There are plenty of factors to consider when dealing with your business’ IT asset disposal (ITAD) needs. Since the implementation of the GDPR, the pressure for businesses to get ITAD right is stronger than ever. While you should understand the ins and outs of ITAD to ensure you’re taking the right approach, there are five key things you should know about IT asset disposal.
You have legal obligations
IT asset disposal might seem like just another business formality and an inconvenience that you could do without, in reality, however, it’s a legal obligation that you dispose of your redundant IT assets responsibly to protect any sensitive business and customer data stored on them. Failure to dispose of IT assets sufficiently could put you at risk of a data breach which, under the GDPR, could have serious implications for your business. Not only could you be subject to huge fines, but a data breach could also impact your business reputation negatively.
Delete does not mean destroy
Unfortunately, deleting your data does not mean you have destroyed it. The exact method of data destruction will depend on whether your hard drive is a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). While you can render data unrecoverable on HDDs with degaussing and standard shredders, SSDs require a more specialised approach, such as 6mm data shredding and Blancco SSD data erasure technology.
Experts are worth the money
Professional ITAD services might be expensive, but that’s for a reason- expertise comes at a price. The cost of ITAD services covers maintaining training and certification, as well as the transportation of redundant IT equipment in GPS tracked vans. You might believe that you could deal with your ITAD needs in-house but, in reality, it would be nearly impossible to deal with data securely enough. While the initial cost might seem expensive, it is much more affordable than the potential fines that accompany a data breach- up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover, whichever is more.
Chain of custody is important
You might think that simply knowing the life cycle of your IT equipment and the data it stores is enough, but it isn’t. Under the GDPR, you’ll need to have a physical audit trail of your IT assets. This should be kept up to date – even when you pass equipment on to your ITAD partner. Your ITAD partner must maintain this chain of custody until eventually providing you with a certificate of destruction.
Destruction isn’t always the best method
IT equipment may no longer be useful for your business, but that’s not to say that it couldn’t be put to use elsewhere. Reselling or recycling IT equipment is a viable option in many cases, and can be much better for the environment. Most reputable ITAD suppliers provide support in helping businesses to resell and recycle old IT equipment, and will ensure that data is sufficiently erased from the device before it is passed on to a new owner.
With over 25 years industry experience, tier1 are proud to be the UK’s most accredited ITAD supplier. We possess the skills, accreditations and experience to handle our clients’ data with the care they deserve, and to dispose of it responsibility and legally.
Contact us today on 0161 777 1000 or visit https://www.tier1.com to find out how we can help you dispose of your data safely and reliably.
