealers in complying with electronic records regulations of the SEC.

Digital Archiving Services

        Our digital archiving services focus on archiving digital information with long-term preservation requirements. These services represent the digital analogy to our physical records management services. Because of increased litigation risks and regulatory mandates, companies are increasingly aware of the need to apply the same records management policies and retention schedules to electronic data as they do physical records. Typical digital records include e-mail, e-statements, images, electronic documents retained for legal or compliance purposes and other data documenting business transactions.

        The growth rate of mission-critical digital information is accelerating, driven in part by the use of the Internet as a distribution and transaction medium. The rising cost and increasing importance of digital information management, coupled with the increasing availability of telecommunications bandwidth at lower costs, may create meaningful opportunities for us. We continue to cultivate marketing and technology partnerships to support this anticipated growth.

        We believe the issues encountered by customers trying to manage their electronic records are similar to the ones they face in their business records management programs and consist primarily of: (1) storage capacity and the preservation of data; (2) access to and control over the data in a secure environment; and (3) the need to retain electronic records due to regulatory compliance or for litigation support. Our digital archiving service is representative of our commitment to address evolving records management needs and expand the array of services we offer.

Complementary Services and Products

        We offer a variety of additional services which customers may request or contract for on an individual basis. These services include conducting records inventories, packing records into cartons or other containers, and creating computerized indices of files and individual documents. We also provide services for the management of active records programs. We can provide these services, which generally include document and file processing and storage, both off-site at our own facilities and by supplying our own personnel to perform management functions on-site at the customer's premises.

        Other complementary lines of business that we operate include fulfillment services and professional consulting services. Fulfillment services are performed by our wholly-owned subsidiary, COMAC, Inc. ("COMAC"). COMAC stores customer marketing literature and delivers this material to sales offices, trade shows and prospective customers' sites based on current and prospective customer orders. In addition, COMAC assembles custom marketing packages and orders, and manages and provides detailed reporting on customer marketing literature inventories.

        We provide professional consulting services to customers, enabling them to develop and implement comprehensive records and information management programs. Our consulting business draws on our experience in information storage and protection services to analyze the practices of companies and assist them in creating more effective programs of records and information management. Our

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consultants work with these customers to develop policies for document review, analysis and evaluation and for scheduling of document retention and destruction.

        We also sell: (1) a full line of specially designed corrugated cardboard, metal and plastic storage containers; (2) magnetic media products including computer tapes, cartridges and drives, tape cleaners and supplies and CDs; and (3) computer room equipment and supplies such as racking systems, furniture, bar code scanners and printers.

Financial Characteristics of Our Business

        Our financial model is based on the recurring nature of our revenues. The historical predictability of this revenue stream and the resulting operating income before depreciation and amortization ("OIBDA") ¹ allow us to operate with a high degree of financial leverage. Our primary financial goal has always been, and continues to be, to increase consolidated OIBDA in relation to capital invested, even as our focus has shifted from growth through acquisitions to internal revenue growth. Our business has the following financial characteristics:

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For a more detailed definition and reconciliation of OIBDA and a discussion of why we believe this measure provides relevant and useful information to our current and potential investors, see Item 7. "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Non-GAAP Measures."

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Recurring Revenues.   We derive a majority of our consolidated revenues from fixed periodic, usually monthly, fees charged to customers based on the volume of records stored. Our quarterly revenues from these fixed periodic storage fees have grown for 64 consecutive quarters. Once a customer places physical records in storage with us and until those records are destroyed or permanently removed, for which we typically receive a service fee, we receive recurring payments for storage fees without incurring additional labor or marketing expenses or significant capital costs. Similarly, contracts for the storage of electronic backup media consist primarily of fixed monthly payments. In each of the last five years, storage revenues, which are stable and recurring, have accounted for over 57% of our total revenues. This stable and growing storage revenue base also provides the foundation for increases in service revenues and OIBDA.

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Historically Non-Cyclical Storage Business.   We have not experienced any significant reductions in our storage business as a result of past general economic downturns, although we can give no assurance that this would be the case in the future. We believe that companies that have outsourced records management services are less likely during economic downturns to incur the move-out costs and other expenses associated with switching vendors or moving their records management services programs in-house. However, during this most recent economic slowdown, the rate at which some customers added new cartons to their inventory was below historical levels. The net effect of these factors is the continued growth of our storage revenue base, albeit at a lower rate.

