Tech Audits: What to Do with Outdated Devices

Today, businesses are only as good as their technology. Modern devices offer powerful advantages that can upgrade business processes and increase revenue.

A newer, more advanced device seems to come out every six months, but seasoned business owners know not to believe the hype. Still, there always comes a time when their faithful, familiar device becomes too old and problematic to ignore.

By the time new equipment is ordered, business owners are wondering what should be done with the device they are replacing. Following best practices is a necessity because properly disposing of and destroying devices that contain sensitive customer information protects businesses from legal implications.

Best Way to Dispose of Outdated Devices

There are several steps to take when terminating old devices:

Log Out of All Profiles

When you’re ready to dispose of your devices, make sure to log out of every profile and server on the network. Modern devices are often connected to a cloud service, and automatic syncs take place regularly.

Make sure to log out of your WiFi, browsers, OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and any other services that sync to your cloud network. If you were to delete your device’s hard drive and wipe it clean while still signed in, it could potentially cause files in the cloud to be deleted too.

Backup Data

Backing up the contents of the device to a designated location should be one of the first steps you take. Once the device is destroyed, there is no way to get back any of the data unless it was backed up and stored elsewhere.

Clear and Wipe the Hard Drive

Also known as overwriting, this step involves specialized software that replaces the sensitive data with random information, commonly a series of 1s and 0s. The software then wipes the hard drive and repeats the process several more times.

Being absolutely certain your data has been wiped clean with no remnants is gravely important. By using file recovery tools and other software, someone looking to access your data could potentially piece the contents of the hard drive back together if the wipe was not done properly.

The majority of business owners don’t take risks with their private data and choose to hire professionals like SEAM. Our data destruction services include physical hard drive shredding and complete data erasure certified to industry standards, eliminating the guesswork from disposing of old devices.

Call Professionals for Proper Destruction

To be certain that your devices are compleely wiped, it’s best to call in IT and data disposal professionals who can ensure all data has been properly removed. In both North Dakota and South Dakota, SEAM caters to businesses in need of computer hard drive recycling, hard drive shredding, and data disposal.

We offer certified, compliant, and secure data destruction and electronic recycling. If your business is phasing out old devices, contact us today to discuss how we can help you.