Cascade’s eighth installment of its Annual IT Asset Disposition survey shares the impact of COVID, including insights on the supply-chain of replacement hardware, the growth of customer service needs, and the continued dominance of security during vendor selection.
MADISON, WI – February 3, 2022 – Cascade Asset Management (Cascade), a national leader in technology retirement solutions, has published its 8th Annual Benchmarking Report. The study provides research on data destruction, sustainable computer recycling, and the trade-in of used devices related to IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) and the more general IT Asset Management (ITAM) discipline. This year’s report features data demonstrating the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry.
Results were compiled from a survey of 69 enterprises and organizations collectively representing about 125,000 employees. Additionally, Cascade evaluated the processing of more than 890,000 assets processed between 2019 to 2021, including notebooks, desktops, smartphones, tablets, and servers.
Survey respondents reported permanent increases in the number of employees working from home, creating a greater need for improved residential reverse logistics of retired devices. Only a portion of organizations, approximately 35%, resumed pre-pandemic disposition activity, suggesting a continued backlog in IT asset replacement. Market data about refurbished asset sales show a second year of double digit increases in average resale values, indicating strong demand for used IT equipment resulting from tight supply chains and continued demands for remote school and work computing.
When selecting an ITAD vendor, the criteria of “Managing Data Security and Privacy Risks” as “Critically Important” gained more votes in this year’s survey than the next three options combined. Continued coverage of the Morgan Stanley data breach from improper disposition, and new requirements from e-Stewards for vendors to become NAID AAA certified, have reinforced enterprise focus on device sanitization. Respondents also validated that recycling vendors play an important part in security measures, with sixty percent relying exclusively upon their disposition partner for data destruction.
New to the survey this year, “Quality of Customer Service of ITAD Provider” was added to the options for ranking criteria when organizations dispose of IT assets. Respondents acknowledged its importance, garnering the second most “Critically Important” votes. Although the environment rebounded with more “Very Important” votes, the results still speak to the rising need of convenience for IT teams. Also worth sharing, many respondents suggested the ease of scheduling pick-ups and integration with IT Asset Management systems drove their disposition decision-making.
“Cascade experienced rapid growth during the pandemic, despite slower computer refresh cycles early in 2020.” says Neil Peters-Michaud, CEO of Cascade. “Our focus on driving customer satisfaction and delivering a secure chain-of-custody found traction among several organizations in high-risk industries like healthcare, financial services, and IT services. With our Florida facility now operational, we’re hoping to see continued expansion in 2022.”
The report is available online at: https://cascade-assets.com/cascade-benchmarking-report/.
About Cascade
Cascade Asset Management has provided full-service IT asset retirement solutions to Fortune 1000 companies and other institutions since 1999. The company operates ISO 14001, ISO 9001, e-Stewards, and NAID certified facilities and was recognized as one of the Top 50 Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America by SHRM and the Great Place to Work Institute. Cascade was also listed twice on Gartners’ ITAD Magic Quadrant report for North America. The company works to promote responsible reuse and recycling of electronic products from its processing facilities in Madison, WI, Indianapolis, IN, and Orlando, FL.