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A Converge IT Asset Disposition White Paper
The Economics
of
IT Asset Disposition
www.converge.com
Page 1
Copyright © 2008 Converge
The Economics of IT Asset Disposition
For security, legal, and environmental reasons IT asset disposal can be a risky
proposition. What you should spend depends on how much you may lose if your
disposal strategy were to fail.
Companies want to minimize the cost and risks of owning IT assets; this is only natural. The challenge is
how to do both simultaneously throughout an asset’s life cycle. Mitigating risk comes at a cost, and
reducing that cost below a certain threshold can be a very risky proposition. That’s particularly true at the
end of an IT asset’s life — and why turning to a competent IT asset disposition (ITAD) professional is
often an appropriate strategy to mitigate risk.
What would happen, for example, if critical data was left exposed or discarded hardware ended up in a
landfill? What would be the legal and public relations consequences of getting caught violating federal
privacy laws or state environmental statutes? These risks are an inherent part of owning IT assets — and
so, then, are the costs of mitigating these risks. These costs can include professional ITAD services to
remove data in a secure manner, discard equipment legally, and provide the documentation that
regulators and law enforcement require.
Organizations are responsible for an asset’s data security and environmental impact even after ownership
or custody passes to someone else. That’s why apparently “cost-free” strategies such as employee
resale and no-cost recycling can ultimately prove very costly. Has sensitive data been properly
destroyed? Is equipment leaking toxic waste in a landfill? Were identity tags left attached? Even if the
answer seems reassuring, how can an organization be sure?
The alternative — professional ITAD services. The benefit is the ability to better mitigate risk. Take data
erasure, for example. Professional