Once you have taken the decision to migrate data to the cloud you will also be tasked with decommissioning your data center(s), what does this mean for your legacy storage assets? What steps can you take to recover the greatest value from retiring drives and related hardware?

There are an estimated 19 to 24 million HDDs available for value recovery from data centers in North America, according to storage expert, Tom Coughlin.  That’s a lot of data to wipe securely but also a lot of potential value to extract from those hard drives where they can be remarketed. However, companies are often quick to miss this opportunity and rush to destruction when remarketing is possible. “Many fully functioning HDDs are destroyed because of data security concerns, even when the data on the HDDs is of low sensitivity or could easily be erased/sanitized,” experts for the International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI) wrote in a 2017 report on the important role HDDs can play in developing a circular economy for electronic hardware. “This significant loss of potential value is caused by a lack of understanding and knowledge of the full capabilities of modern data sanitization methods.”

To shift industry behavior toward greater consideration of reuse before electing for dismantling or destruction, data center operators and IT asset managers must feel confident in the thoroughness of the data sanitization process for hard drives. When reuse is not feasible and destruction of the drive is required, look for accreditations that establish a vendor’s credentials for responsible disposition.

There’s a lot to consider when handling retiring IT assets but with the right level of expert support and guidance, you can maximize recovery and return possibly millions of dollars to your IT budget. However you structure your IT, you need flexible and agile solutions and the ability to decommission assets securely.

OceanTech offers unparalleled expertise and a range of custom solutions for all of your data center ITAD needs.