ITAD (IT Asset Disposition) providers can dispose of practically any and all used electronic hardware, including mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. They can also help your company to devise a big-picture strategy for disposing of, and tracking, all the equipment involved in running your enterprise. That strategy should include a policy for data sanitization. It should also include a procedure for determining when a device can be reused and when it should be disposed of.
Data Sanitation
Data sanitization is an important step in the data lifecycle. Once data has reached the end of its life or is deemed redundant, obsolete, or trivial, it’s important to dispose of that data securely.
OceanTech can wipe hard drives and other types of data containing devices anywhere in the United States at a moment’s notice. Our process is fast, secure, and most importantly tamper-proof. Our reports are unmatched in detail and will guarantee you will pass any third-party audit protecting you from millions of dollars in liabilities that come with current data protection laws. Our proprietary mobile lab technology is designed to work in any environment with no internet connection needed.
Whether your organization has a handful of extremely sensitive pieces of media or an entire data center of storage devices, our experts will be happy to provide you with a free consultation on how OceanTech services can meet your organization’s data destruction needs.
Sustainability – Reusing and Recycling
A good ITAD services provider will be able to help you create a plan for increased sustainability. That means carefully exploring options for reusing any device within your company. It also means exploring secondary and tertiary markets for equipment that might be reused in other data center environments (after being sanitized of data, of course).
There is also a growing movement to repair and repurpose equipment whenever possible, which feeds into the sustainable hardware movement and into a focus on achieving zero waste. This is ultimately a win-win scenario, since it saves money for enterprises while reducing the drain on global resources.
An ITAD services provider should be committed to being a good steward of your resources — and global resources.
When you select a company to be your ITAD provider, there are a few key things you’ll need to look for. The first thing to ask about is certifications. There are a few certifying bodies that establish industry-standard best practices for electronics recycling and reuse, including R2, e-Stewards, and NAID. An ITAD provider or electronics recycler without any of these certifications may offer to pay for your equipment as scrap, but they are not offering you the full protections of proper ITAD.
Talk to them about their procedures for data sanitization, and ask questions about the different methods they use to erase data from media before processing for resale or recycling. Ask how they keep track of their workflow, monitor their vendors, and keep devices secure from transportation all the way through disposition.
Ideally, you should look for an ITAD company that can also help you with repair management to make sure you get the greatest possible benefit out of the equipment you already own. The right company might be able to help in procurement. Some ITAD firms can even help you handle warranty management and support you if you need to carry out a return.
In short, a great ITAD company will be engaged at every single stage of your IT equipment’s life cycle and will add value at every step — all while minimizing your impact on the environment.