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Inherent Growth from Existing Physical Records Customers.   Our physical records customers have on average generated additional cartons at a faster rate than stored cartons have been destroyed or permanently removed. We estimate that inherent growth from existing customers represents approximately half of total net volume growth in North America. We believe the consistent growth of our physical records storage revenues is the result of a number of factors, including: (1) the trend toward increased records retention; (2) customer satisfaction with our services; and (3) the costs and inconvenience of moving storage operations in-house or to another provider of information storage and protection services.

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Diversified and Stable Customer Base.   As of December 31, 2004, we had over 235,000 customer accounts in a variety of industries. We currently provide services to numerous commercial, legal,

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banking, healthcare, accounting, insurance, entertainment and government organizations, including more than 95% of the Fortune 1000 and more than two-thirds of the FTSE 100. No customer accounted for more than 2% of our consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2004. For the years 2002 through 2004, the average volume reduction due to customers terminating their relationship with us was less than 2%.

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Capital Expenditures Related Primarily to Growth.   Our information storage and protection business requires limited annual capital expenditures made in order to maintain our current revenue stream. For the years 2002 through 2004, over 85% of our aggregate capital expenditures were growth-related investments, primarily in storage systems, which include racking, building and leasehold improvements, computer systems hardware and software, and buildings. These growth-related capital expenditures are primarily discretionary and create additional capacity for increases in revenues and OIBDA. In addition, since shifting our focus from growth through acquisitions to internal revenue growth, our capital expenditures, made primarily to support our internal revenue growth, have exceeded the aggregate acquisition consideration we conveyed in both 2001 and 2002. Although this was not the case in 2003 due to the acquisition of Hays IMS and in 2004 due to the acquisition of Connected and the 49.9% equity interest held by Mentmore in IME, we expect this to be the case in 2005 and thereafter.

Growth Strategy

        Our objective is to maintain our position as the leader in information storage and protection services. In the U.S. and Canada, we seek to be one of the largest information storage and protection services providers in each of our geographic markets. Internationally, our objectives are to continue to capitalize on our expertise in the information storage and protection services industry and to make additional acquisitions and investments in selected international markets. Our primary avenues of growth are: (1) increased business with existing customers; (2) the addition of new customers; (3) the introduction of new products and services such as secure shredding, electronic vaulting and digital archiving; and (4) selective acquisitions in new and existing markets.

Growth from Existing Customers

        Our existing customers storing physical records contribute to storage and storage-related service revenues growth because on average they generate additional cartons at a faster rate than old cartons are destroyed or permanently removed. In order to maximize growth opportunities from existing customers, we seek to maintain high levels of customer retention by providing premium customer service through our local account management staff.

        Our sales coverage model is designed to identify and capitalize on incremental revenue opportunities by reallocating our sales resources based on a more sophisticated segmentation of our customer base and selling additional business records management and data protection services within our existing customer relationships. We also seek to leverage existing business relationships with our customers by selling complementary services and products. Services include records tracking, indexing, customized reporting, vital records management and consulting services.

Addition of New Customers

        Our sales forces are dedicated to three primary objectives: (1) establishing new customer account relationships, (2) generating additional revenue from existing customers and (3) expanding new and existing customer relationships by effectively selling a wide array of complementary services and products. In order to accomplish these objectives, our sales forces draw on our U.S. and international marketing organizations and senior management. As a result of acquisitions and our decision to recruit additional qualified sales professionals, we have increased the size of our sales force to approximately 700 such professionals as of December 31, 2004 from approximately 450 as of December 31, 2002.

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Introduction of New Products and Services

        We continue to expand our menu of products and services. We have established a national presence in the U.S. and Canadian secure shredding industry and offer new electronic vaulting and digital archiving services. These new products and services allow us to further penetrate our existing customer accounts and attract new customers in previously untapped markets.

Growth through Acquisitions

        Our acquisition strategy includes expanding geographically, as necessary, and increasing our presence and scale within existing markets through "fold-in" acquisitions. We have a successful record of acquiring and integrating information storage and protection services companies. Between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 2000, the height of our acquisition activity, we completed 78 acquisitions in North America, Europe and Latin America for total consideration of approximately $2 billion, including approximately $1.0 billion associated with our merger with Pierce Leahy Corp. ("Pierce Leahy") in February 2000. During that period, we substantially completed our geographic expansion in North America and began to expand in Europe and Latin America. Between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2004, we completed an additional 63 acquisitions for total consideration of approximately $890 million, primarily in the information storage and protection services industry in North America, Europe and Latin America and the secure shredding industry in North America. The major transactions during this period included the Hays IMS acquisition in July 2003 for approximately $333 million, the acquisition of the 49.9% interest held by Mentmore in IME for approximately 82.5 million British pounds sterling ($154 million) in cash in February 2004 and the Connected acquisition in November 2004 for approximately $109 million, net of cash acquired.

