Don’t Let Your IT Asset Disposition Put Your Company’s Reputation at Risk

Information technologies (IT) in the workplace have become many and varied over the last few decades, with computers, printers, servers, and more now as commonplace as typewriters, projectors, adding machines, and rotary phones once were. Even filing cabinets have largely gone the way of the dodo in favor of digital file storage, and that’s not to mention the many mobile devices like smartphones and tablets that dominate our modern existence.

As a business owner, you might think the biggest problems you face with technology revolve around securing data and IT asset turnover, and to a degree, you’re correct. However, the major issues are not securing a network, which most businesses should have on lockdown by now, or dealing with the costs of upgrading to new equipment; your biggest concern should be how to secure data on unused hard drives that are languishing in storage, and how to properly dispose of outdated IT assets before they cost you millions due to data breaches, consumer identity theft, and the fallout that results.

If you don’t want IT asset disposition (ITAD) to put your company’s reputation at risk, you need to find the best way to rid yourself of these outdated devices and eliminate the confidential data they contain. How can you accomplish this goal?

Create Clear Policies
Properly disposing of IT assets starts with a strategy that ensures compliance with existing privacy and environmental laws. For starters, someone has to be in charge of this process. If you have an IT person or department, tasks associated with IT asset disposition would fall to them. Otherwise you may have to assign the responsibility to a facilities manager, or alternately, to department heads.

From there you’ll need clear policies and procedures for how IT asset disposal should be handled, including collection and tracking of devices, secure on-site storage, regular inventory before destruction occurs, methodology for destruction (in-house or third-party, wiping or shredding, etc.), recycling policies, and a timeline for destruction. Making this information available to employees and providing training to responsible parties is the best way to ensure compliance.

Don’t Dawdle
You’ve probably heard the phrase “waste not, want not”. It typically applies to using everything to its full potential before throwing it away, ostensibly so you don’t find yourself wanting for more when you could have had it. When it comes to IT asset disposition, you could take it to mean that the less time you waste in eliminating old data and destroying the devices containing it, the less risk you’ll have of encountering a situation where you’ll wish you’d done it sooner.

Partner with a Reputable and Certified ITAD Service Provider
The right ITAD service provider can help to keep you safe in several ways, such as with locking bins on-site for secure device collection until pickup, as well as secure transportation and storage, serial number tracking for your records, and proof of compliance with privacy and environmental laws in the form of a Certificate of Destruction and Recycling.

If you want to avoid data breach, identity theft, and the damage they cause your Sioux Falls, SD business and your reputation, contact the experienced and certified professionals at SEAM at 605-274-7326 (SEAM) or online to learn more.