If only IT asset disposition was as easy as taking out the trash in your office. Imagine a world where you could simply leave your company’s retired IT equipment at your desk or in the corner of your data center, leave it overnight, and in the morning, arrive at work to find the material—desktop computers, laptops, servers—had been taken away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Of course, it’s not that easy. Nor should it be. Where your company’s retired IT equipment ends up after disposition matters. And it matters how it gets there, too. There’s a lot at stake in the IT asset disposition process: data privacy, value recovery, environmental compliance, and the cost and disruption caused by logistical challenges. So you should not view your IT asset disposition vendor as another type of trash hauler.  Their job is more than simply hauling away your used IT equipment so it’s not taking up space in your facilities anymore.

Why do you need an ITAD Partner?

IT Asset disposal has to address two main risks:  data security and environmental compliance.

You may have requirements for asset tracking/management reporting.  And of course there is the cost or return on value.

A significant effort in the process is the logistics – the equipment has to be moved from where it was used, possibly to some storage, and then out to a processing facility.  If you expect the equipment to be remarketed, or if it contains data or corporate identification, you can’t just throw it all on a truck and hope it gets where it’s supposed to.

That’s why we suggest thinking of your ITAD vendor not as a garbage man but as a consultant, a consultant that can help your company plan and implement a process that will ensure the best possible disposition process for of all of its IT assets. Two scenarios where an ITAD consultant relationship can help

A lot of ITAD vendors offer the same basic services, so it’s not always what services they offer that sets them apart. It’s how they deploy their services to help your company reduce risk and achieve its financial goals. Consider the logistical challenges of ITAD, for example. You company might have several smaller facilities where there is no loading dock or storage area and no one onsite who can move and pack up material. Will your ITAD vendor work with you to find a way to affordably and securely transport and pack that material, or will you be on your own?

Here’s another example: You may have some locations where the IT equipment there contains especially sensitive data and you require onsite data destruction. But you may have other sites or assets where the risk is not as high and you could save time and money by having the data destruction done at a certified vendor facility. Your vendor should work with you to determine what your company really needs to achieve in the ITAD process and then help you make that happen.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself about your ITAD vendor to determine if you’re getting a partner or a garbage man:

• Does your vendor assign your company a dedicated ITAD account manager so there is someone who knows your organization and requirements and makes sure that your process is followed by every location, every time?
• Do you know the members of the team that supports you? Do you have their direct contact information?
• Does your ITAD vendor spend time with you to understand your company’s equipment types, refresh cycles, and data security requirements so that you can factor in everything to get the best return on your investment for your equipment?
• Does your vendor offer to provide different levels and types of services depending on the requirements of a particular disposition?

For more advice on planning an enterprise-wide ITAD process to maximize value and reduce risk, download our free white paper, “The IT Asset Manager’s Guide to Disposition.”