It's going to take me about two hours and perhaps $50 to dispose of all this, counting phone, gas, and mailing costs. Multiply those hours and that $50 by a factor of 50, 100, or even 1,000, and you have a rudimentary idea of what a company must spend to dispose of similar gear.
That's keeping it simple: For most firms, the cost of secure data destruction and environmental precautions add to the bill. According to Assured ITD, a computer and electronics disposal management and recycling firm in Raleigh, N.C., the cost of getting rid of 50 PC towers and separate 17-inch CRTs, two large desktop printers, and 25 cellphones would be an estimated $2,117.50.
No wonder over 20 percent of respondents to our latest poll have so far selected decommissioning of IT gear as one of the tutorial topics they'd most like to see addressed on this site.
Properly disposing of IT equipment -- often called "de-leasing" or "decommissioning" -- has become more problematic than ever as the Internet encroaches on private networks and virtualization, mobility, modular storage, and other innovations make cleaning house a fact of IT life. And the process isn't getting easier; it can require as much planning as introducing new gear.
"There are a number of areas companies need to focus on," says Jill Vaske, executive VP and co-founder of Redemtech, which bills itself as an IT "technology change management" company. "There are environmental, financial, and IT operational issues."
Enterprises can't simply decide to throw out old gear. They need to plan for orderly migration off of old platforms; terminate leases and maintenance contracts; time the decommissioning so it matches depreciation and ROI schedules; and perhaps most importantly, maintain data security and environmental compliance during the decommissioning process.
This last challenge can be the toughest. According to Peter D. Graber, executive manager of Assured ITD, most enterprise disposal mistakes are around security. "Some companies attempt their own data destruction either physically or through erasure of hard drives," he says. But the difficulty and time required to follow standard procedures causes many firms to throw in the towel and seek outside help. At that point, it's important to know who to trust. "The secure custody of IT assets is the biggest issue," he says.
While big vendors like Cisco, HP, and IBM offer services to enterprise customers, some companies prefer third-party firms with local presence, even though the big vendors and third-party companies rely on the same contractors for some kinds of recycling and disposal jobs.
A third-party firm may also be more likely to help companies avoid unnecessary disposal of equipment. "Most big equipment companies are in the business of selling new technology... Our mission is to avoid replacement if possible," says Redemtech's Vaske. Part of her company's mission is to repair or revamp old gear so it lasts longer.
Environmental compliance is also an issue. It's important, experts say, to know the laws about legal disposal of all kinds of electronic devices in the state or country in which the decommissioning is scheduled. Further, it's nice to have proof that the disposal vendor you're dealing with isn't going to put your company in the headlines for dumping toxic waste in developing countries.
These are just a few of the issues surrounding IT equipment decommissioning. We think it's worth taking a longer, harder look, and you can anticipate more material on this topic from us in the future.
Meanwhile, I'd better get to the post office -- and think a bit harder about what to do with the rest of it.
— Mary Jander, ThinkerNet Editor, Internet Evolution
This blog is part of Internet Evolution's IT Clan, which addresses the continuing impact of the Internet on enterprise networks, applications, and management. Register here to join the IT Clan's conversation, and you just might win something unspeakably cool.
