Dealing with unused equipment can be a challenge. Create a plan to harvest or dispose of decommissioned equipment.
A datacenter is often a beautiful facility. Efficient data centers contain rows and rows of flashing lights and rack-mounted servers. However, the useful life of these machines can be just several years. At that time, datacenter managers must retire equipment in order to maintain the reliability and efficiency of the facility. We at Titan Power understand the potential problems with disposing of unused equipment. Here is a plan to deal with decommissioned servers.
- Create a List of the Decommissioned, Unused, or Retired IT Assets
Not all IT equipment is created equal. Some retired equipment is still useful for other purposes while the rest may not be salvageable at all. Mangers can do a little research to better understand the different types of equipment they are dealing with. Then they can list existing unused equipment, separating the items into groups by equipment type, age, and configuration. It is a good idea to include a basic description along with a photograph for each asset.
- Analyze the Security Profile of the Listed Assets
Some assets are too sensitive to leave the facility as is under any circumstances. Servers with hard drives or solid state drives (SSDs) can contain sensitive client data. Some of that data may still be required by the client. Datacenter managers can properly analyze the security profile of their assets with the help of a NAID AAA Certified partner. With this advice, managers can determine whether they must sanitize or completely destroy particular assets.
- Determine the Residual Value
Many datacenter managers are surprised at the value of their decommissioned equipment. However, a datacenter team can waste a lot of time trying to evaluate assets one by one. A good strategy is to contact a remarketing partner to evaluate the value of the items on the list. The right partner can not only estimate resale value, he or she can provide the costs of data destruction. With this information, managers can determine an overall return on investment (ROI) for various disposal options.
- Make Sure to Properly Recycle No-Value Assets
For assets that are not suitable for remarketing, contact an IT asset disposition (ITAD) specialist. They can sort through all of the valueless items that are damaged or obsolete. A qualified ITAD vendor will have e-Stewards or R2-RIOS certifications. By working through such a vendor, datacenter managers will have performed due diligence in ensuring that their unused IT equipment is disposed of in a legal and responsible manner.
- Create a Plan for Future Decommissioned Equipment
Design a strategy for dealing with equipment left over from future upgrades, refreshes, virtualization, and cloud migration. We at Titan Power are ready to help with this effort, in order to streamline essential recycling processes.
