What is ITAD?

When it comes to data security, it’s essential for a company to think of the entire life system of a piece of equipment. At the end of the day, when a device is no longer going to be in use, what will come of it? Often, the answer is ITAD recycling, also known as IT Asset Disposition recycling. One of the essential things when engaging in ITAD recycling is to get a certification of hard drive disposition once services are complete.

ITAD recycling can be used as an umbrella term for what happens to electronic assets once they have reached the end of their life. ITAD refers to a process of either disposing of, recycling or reusing old electronic equipment that will no longer be used by the company. ITAD recycling should apply practices that are environmentally friendly, secure and safe. One of the best ways to determine whether or not a third party company is working to these standards is to see if they are certified. Additionally, your company needs to decide what the decision will be for all IT assets that are ready to be retired. In ITAD disposition, options include reusing or donating the devices, recycling the devices to reuse various parts of the item or disposing of the asset in a proper way that will still be environmentally friendly. It’s essential to determine, which step you will take as it will mean different things for your IT assets.

If your assets will be reused or donated, it’s imperative that the devices are wiped and that the original data from the hard drive cannot be resurfaced. If assets are going to be recycled, it’s also vital to ensure that the items will be recycled safely and securely. One way to ensure this is to have the third party company provide you with a certification of disposition, which will confirm that the IT assets were recycled securely.