Generally, they are 3 options of IT asset disposal, namely: selling, donating or disposing as waste. However, the process of disposing IT assets is not that simple because some of these devices, and particularly computers and laptops once held important data and information that could be deemed confidential. In addition, should that data get into the hands of the wrong people, the effects could be harmful.
Most organizations have in place a plan that prescribes how often they need to replace their technology. In their plans new laptops, new desktop computers, new servers, new networking equipment, new external storage drives and new mobile devices are purchased to replace the old, outdated technology. However, once new items are brought in, the organization is often faced with a new challenge of disposing off the older items.
Information storage & erasing
Data once input in a computer it cannot be erased easily. The answer does not lie in selecting “Delete” from the drop menu or sending the file to the trash bin. Data stored on disks can be transferred to the recycle bin or trash, but then can be restored easily while it is there without help from outside. Furthermore, data that has been deleted can be recovered with the assistance of recovery software because data has not been deleted from the hard drive; it is marked as free space which can be overwritten. Data that has been overwritten several times may seem difficult to retrieve, but with the right program and tools the information can be extracted.
The implications
An person or company that chooses to dispose of its IT assets, including computers, mobile devices, servers and items that have hard drive should be aware of the risks they are exposing their organization to. If the data was deleted then anyone with the necessary recovery software can access some very sensitive information that the company thought was gone. Therefore, it is advisable to hire the services of an IT Asset disposal company to help you clean up your assets before disposing them, selling or donating them to charity. They are smart enough to wipe the data clean.
E-waste
Once the asset has been cleaned properly, it is now good to go. The best place to dispose of such equipment it not the trash bin to avoid accumulating e-waste which is harmful to the environment. The toxic materials present in the equipment, such as lead and mercury, can seep into the ground contaminating the soil and water source. Therefore, they IT assets should be disposed of properly.