IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) is big business, and as with anywhere there is growth, lots of people want to jump in. It’s easy to set up a good-looking website to offer asset disposition, and then just haul stuff away. There is much more to it, and we know because we have been in the business for more than 40 years. Asset Disposition is not disposal, and a company with experience doesn’t only take away your IT hardware, they assure you get the value out of those assets.
Asset Disposition is a multi-step process that starts with an audit of the equipment to be displaced. Once there is an inventory of the assets, they need to be carefully removed, packed, and shipped. Packing and shipping matter because it’s not garbage being hauled away.
It’s not Garbage
IT hardware that is no longer useful to the original purchaser is not necessarily without value. When manufacturers classify something as end-of-life or end-of-service, the operational value of the unit continues. Even when IT hardware as a whole is truly obsolete, the component parts still have value. What is outdated in the United States may be in high demand as a complete unit or on the replacement parts market in other parts of the world. It isn’t just the third world. Our own government needs to source things link 3.5” floppy disk drives for special purpose equipment still in use. Again, we know because they get them from us. If your ITAD vendor is not talking about residual value, keep looking.
Perhaps the most critical part of the ITAD process is what happens after the hardware leaves your site. When your IT assets (or anyone’s) arrive at FrontierUS, they are immediately logged into our receiving area. From there we carefully unpack and audit them. Next, our technicians analyze and test every item. Our testing sets FrontierUS apart, and allows us to get the maximum value from your unwanted assets.
We recently received a large shipment of HP and IBM servers from a major national ITAD company. They haul it away and send it off to a third party for the actual disposition. If these are your assets, and your vendor happens to turn to us, you can be certain we will deal with them properly and securely. However, the only way to assure we get your assets is to start the process with FrontierUS.
Doing it Wrong
This latest shipment came to us packed like scrap metal. The servers were stacked on top of each other like cord wood with no padding or protection. Pallets of the servers were shrink-wrapped and shipped. Shipping labels were stuck directly on the metal frames of the servers themselves. We received them broken and smashed, with parts that potentially had value destroyed in transit. It didn’t matter to that ITAD firm because they saw these items as waste.
Sadly, they mostly are waste now. We will properly dismantle and dispose of the component parts. The metal frames and cases will go to recycling. We will separate the damaged, unusable electronics for reclamation. At this point however, the only value left in most of these items will come from the raw materials. That was not the case when they left the original installation, but any real value left in that equipment was lost when the original owner chose the wrong ITAD vendor.
They are Still Assets
Equipment in a server room ages, but it isn’t destroyed from use. Most often IT assets are abandoned for upgrades, software incompatibility, or because a data center is closing. At FrontierUS, we know more about your surplus assets than the model numbers. We know what is inside them, and we know the world markets for the assets and their component parts. Throughout the ITAD process, we work with the assumption that there is value and it’s our job to identify it and return some of that value back to our client. In some cases, little or no value is truly left in assets, but we will determine that from both market analysis and careful testing.
Your surplus IT assets are more than e-waste. When you use Frontier Computer Corp. to decommission surplus IT, you will know you have gotten the maximum residual value from your assets, and that if there is truly no value left, all the materials will be recycled properly and securely.
As it has since 1976, Frontier Computer Corp. can ensure that you get the most out of your IT investment. Whether it is providing parts and service to keep things running smoothly or returning value when you decommission assets, our experience and expertise pays off. When you have unneeded IT assets FrontierUS should be your first and only contact.
