Businesses these days must rely heavily on technology. Servers hold their data, while network hardware lets them run software-as-a-service applications like cloud-based point-of-sale systems.
Yet, all of that hardware is temporary. Your average computer gets approximately five years of active use before you must replace it. The same holds for most of your other standard IT equipment.
When you do upgrade your tech, though, there is the lingering issue of disposing of the old hardware. What steps should you take?
If you’ve got old hardware cluttering up your business, keep reading for our quick guide to proper tech disposal.
Data Security
For any device that holds sensitive information, data security must take top priority. Make sure that you get a backup of any data on the device transferred to your new hardware or a cloud storage service.
Once you have the backup in place, you need some kind of IT data wiping process in place. There are software solutions, such as Certus Erasure Software, that can handle the wiping process. You can double down by removing hard drives and manually destroying them.
You should also make sure you deactivate any services or subscriptions attached to the device before disposal.
Sell or Donate
In some cases, your tech upgrade happens because you need more power or more storage than the old tech could support. If your tech still has some life left in it, you can sell it off or donate it.
If you’re ambitious, you can call around to area businesses and see if they’re interested in the hardware. If not, you can just list it on an online marketplace and let the buyers find you.
If the idea of boxing up your old tech and shipping it somewhere doesn’t appeal, you can donate the hardware. Charities will often accept working technology. Some will give functional tech to needy causes or individuals, while others will sell it to support their own operations.
Recycle
Electronic waste is a serious issue in landfills, as tech often pollutes the local land and water with heavy metals like mercury. If your tech isn’t worth selling or donating, make sure you find an electronic recycling service near you.
Those services will break down your old electronics in a safe way and responsibly recycle the materials they can recycle. It prevents unnecessary pollution and helps reclaim valuable components, like rare metals, from your old IT equipment.
Old Hardware Disposal and You
Managing old hardware disposal is one of those tasks that every business faces sooner or later. Your desktop systems, tablets, servers, and even networking equipment will reach the end of their useful life at some point.
Before you do anything else, you must manage data security. Create backups of the data on the device and then erase the data. Once you clear the data off the device, you can sell, donate, or recycle the equipment.
Looking for more tips for managing the tech side of your business? Check out the posts in our Hardware section.
