I.T. Supply Solutions specializes in IT asset disposition (ITAD) for companies, organizations, and government agencies. Do you have leftover computer equipment you don’t need anymore? Then this service may be right for you.
Take a look at our comprehensive guide to IT asset disposition.
What is ITAD?
In short, IT asset disposition occurs when professional companies determine how and where to dispose of IT or computer equipment, such as desktops, computer monitors, scanners, printers, servers, wires, laptops, thumb drives, hard drives, cords, cables, and more.
The Importance of ITAD
Technology changes and improves on a yearly basis. Just look at how quickly new tablets, laptops, and mobile devices hit the market.
Experts believe there are more than 2 billion computers in the world, with more than 275 million PCs shipped in 2020 alone. The global computers market grew to $367.5 billion in 2021, growing 10 percent from the year before, according to Research & Market.
Companies continually face obstacles about upgrading their current inventory of computers to keep up with the pace of cloud computing, faster data download speeds, streaming video, and videoconferencing.
Firms have options and opportunities to upgrade their computer equipment, including:
- Buy new equipment. This can be challenging, due to a worldwide chip shortage brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that changed the way companies work.
- Buy used computer equipment and upgrade from there. In general, IT assets less than six years old can be upgraded to meet contemporary standards for internet connectivity, security, and operating systems.
- Recycling or remarketing old computer equipment once you decide how to upgrade.
IT asset disposition helps you decide how best to proceed, hiring a professional company is the best way to plan for your technological needs.
Data Centers Continue to Grow
The United States, by far, has the most data centers in the world. There are a whopping 2,670 data centers in the United States with 2,500 cloud service providers utilizing them. As expected, large urban centers contain many of these data centers. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, and New York City are the top five cities with the most data centers in the country.
Networks continue to get faster, cybercriminals get smarter, and intrusions from foreign countries continue to make headlines. As such, data centers must employ top-of-the-line technology to prevent data breaches.
Outages at data centers cannot happen, period. That’s why your IT assets must be ready to handle anything.
Upgrading your data center assets must be a top priority, not just for security but because industry research suggests businesses that regularly improve their IT equipment have lower operating costs compared to those that keep their outdated equipment until it fails.
Equipment failures cannot happen because those lead to outages.
IT Asset Disposition Process
Your ITAD process should follow crucial steps to be effective, whether you’re a data center or a user of endpoint devices (PCs, laptops and mobile devices).
Questions Your Company or Organization Must Answer
- What is your policy for identifying and destroying data on devices?
- Can you reuse computer equipment within your company or organization?
- Can you remarket (sell) your used computer equipment?
- What does data destruction mean for compliance purposes?
- How do you recycle used computer equipment?
A professional ITAD company like I.T. Supply Solutions can help you decide the best steps moving forward. An initial consultation is the first step.
Proper IT Asset Disposition
IT asset disposition must happen correctly. Not all equipment you have on hand will be remarketed (sold as used). Some may end up being recycled.
In general, equipment over six years old could be recycled responsibly, which means keeping the electronic equipment out of landfills due to the heavy metals found in hard drives and internal mechanisms of the computers.
Remarketing
An ITAD company takes inventory of your computer equipment and devices. Then the firm researches the current secondary market for opportunities to sell the used equipment. Companies like I.T. Supply Solutions sell computer equipment wholesale, which saves companies and agencies money. You can take advantage of this as you look to remove outdated equipment to upgrade to something newer. ITAD companies typically ensure the equipment is in good working condition to meet modern standards.
Recycling
If a secondary market doesn’t exist for your computer equipment, an ITAD company will responsibly recycle your old equipment. This process entails breaking down the equipment, shredding hard drives, and shipping these items to the proper facility for recycling. Often, companies will reuse the metals in hard drives in new manufacturing.
Data Security
Whether you recycle or remarket your used computer equipment, you must employ top-notch data security processes. You can’t just “delete” files on your hard drive for data destruction.
You must sanitize your information to make sure future users cannot access it. This involves using special software that overwrites any information left on hard drives so that it is unreadable and unintelligible. Top software turns your current data into a series of numbers, letters, and symbols, much like a strong password.
ITAD companies should follow standards, such as NIST, Department of Defense, and/or NAID.
After your IT asset disposition company performs data security on your equipment, you will receive either a certificate of sanitization or certificate of destruction, depending on if your equipment is remarketed or recycled.
Why ITAD?
IT asset disposition gives you peace of mind while maximizing your revenue. Think about the risk of legal liability if your sensitive data makes it to the public domain or is obtained by cybercriminals.
A professional ITAD company knows how to handle this process from start to finish. Ask to see a company’s credentials and certifications to make sure the firm’s staff is qualified to perform IT asset disposition.
Talk to I.T Supply Solutions for ITAD
A professional ITAD company uses the best practices for IT asset disposition from start to finish. And you might even save money compared to buying new equipment while still maintaining high security standards.
Contact I.T. Supply Solutions or call 859-694-0602 for more information.
