The members of the IT team in charge of managing a data center project (a consolidation, closing, or cloud migration) have a lot on their plates. There are many moving parts to such a project and IT operations and infrastructure professionals often put in extra hours and work weekends over several months to ensure the transition is a success. They’re worried about:

• Downtime
• Data security
• Initial cost vs. long-term savings
• Customer support

One aspect of a data center project that often gets pushed backed until late in the planning is what to do with the IT assets retired or decommissioned as a result of the transition. But planning ahead for IT asset disposition (ITAD) will minimize cost, risk, hassle, and stress down the road. The issues include data security, regulatory compliance, and ROI for IT assets. If you’re involved with planning a data center migration or consolidation, we’ve compiled this checklist to help you sort through the ITAD issues you might encounter in the course of your project.

• Have you determined whether or not each piece of required equipment is suitable for redeployment within your IT infrastructure? Factors to consider for each item include its capabilities, resale value, and the space it takes up.

• Have you chosen a data destruction method for tapes and hard drives? The method—destruction, degaussing, or sanitization—should be chosen based on security policy compliance, facility space and availability, and cost vs potential investment recovery.

• Will data destruction or sanitization be performed onsite or at your partner’s facility? Offsite is usually less expensive. Each process requires its own logistical planning.

• Is your data destruction partner certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID)? This is the leading certification to look for to ensure a secure, documented data destruction process.

• Is your IT recycling vendor certified for safe and compliant environmental practices by e-Stewards, R2/RIOS or, preferably, both? This will ensure you won’t be violating any state or federal environmental regulations, or your company’s own environmental standards.

• Are you following best practices for maximum investment recovery from remarketing your IT assets? Storing and handling your equipment properly, as well as identifying market trends, is critical to getting the most for your equipment on the resale market.

• Do you have a strategy for handling lease returns? The IT staff must be sure to segregate the leased equipment from the owned equipment. If the lease terms are ending, you must also decide whether to buy the equipment or return it to the lessor.

How do you stack up?

Do your disposition plans meet industry best practices and regulatory standards? Download this free ITAD Self-Assessment guide to help identify and correct any gaps in your ITAD process.