An Introduction – What Is IT Asset Disposal (ITAD)?
The amount of decommissioned IT hardware is constantly growing due to rapidly increasing reliance on digital data. A modern data center is often home to the most valuable assets a company has, so it’s imperative that every necessary step be taken to mitigate the risks involved when dealing with data. While companies tend to pay close attention to the purchase of new equipment, many do not have an adequate IT asset disposal (ITAD) policy. There are three main goals when it comes to the proper disposal of IT assets:
- Data leak mitigation
- Environmental sustainability
- Reducing costs
The purpose of ITAD is to ensure that every possible step is taken to protect the reputation of your brand while also maximizing your return on investment. After all, the economic consequences of a data breach due to improper disposal of data-storage devices can be absolutely devastating to any company.
Data Security
Information security disasters hit the headlines all the time. When decommissioned data-storage devices are not disposed of properly, there’s a greatly increased risk of the data stored on
them ending up in the wrong hands. You owe it to your employees, customers and the very reputation of your brand to take every possible step to ensure that this doesn’t happen.
Environmental Sustainability
The rapidly growing amount of electronic waste has already become a major environmental concern to such an extent that consumers expect brands to take a responsible and wellpublicized
approach towards sustainability. Electronic waste, including data-bearing devices, contains many potentially hazardous materials, such as lead, which need to be disposed of properly to help protect the environment.
Cost Reduction
An old hard drive might no longer have any value to your organization, but any data stored on it could well have value to a third party. Consequently, choosing a suitable ITAD vendor
simply makes sense even on a purely financial basis. After all, should any confidential corporate data end up in the wrong hands, it can end up costing the organization dearly in terms of lost
customers and legal fees.