By: John Morris

What do the following industries have in common?

• Law enforcement
• Legal industries
• Government
• Banking
• Health Care
• Financial Services
• Entertainment
• Technology
• Manufacturing industries

The answer: the above-mentioned industries regard information as a very important aspect of their operations. They are information-sensitive - they have a need to ensure that important and confidential data are secured and protected at all times.

What data are considered classified? Some are listed below:

• Disbursement Records (Wages, etc.)
• Accounts Records (financial statements such as the balance sheet, etc.)
• Sales Receipts
• Bank Records
• Social Security Records
• Business Letters
• Customer Information
• Personnel Records
• Computer Printouts
• Computer Discs or Tapes

Why is there a need to protect such data? Industries are in constant danger of having such sensitive information to 'fall into the wrong hands' - people that are out to inflict damage, such as a discontented employee or a competitor.

This is why every information-sensitive industry needs a proper and secure records storage and management. However, such course of action usually requires much room; it also incurs high costs. In addition, there will also come a time when the company will need to purge itself of the age-old materials. But these outdated materials will still be sensitive, and throwing away classified documents in a wastebasket will not do the trick - they can still be collected and sorted out, the information still made available to whoever would want them.

There is a truly a great need for a secure disposal of sensitive data, and an effective solution to this crucial aspect of an industry is document shredding.

Document shredding is a safe and secure option for discarding restricted documents and materials. In document shredding, sensitive files and records are destroyed, turning them into bits that can no longer be recognized; thereby ensuring that confidentiality is maintained.

The document shredding process is entirely flexible that it can adapt to any industry's distinct requirements in destroying sensitive records. Depending on what would suit it's needs, a company can either purchase it's own document shredder or employ outsourced document shredding services, who can then perform the document shredding process on-site or off-site.

On-site document shredding provides industries with the opportunity to observe the actual shredding of their materials 'on site', right at their doorsteps. In an off-site document shredding, the document-shredding company collects the materials in security containers and hauls them in a safe location that may be monitored by security cameras where they are destroyed into little pieces.