Acquisitions in the U.S. and Canada

        We intend to continue our acquisition program in the U.S. and Canada focusing on the secure shredding industry, expanding geographically, as necessary and building scale in some of our smaller markets through "fold-in" acquisitions. However, given the small number of large acquisition prospects and our increased revenue base, future acquisitions are expected to be less significant to overall U.S. and Canadian revenue growth than they were prior to 2001.

International Growth Strategy

        We also intend to continue to make acquisitions and investments in information storage and protection services businesses outside the U.S. and Canada. We have acquired and invested in, and seek to acquire and invest in, information storage and protection services companies in countries, and, more specifically, markets within such countries, where we believe there is sufficient demand from existing multinational customers or the potential for significant growth. Since beginning our international expansion program in January 1999, we have directly and through joint ventures, expanded our operations into 20 countries in Europe and Latin America. These transactions have taken, and may continue to take, the form of acquisitions of the entire business or controlling or minority investments, with a long-term goal of full ownership. In addition to the criteria we use to evaluate U.S. and Canadian acquisition candidates, we also evaluate the presence in the potential market of our existing customers as well as the risks uniquely associated with an international investment, including those risks described below.

        The experience, depth and strength of local management are particularly important in our international acquisition strategy. As a result, we have formed joint ventures with, or acquired significant interests in, target businesses throughout Europe and Latin America. We began our international expansion by acquiring a 50.1% controlling interest in each of our Iron Mountain Europe Limited, Iron Mountain South America, Ltd. ("IMSA") and Sistemas de Archivo Corporativo (a Mexican limited liability company) subsidiaries. IMSA has in some cases bought controlling, yet not

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full, ownership in local businesses in order to enhance our local market expertise. We believe this strategy, rather than an outright acquisition, may, in certain markets, better position us to expand the existing business. The local partner benefits from our expertise in the information storage and protection services industry, our access to capital and our technology, and we benefit from our local partner's knowledge of the market, relationships with customers and their presence in the community.

        Our long-term goal is to acquire full ownership of each such business. To that end, in February 2004 we acquired the 49.9% equity interest held by Mentmore in IME and in January 2005 we acquired the 49.9% equity interest in IMSA held by Compass Capital Fund L.P. In addition, we have bought out partnership interests, in whole or in part, in Chile, Mexico, Eastern Europe and the Netherlands. As a result of these transactions we have direct ownership of more than 98% of our international operations.

        Our international investments are subject to risks and uncertainties relating to the indigenous political, social, regulatory, tax and economic structures of other countries, as well as fluctuations in currency valuation, exchange controls, expropriation and governmental policies limiting returns to foreign investors.

        The amount of our revenues derived from international operations and other relevant financial data for fiscal years 2002, 2003 and 2004 are set forth in Note 12 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. For the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, we derived approximately 14%, 19% and 27%, respectively, of our total revenues from outside of the U.S. As of December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, we have long-lived assets of approximately 16%, 27% and 31%, respectively, from outside of the U.S.

Customers

        Our customer base is diversified in terms of revenues and industry concentration. We track customer accounts based on invoices. Accordingly, depending upon how many invoices have been arranged at the request of a customer, one organization may represent multiple customer accounts. As of December 31, 2004, we had over 235,000 customer accounts in a variety of industries. We currently provide services to numerous commercial, legal, banking, healthcare, accounting, insurance, entertainment and government organizations, including more than 95% of the Fortune 1000 and more than two-thirds of the FTSE 100. No customer accounted for more than 2% of our consolidated revenues for the year ended December 31, 2004.

Competition

        We compete with our current and potential customers' internal information storage and protection services capabilities. We can provide no assurance that these organizations will begin or continue to use an outside company such as Iron Mountain for their future information storage and protection services.

        We compete with multiple information storage and protection services providers in all geographic areas where we operate. We believe that competition for customers is based on price, reputation for reliability, quality of service and scope and scale of technology and that we generally compete effectively based on these factors.

