Records disposal strategy is an essential element of Iron Mountain's Compliant Records Management Program —and one frequently neglected. A comprehensive and consistently applied program for records and data disposal, including secure shredding, can help you to reduce the risks and costs of non-compliance.

Many organizations are careful not to destroy records prematurely, but in the process overlook the fact that retaining records longer than required or destroying them in a haphazard manner may:

• Violate privacy regulations
• Create significant legal risks
• Incur unnecessary costs for records storage and management

In a 2007 survey conducted by Iron Mountain, 43% of respondents said that they had no program for the destruction of confidential information, and 31% said paper records are systematically destroyed by some business units but not by all. These numbers suggest a pattern of avoidable risk—one that can be easily addressed through initiation of an intelligent disposal strategy.

Completing the retention process

Iron Mountain can help you to reduce these risks by finishing the job of records retention. Working collaboratively with your team, our trusted experts can develop a comprehensive program for records retirement and disposal that incorporates:

• Secure shredding for all active and inactive physical records
• Secure electronic data destruction
• Consistent application across your entire enterprise
• Program execution onsite at your facility or off-site at Iron Mountain storage facilities

Learn about the guiding principles supporting this best practice