IT asset disposal and data erasure services explained
Contents
- The tech challenge for businesses
- What is IT asset disposal (ITAD)?
- Why is sustainable and secure IT asset disposal important?
- How does IT asset disposal protect sensitive data?
- What makes IT asset disposal sustainable – computer recycling vs refurbishing
- How does IT asset disposal help to meet my organisation’s sustainability goals?
- And what about digital transformation?
- Why outsource your IT asset disposal?
- How does our IT asset disposal service work?
- Why partner with us
The tech challenge for businesses
Tech is essential for every business. It underpins how we design products, deliver services, reach customers, manage teams and much more. The need for the latest and best enterprise tech has never been greater, and organisations everywhere are undergoing digital transformation to become more productive, competitive, and resilient.
But as new technology pours into businesses, they are faced with a growing challenge - how to responsibly dispose of devices at the end of life.
If mishandled, unused tech can be a serious operational and reputational liability, posing critical data protection and environmental compliance risks for an organisation. But by using an IT asset disposal service, redundant devices can keep delivering value for a business long after they’ve stopped being used.
What is IT asset disposal (ITAD)?
An IT asset disposal service helps organisations to dispose of redundant tech assets securely and sustainably, reducing risk, improving compliance, and eliminating e-waste.
Devices may be old and outdated, broken, damaged, or no longer needed due to a tech upgrade, and can include laptops, desktops, mobile phones, tablets, and more.
These devices are collected and securely erased to guarantee data destruction and to support GDPR compliance, an important part of protecting customer and company data.
Most ITAD services recycle or destroy devices after this process, but we believe there’s a better way.
By choosing an IT asset disposal service that repairs and refurbishes devices for a second life with a new user, you can minimise the environmental impact of your old technology and also maximise its value, by securing market rate for them.
Find out more about our IT asset disposal services.
Why is sustainable and secure IT asset disposal important?
With ownership of technology comes responsibility, which doesn’t end when devices are replaced by a more recent model.
Responsibly managing redundant tech assets out of your organisation can be time consuming and resource intensive. But failing to get the asset disposition process right can have severe consequences.
Ask yourself this - could you afford to have a disused, data bearing laptop found in an office storeroom or in landfill containing your customers’ sensitive data?
Data security requirements are tightening, and our research shows that for 41% of organisations data security is their biggest IT asset disposal challenge.
And then consider this - could you afford the reputational damage of poor e-waste management made public?
E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream globally, and governments, shareholders and consumers are putting huge pressure on organisations to deal with this issue.
As organisations undergo rapid digitalisation, redundant tech must be dealt with - it’s no longer acceptable not to have a secure and sustainable asset disposition strategy in place.
A professional IT asset disposal service can reduce the liability of redundant devices and provide peace of mind on the issues that matter most:
- Security – secure data erasure or data destruction using accredited methods that ensure sensitive data doesn’t get into the wrong hands.
- Sustainability –an internationally accredited process that goes beyond recycling to eliminate e-waste and reduce the carbon impact of technology.
- Audit Trail – the ability to track every stage of the process and access all necessary documentation for environmental or security audits.
How does IT asset disposal protect sensitive data?
No business would consider running their tech devices without a cyber security plan, and no organisation can afford sensitive data to fall into the wrong hands once a device has been discarded.
Yet 36% of organisations take significant risks with their data sanitization.
Our IT asset disposal service, REstepIT, supports organisation with a professional and secure solution for data sanitization using internationally accredited methods.
We guarantee a secure chain of custody from collection to data destruction. Our remarketing centres have internal and external CCTV, as well as secure door entry systems resulting in zero unauthorised access to our sites. When the devices arrive, they’re tagged with a unique ID and are tracked as they go through the refurbishment process, providing digital access to a complete audit trail.
We use best-in-class data sanitization software and follow ISO-certified erasure methods and NIST 800-88 standards that are trusted by governments and financial institutions worldwide, so our customers can be confident their sensitive data has been securely wiped.
In the small number of cases where data erasure is not possible, the device is mechanically shredded to guarantee data destruction.
