There’s a lot to plan when your business is getting ready for an IT refresh. You’re figuring out what needs to be replaced, what the new equipment needs to do, how much it’s going to cost and how to make the transition without creating too much disruption.
What happens to the equipment you’re replacing can easily become one of the last things on that list.
That’s usually how retired computers, servers and other electronics end up sitting in a storage room for months. They may not be useful to your organization anymore, but they can still contain sensitive information, and some of that equipment may have more value than you realize.
A good IT refresh plan should account for both.
Start With the Data
The first question with retired technology should always be about the data.
Even older equipment can contain customer information, employee records, financial information, login credentials and other data your organization is responsible for protecting. Deleting files, formatting a drive or performing a factory reset doesn’t necessarily mean that information has been properly sanitized.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology updated its guidance on this in 2025 with NIST Special Publication 800-88 Revision 2. One of the important themes in the new guidance is looking at media sanitization as an organization-wide program rather than simply deciding which method to use on an individual hard drive.
That means knowing what kind of information could be stored on an asset, choosing an appropriate sanitization method, verifying that the process was completed and maintaining the records to show what happened.
It’s not necessarily complicated, but it does need to be intentional.
Some of That Old Equipment May Still Have Value
Once the data is taken care of, there’s another question worth asking: does the equipment still have a useful life?
Not everything that comes out of an IT refresh needs to be physically destroyed or recycled. Depending on the equipment’s age, specifications, condition and market demand, some assets can be securely sanitized and remarketed.
That can help a business recover value from equipment it has already paid for while extending the useful life of the technology. The EPA’s electronics management guidance also prioritizes reuse and extending the life of electronics when possible.
The key is making sure value recovery never comes at the expense of data security. Before a data-bearing asset is reused or resold, there should be an appropriate sanitization process and documentation showing that the data was handled correctly.
Know Where Everything Went
This is also where good asset tracking becomes important.
If your company replaces 200 computers, you should be able to account for those 200 computers after they leave your building. Some might be remarketed, some may require physical destruction and others may simply be ready for recycling, but there should be a record of what happened to each asset.
Depending on the project, that documentation can include serialized asset reports, data sanitization records, Certificates of Destruction or Recycling, and reporting on equipment that was remarketed.
The EPA recommends using certified electronics recyclers for businesses and government organizations. Certification provides an independent framework for evaluating how electronics are handled, including environmental, health and safety, and data security practices.
For an IT department, that paper trail also makes life a lot easier when someone asks about the equipment six months or two years later.
Make Disposition Part of the Refresh Plan
The easiest way to handle retired IT equipment is to plan for it at the same time you’re planning the new deployment.
Know what is being replaced and which assets contain data. Decide what security requirements apply, determine which equipment may have resale value and establish how everything will be tracked once it leaves your facility. From there, the remaining equipment can be responsibly recycled.
When disposition is built into the refresh instead of added at the end, there are fewer loose ends and a much clearer record of what happened to your technology.
SEAM works with businesses, healthcare organizations, financial institutions, schools and other organizations throughout South Dakota and the surrounding region to securely manage retired IT equipment, from pickup and data destruction through remarketing, recycling and final reporting.
If you have an IT refresh coming up, or you’re still figuring out what to do with equipment from the last one, give us a call and we can help you put a plan together.
Levi Hentges is the Vice President / Development at SEAM. He helps clients build and manage their IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) programs to comply with legal, corporate and environmental requirements surrounding their technology devices; including asset recovery and resale, data destruction and secure electronics recycling.