Disposing of sensitive it assets? Take care.

Your IT needs are continually changing. But with each of these changes comes questions around what to do with the existing equipment. You’ll likely take the time to remove some data from older hardware in the process, but what about disposing of the obsolete asset?

While the simple solution is to just throw it away, this can expose your business to a variety of issues, including regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and environmental fines.
Still, there’s no need to stress. With the right strategy, you can gain the peace of mind that comes with securely disposing of obsolete assets.

Still, there’s no need to stress. With the right strategy, you can gain the peace of mind that comes with securely disposing of obsolete assets. Here are three tips to get you started:

• Understand compliance issues around your data. Research the rules and regulations around the data you possess. You should use these guidelines as the foundation for your secure IT asset disposition (ITAD) project to ensure you’re not overlooking any critical steps.
• Simplify the process for employees. IT asset disposition rarely occurs in isolation—e.g. if you’re moving offices, your team has far more on its mind than hardware management. Instead, make the entire process as simple as possible. For example, you could send a return box directly to departing remote employees, rather than wait for them to obtain packing material.
• Look for partners to recycle your assets sustainably. Once you’ve deleted your data for your business’ and customers’ benefit, don’t forget to responsibly dispose of the assets themselves for the world’s benefit. Only about 17% of e-waste is properly recycled each year. If a computer or phone has reached the end of its life, chances are some of the electrical components within the laptop can be reused—make sure you’re taking your technology to a facility that won’t let it end up in the landfill.

Download the guide for three tips to get you started.