Why de-cluttering could fund your next IT project

Whether in your data centre, out in the general office environment, or in the custody of your users,
the chances are you’ve got some technology you simply need to get rid of.

As IT professionals, many of us love ‘new toys’ but equally don’t like to get rid of anything ‘just in case’. Of course, the ‘just in case’ scenario never arrives, we continue to get ‘new toys’ and therefore accumulate more stuff than we bargained for!

Out with the old

If only it were that simple. Directives like WEEE and the Data Protection Act of 2000 see that we can’t just skip the stuff we no longer need. We must dispose of it in a socially and environmentally responsible manner and at the same time see that any sensitive data has been removed from computers, hard-drives and so on in the process.

There’s no getting away from the fact that it’s a headache. Making sure you dispose of these items properly takes time and planning. Let’s face it, it’s not the most glamorous of tasks either and you probably don’t want the distraction of figuring out what can be recycled, refurbished or safely destroyed. That’s why it’s worth turning to someone who does this day in day out.

Hidden treasure

As a rule of thumb, if you’ve got equipment that’s less than 5 years old the chances are there’s going to be some value tied up in it. Like trading in cars, the more prestigious brands hold their value better, so if you invested wisely in the beginning the chances are you could be due a decent windfall. Disposal forms a critical stage in the lifecycle of your IT estate. If you’re seriously looking at what needs disposing, in all likelihood you’re probably evaluating or looking to plan some kind of technology refresh.

If it turns out there’s no value in your assets you’re still in need of disposal. In many instances your technology can be refurbished and given to good causes. Whilst you won’t be making money out of it, it shouldn’t cost you anything either. Only if the technology you’re seeking to dispose of is significantly old or contains hazardous materials, such as CRT monitors for example, should you end up incurring cost for their disposal.

A word to the wise

You could attempt to dispose of these items yourself, but in reality it’s just not worth the time or effort. You’re therefore going to need to turn to a third party provider for these specialist services. Whilst there’s plenty of people who’ll offer to take equipment off your hands, you need to remember the horror stories you will have heard of people buying computers on ebay and recovering highly sensitive corporate data. This isn’t scaremongering, this has actually happened and you don’t want to fall foul of the same. Thus, you need to make sure that whoever you use is compliant with UK law and can demonstrate their credentials. You’ll want certification at the end of the exercise to guarantee that you’ve disposed of these items in good faith and your third party has in turn confirmed responsible disposal, recycling and complete data erasure.

CCS Media offers a number of Disposal and Recycling Services which are available nationwide and support organisations of every size.

If you’d like to learn more about our Disposal and Recycling Services speak to your Account Manager.

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