        We also compete with other information storage and protection services providers for companies to acquire. Some of our competitors may possess substantial financial and other resources. If any such competitor were to devote additional resources to the information storage and protection services business and such acquisition candidates or focus their strategy on our markets, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

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Alternative Technologies

        We derive most of our revenues from the storage of paper documents and storage-related services. This storage requires significant physical space. Alternative storage technologies exist, many of which require significantly less space than paper documents. These technologies include computer media, microform, CD-ROM and optical disk. To date, none of these technologies has replaced paper documents as the principal means for storing information. However, we can provide no assurance that our customers will continue to store most of their records in paper documents format. We continue to invest in additional services such as electronic vaulting and digital archiving, designed to address our customers' need for efficient, cost-effective, high quality solutions for electronic records and information management.

Employees

        As of December 31, 2004, we employed over 9,500 employees in the U.S. and over 5,000 employees outside of the U.S. At December 31, 2004, an aggregate of 460 employees were represented by unions in California and two cities in Canada.

        All non-union employees are generally eligible to participate in our benefit programs, which include medical, dental, life, short and long-term disability, retirement/401(k) and accidental death and dismemberment plans. Unionized employees receive these types of benefits through their unions. In addition to base compensation and other usual benefits, all full-time employees participate in some form of incentive-based compensation program that provides payments based on revenues, profits, collections or attainment of specified objectives for the unit in which they work. Management believes that we have good relationships with our employees and unions.

Insurance

        For strategic risk transfer purposes, we maintain a comprehensive insurance program with insurers that we believe to be reputable and that have adequate capitalization in amounts that we believe to be appropriate. Property insurance is purchased on an all-risk basis, including flood and earthquake, subject to certain policy conditions, sublimits and deductibles, and inclusive of the replacement cost of real and personal property, including leasehold improvements, business income loss and extra expense. Separate excess policies for insurer defined Critical Earthquake Zone exposures are maintained at what we believe to be appropriate limits and deductibles for that exposure. Included among other types of insurance that we carry are: workers compensation, general liability, umbrella, automobile, professional and directors and officers liability policies, subject to certain policy conditions, sublimits and deductibles. In 2002, we established a wholly-owned Vermont domiciled captive insurance company as a subsidiary; through the subsidiary we retain and reinsure a portion of our property loss exposure.

        Our standard form of storage contract sets forth an agreed maximum valuation for each carton or other storage unit held by us, which serves as a limitation of liability for loss or damage, as permitted under the Uniform Commercial Code. In contracts containing such limits, such values are nominal, and we believe that in typical circumstances our liability would be so limited in the event of loss or damage to stored items for which we may be held liable. However, some of our agreements with large volume accounts and some of the contracts assumed in our acquisitions contain no such limits or contain higher limits or supplemental insurance arrangements.

Environmental Matters

        Some of our currently and formerly owned or operated properties were previously used by entities other than us for industrial or other purposes that involved the use or storage of hazardous substances or petroleum products or may have involved the generation of hazardous wastes. In some instances these properties included the operation of underground storage tanks or the presence of asbestos-containing materials. We have undertaken remediation activities at some of our properties. Although

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we regularly conduct limited environmental reviews of real property that we intend to purchase, we have not undertaken an in-depth environmental review of all of our owned and operated properties. Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, we may be potentially liable for environmental compliance and remediation costs to address contamination, if any, located at owned and operated properties as well as damages arising from such contamination. Environmental conditions for which we might be liable may also exist at properties that we may acquire in the future. In addition, future regulatory action and environmental laws may impose costs for environmental compliance that do not exist today.

        We transfer a portion of our risk of financial loss due to currently undetected environmental matters by purchasing an environmental impairment liability insurance policy, which covers all owned and leased locations. Coverage is provided for both liability and remediation costs.

Internet Website

        Our Internet address is www.ironmountain.com . Under the "Investor Relations" category on our Internet website, we make available through a hyperlink to a third party website, free of charge, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") as soon as reasonably practicable after such forms are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. We are not including the information contained on or available through our website as a part of, or incorporating such information by reference into, this Annual Report. Copies of our corporate governance guidelines, code of ethics and the charters of our audit, compensation, and nominating and governance committees may be obtained free of charge by writing to our Secretary, Iron Mountain Incorporated, 745 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts, 02111 and are available on our website www.ironmountain.com under the heading "Corporate Governance".