You can read more about our security accreditation here.
For more information on our security processes, check out our Security & Privacy FAQs.
What makes IT asset disposal sustainable – computer recycling vs refurbishing
Many ITAD services offer a simple computer recycling or destruction service to dispose of old tech. But as pressure to act on climate change heats up, we believe there is a far more impactful action that businesses can take to minimise the impact of their enterprise tech on the environment.
Instead of sending devices to be recycled or destroyed, we repair and refurbish your old devices to give them a second life for a new user.
This approach draws on the principles of the circular economy, keeping products in use for longer and maximising the utility of the natural resources that were used to manufacture them.
Large quantities of resources are mined and processed to produce tech devices, which is energy intensive and polluting. When a device is disposed of after its first useful life, these resources become electronic waste, causing environmental and social destruction.
But by ensuring devices are refurbished, we reduce the demand for new tech and lower the strain on natural resources, while eliminating e-waste and reducing the carbon impact of the tech we use.
Our refurbishing process is fully accredited and adheres to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive. Check out our environmental credentials.
How does IT asset disposal help to meet your organisation’s sustainability goals?
Pressure to demonstrate clear, measurable improvements in environmental performance is intensifying.
Our IT asset disposal service helps organisations to be accountable for their tech consumption.
For every used device we collect, we provide an environmental report that calculates the e-waste and carbon that has been avoided. This can be used for accurate internal and external reporting purposes.
It is also a clear demonstration that your organisation proactively managing its environmental responsibilities by transitioning towards the circular economy, which is predicted to be the only economy within the decade.
Hear from our CEO about how the transition to the circular economy can help businesses thrive and why it’s crucial to transition to net zero.
And what about digital transformation?
Digital transformation is on everybody’s mind, and for good reason. But how does an IT asset disposal service fit in?
There’s a good reason it’s called IT asset disposal and not IT waste disposal.
Used technology is still a valuable business asset. Even if a device is at the end of its first useful life, it still holds value.
Many computer recycling services charge their customers to dispose of old tech – they see it as waste that needs to be destroyed or recycled. But we believe old tech has more to give...
We pay market value for redundant tech, so you can free up cash flow to invest in strategic projects. And when every business must deliver digital transformation and 73% of IT managers are under pressure to prove ROI on their IT budget, every bit counts.
But that’s not the only value REstepIT delivers. Your old devices will go on to have a second life with a new user, reducing their environmental impact and providing affordable access to tech for those who need it.
Why outsource your IT asset disposal?
Organisations that manage asset disposition in-house expose themselves to needless security and environmental risks.
Most IT-departments have limited resources and rarely have access to the certified data erasure software and processes used by an expert team. This can lead to errors in the process and risks data falling into the wrong hands, or devices needlessly ending up in landfill.
Working with a trusted partner to outsource your IT asset disposal is an easy way to save time, money, and resources, while ensuring security and sustainability are at the forefront of your IT strategy.
- Our team of product life extension experts are trained in the latest data sanitization and refurbishing techniques, so you don’t have to be.
- Our data security processes are tried and tested and internationally accredited to the highest standards
- We guarantee a secure chain of custody throughout the entire process.
- Devices get a second life through repair and refurbishment.
By using our IT asset disposal service, your taking positive steps towards transitioning to the circular economy and achieving your sustainability goals, by choosing to give old tech new life, instead of destroying or recycling devices.
Here’s five reasons you should outsource your IT asset disposal.
How does our IT asset disposal service work?
Working with us, you can be confident that the risks associated with redundant tech are taken care of, so you can enjoy the benefits of a secure and sustainable IT asset disposal service.
For more information, visit our IT asset disposal FAQ page.
Why partner with us?
We have more than 25-years’ experience in the circular economy and last year we securely refurbished more than half a million devices.
We’re a trusted partner for thousands of businesses across Europe who are choosing to minimise the liability and maximise the value of redundant tech with safe, sustainable, and secure IT asset disposal.
CTA: Want to dispose of your old devices securely and sustainably, while earning cash? Get a quote today.