Consumer Privacy: What Happens When Companies Retire IT Equipment?

Pencil eraser on a computer hard drive

As a consumer, you often must trust businesses that you interact with to protect your private information. In today’s world of online fraud and relentless hackers, this can be an increasingly nerve-wracking process, especially when you read about data leaks that involve larger corporations, which you would assume have their security in order. Needless to say, from the business side of the equation, ensuring that customer data always remains protected is enormously important.

WHEN IS IT ASSET DISPOSITION NECESSARY?

A company’s data assets, including servers and network components, need to be updated from time to time to make room for newer equipment that’s more reliable and technologically superior. This ensures that your company keeps pace with others in your industry and doesn’t get dragged down by technological disadvantages. It also helps you to keep your assets protected against evolving security threats that older equipment might not be able to handle.

When IT items are retired, they are removed from day-to-day operations but may remain on site indefinitely. However, this isn’t the best use of space and makes it possible that an asset can fall into the wrong hands. For this reason, businesses need to develop IT disposition plans that allow for the timely processing of assets that your company is no longer using.

WHAT IS THE IT ASSET DISPOSITION PROCESS?

When an IT asset has been retired and is ready for disposition, that’s no time to let your guard down about securing customer data. Just because a piece of equipment is no longer connected to your network doesn’t mean it’s safe to dispose of. Retired assets contain proprietary data that needs to be properly dealt with, and that’s where an IT asset disposition company enters the picture.

A reliable IT asset management firm should have industry certifications that indicate its understanding of corporate privacy laws as well as the needs of businesses in highly regulated industries like banking, healthcare, government, finance, insurance, and technology. The IT asset management company you select will remove your retired IT equipment from your property, ensure that all data is safely destroyed, and give you options for the equipment’s final disposition. These often include:

  • Recycling outdated equipment to help the environment
  • Donating viable equipment to charity organizations
  • Selling the equipment through wholesale channels
  • Redeploying reusable equipment within your company

A TRUSTED CHOICE FOR IT ASSET DISPOSITION

Since 1999, Cascade Asset Management has been providing secure and efficient IT asset disposition for businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Florida, and beyond. We have NAID AAA, ISO 9001:2015, and ISO 14001 certifications, and we’re listed in the Gartner Market Guide for IT Asset Disposition. Perhaps more importantly, we enjoy a 99% customer satisfaction rating—a reflection of the lengths we go to ensure that our customers’ data stays protected at all times.

If you think our IT asset disposition services might be a valuable option for your company, contact Cascade Asset Management today and we’ll schedule a consultation so we can tell you more.