IT asset disposition: the end of the run
Written-off equipment is not waste but a risk with a residual value. There is data on it, there is material inside that has to be separated, and there is still money to be had. ITAD is settling those three at once, with paperwork that proves it.
What happens to a device
Five steps. The second is where the liability sits.
Collection and counting
The equipment is collected on site and registered piece by piece against its serial number. From that moment there is a list, and that list is the evidence later on.
Wiping or destruction
Every data carrier is wiped by a recognised method, or physically destroyed where wiping is not possible. Each device gets a certificate with its serial number on it.
Assessing residual value
What is still usable is tested and valued. A three-year-old laptop is rarely worthless, and that amount should come back to the owner.
Reuse or recycling
Usable equipment goes on to a second life; the rest goes to certified processing where materials are separated.
Reporting
One report showing per serial number what happened to it, plus the environmental account. That is what an accountant or an auditor wants to see.
Three things that go wrong without a certificate
In all three the equipment is gone and the problem is not.
- Liability stays with youUnder the GDPR the organisation remains responsible for data, even after the device has left. Without a certificate per device there is no proof the data is gone, and it is your problem if something surfaces.
- A drive that was not wipedA laptop without a drive looks safe until somebody finds it again in a drawer. Registration by serial number shows which device was not handed in, and that is exactly the device where it goes wrong.
- Residual value that evaporatesEquipment sitting in a cupboard for a year is worth nothing. The value is in the first months after write-off, so that is also the moment to arrange this.
What belongs with this
The end of the lifespan hangs off the beginning of it.
Equipment that is demonstrably gone
Tell us how many devices are involved and where they are. You get a setup with the certificate per serial number and the residual value stated separately.
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