Looking for a secure, reliable and value-driven way to dispose of your redundant IT hardware?

ITAD stands for IT Assest Disposition; it is a service that provides secure disposal of IT hardware to help companies mitigate risks when decommissioning data bearing technology. ITAD companies will use data sanitisation software to erase all information on storage components and devices, or they will physically destroy the hardware. Choosing a good ITAD provider comes down to the accreditations that they hold, the standards they follow and the level of service you require.

Any company with sensitive information should look to use an ITAD company when disposing of IT hardware. To remain compliant with GDPR, as well as to protect sensitive business information, protecting your information, even when disposing of equipment, is essential for protecting your business against liability and data breaches. Breaching GDPR can result in legal action, extensive fines and negative publicity.

The level of security you receive from an ITAD company depends on the quality of the provider and the standard that they adopt. For example, high quality ITAD suppliers guarantee secure data erasure and protect your information using a series of measures, including asset tagging (with a full asset register provided), secure GPS tracked transportation and physical destruction where needed. These providers all also use data erasure software approved by leading bodies to ensure that all data is completely removed from a data bearing device or component.

This completely depends on your preferences, level of risk and needs. Ideally, we would process all equipment for refurbishment and reuse as we believe in product lifespan extension – however, we believe in data security first and foremost. Therefore, if the client’s need is for physical destruction, we can provide both onsite and offsite shredding to provide that level of reassurance. If we receive any items that do not need to be destroyed, but also cannot be sold, we ethically recycle these assets so that none of the equipment you send to us ends up in landfill.

When disposing of data bearing devices, data erasure is essential. Without proper data sanitisation, you leave your company open to potential legal action and negative publicity off the back of a data breach. Similarly, ITAD companies allow you to explore sustainable disposal of IT assets – reducing the impact of your business on the environment. The numerous benefits of ITAD, however, only apply when you commission a competent vendor. The best way to assess the competence of a vendor is to look out for accreditations.

ITAD companies can take any and all IT equipment – from singular servers or networking devices to IT peripherals, including mice, keyboards and screens, to full data centre estates, quality ITAD providers can handle any aspect of your IT system.