Corporate IT Asset Disposal
In 2007, global research firm IDC released a report on the most common issues that IT Decision Makers are facing with regards to disposing of their IT assets.
Some of their most pressing issues included:
- Data security
- Legal compliance
- Environmental footprint
- Contain costs
- Space saving
- Source of revenue
Let’s take a look at these issues in greater detail so that you can be better informed when making your IT asset disposal decisions.
Data Security
Data Security is a major concern for organisations of all sizes. You need to be sure that any trace of your company’s data has been wiped from the hard drives. The potential damages from breaches or losses of data in old IT assets could be enormous. Especially
since such breeches are well publicised by the media.
Legal Compliance
In Australia you have to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (cth) as this regulates how your personal information is handled.
It covers:
- How your personal information is collected (e.g. the personal information you provide when you fill in a form)
- How it is then used and disclosed
- Its accuracy
- How securely it is kept
- Your general right to access that information.
You can review the National Privacy Act here: http://www.privacy.gov.au/aboutprivacy/snapshot
Individual states and territories also have legislation governing information usage 6 and you should make sure you comply with those regulations also.
Environmental Footprint
There is a massive lack of awareness about the toxicity of the materials used in producing IT equipment and you can’t simply throw out all of your computers with the rest of the office garbage.
If your company has made a commitment to reducing your carbon footprint then you’ll need to consider the environmental issues surrounding the disposal of your IT assets.
Contain Costs
Preparing your computers for disposal isn’t just a simple case of unplugging them, removing labels and throwing them out.
As we’ve already discussed you need to ensure your computers are wiped clean of any data and then make sure that you dispose of them in a manner that complies with the relevant Australian legislation.
This is quite an involved process and you need to make sure that your company has the required resources and budget allocated to this enormous task.
Alternatively, you might like to consider using a third party IT Asset Disposal Company to reduce your costs with preparing your computers for disposal. These organisations have special intelligent processes, controls and security features in their practices and could probably save your organisation a lot of money.
Revenue Source
Some of your IT equipment might be salvageable to the extent that others might be willing to purchase it. This will contribute towards recovering the costs of IT asset deployment, but in most cases the income raised from selling off assets is minimal.
The challenge you have as an IT Decision Maker is to run careful tests on all of your assets to determine what is still usable and then work out what the market rates are for the equipment.
IT Asset Disposal Companies will be able to do this much more effectively for you, saving you time, money and energy. In most cases they will test your assets and determine the market value of your equipment. You may receive a payment for your stock.
If you’ve got a technology refresh coming up, and all this sounds a little too complicated for you then you should consider working with a trusted IT Asset Disposal specialist to make your life easier.
We work with IT Decision Makers to get rid of old IT equipment quickly, in an environmentally friendly manner and without risking data security.
Give us a call today to find out how we can help make your life easier.