Metrofile, the business records handling specialist, is offering organisations of all shapes and sizes the capability to significantly reduce the risks associated with information leakage. This service takes the form of confidential records destruction (CRD) and uses specially designed, sealed and barcoded containers that are placed on the customer`s premises and regularly emptied by Metrofile.
Each office-friendly and tamper-proof CRD container has a 45kg load capacity and is rented to organisations at a nominal fee. They are placed in strategic positions throughout the organisation and are emptied at pre-determined schedules or when full.
In March 2004, when the service was first introduced to selected clients, Metrofile collected and destroyed four tons of confidential records. This figure grew to 16 tons after two months, then 19 tons after four months. In August, Metrofile recorded a weight of 26.5 tons of collected and destroyed documents. The company currently has 600 CRD containers in use and sees the rapid growth as an indication of the seriousness with which South African companies view the protection of their information.
"Every company has confidential information that is which could be used to devastating effect by a competitor or other party wishing to damage it," says Paul Mullon, marketing director at Metrofile. "Customer databases, price lists, sales and financial performance figures, tender responses, proposals and quotations, internal correspondence, and customer and employee information are all confidential, and organisations are legally entrusted to protect this information. Metrofile`s confidential records destruction service provides organisations with the means to easily ensure that confidential information is not accessible to unauthorised people."
The CRD containers are uniquely barcoded and each is scanned before being transported to a customer`s premises. Using Metrofile`s MetroSure system, these containers are tracked as they move between the customer and Metrofile.
On delivery, the customer is issued with a proof-of-delivery notification, and with every collection, proof-of-collection notes are issued. When leaving the customer`s premises to be emptied, the weight of each container is recorded.
Once off the customer`s premises, the content of the CRD container is removed in a secure and audited environment. The sealed bags containing the waste paper from each container are then opened and the paper is pulped and recycled. On destruction, a Metrofile Destruction Certificate is issued to the customer, detailing which container contents have been destroyed, where and on what day.
"Company waste paper is considered by business espionage professionals as a prime source of access to competitive and private information," Mullon says.
"If your business discards confidential or proprietary information without correct procedures, you are exposed to the risk of prosecution, loss of business, and giving your competitors access to a valuable asset, your information."
Mullon suggests answering the following questions to determine if Metrofile`s CRD service would benefit your organisation:
* What are the perceived risks to your organisation of confidential information falling into the wrong hands?
* How does your organisation prevent this from happening during the working life of a confidential document and at the time it is destroyed?
* Does your organisation have a formal policy and programme for the destruction of confidential records?
* How does your organisation currently destroy its confidential records?
* Would your organisation be comfortable with confidential records being collected and destroyed off-site?
* Would your organisation be comfortable with aesthetically pleasing containers being strategically located throughout the office?
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Metrofile, a broad-based empowerment company, is the South African market leader in the management of business documents, and is committed to help customers reduce costs and improve productivity in processes that are centred on documents and corporate records.
All companies have a combination of paper and electronic documents, and are forced by law and customer requirements to secure the availability of the documents for the duration of their lifecycle. For most organisations, the volume of documents is growing at an exponential rate, and is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
Metrofile is uniquely positioned to provide consulting and implementation of full lifecycle paper and electronic records management solutions from storage and conversion through to destruction.
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