Which is best… on-site or offsite shredding?
Shredding has become a crucial part of infrastructure for every business today. From helping to ensure that data protection requirements are being met, to enabling a more sustainable business by embracing recycling, there are many ways in which shredding has been employed to help businesses do better. When it comes to business shredding there is usually a simple choice: on-site or off-site. So, which one of these is likely to be right for you?
When you need optimum security
The security of documents to be shredded does depend in part on who you’re entrusting to do that shredding. However, it’s also worth considering the issues that can arise between the point at which the material leaves the premises and the moment it arrives at the shredding location. There is a lot that can go wrong during this time and, given the increase in penalties for data loss and the reputational damage that can result from a security breach involving documents, the question is whether that risk is worth taking. For optimum security, it has to be on-site shredding. When you’re using an on-site shredding service documents don’t leave the premises whole. They are completely destroyed before being out of your control and will be useless to third parties if acquired by them.
If you’re looking for added value
On-site shredding effectively takes the responsibility for safely disposing of documents and puts this in the hands of a trusted provider. This can free up internal resources for other much more value adding tasks. Shredding is one of those jobs that needs to be done property, mainly because of the potential consequences of sensitive or confidential data ending up in the wrong hands. However, it’s not a job that requires a great deal of experience or qualification – so if it’s being handled in-house it’s often simply a waste of resource to have an employee dedicated to the task. An on-site shredding service can carry out the shredding in a much shorter period of time – with specialist vehicles that can process large volumes of shredding in one go - and leave your employees to work on other tasks where their skills are of more use.
For premium convenience
It’s difficult to dispute that on-site shredding wins every time when it comes to convenience. The only input that the business has to have is ensuring that confidential waste ends up in the right locked bins and that these are ready for on-site shredding. The rest of the process is handled entirely by the shredding partner – and at a time that works for the business. This is in comparison to an off-site shredding service that may have much more onerous requirements for clients transporting documents – or which may not offer a transport option at all.
In terms of security, adding value and convenience, there is no doubt that on-site shredding comes out on top. If you’re looking for an on-site shredding service for your business that is cost effective and big on service then we can help.
Author: Mark Coombes, Follow me on Google+
