Technology improves at a lightning-fast pace, and upgrading your organization’s IT infrastructure is inevitable, whether due to industry regulations or the desire to work on newer and improved equipment. These upgrades can be costly, but they don’t have to be. Have you considered engaging with an IT Asset Disposition partner to save your company money, and ensure compliance with disposal of your outdated equipment and hardware?

With a new year typically comes new regulations, and we’re here to share everything you need to know about any changes to the rules for IT Asset Disposition in 2019, and what you can expect for the year ahead.

The good news is that there hasn’t been sweeping legislation at the federal level that will affect your business and its bottom line, but there are still things to look out for this year and beyond. Read on to find out more.

E-Waste

Technology advances (and becomes obsolete) at a rapid pace and you may find yourself with excess e-waste in the coming year. E-waste is electronic equipment that is no longer useful. As you upgrade or retire certain machines, they become e-waste. Not only does e-waste take up valuable physical space within your organization, but it can also be a potential security threat. Many e-waste machines have not been thoroughly wiped of all your sensitive data, and disposing of them improperly may open your company up to external risks by accidentally letting your data fall into the wrong hands.
Each state and even municipality or county can have their own unique rules towards the disposal of e-waste. Before deciding how to dispose of yours in 2019, make sure you understand the regulations specific to your area, or partner with an IT Asset Disposition company who can dispose of the e-waste for you.
   
Heightened Awareness of Data Protection
 
Last summer, the state legislature in California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, which extended broad rights to Californians, and which will go live in 2020. Once that happens, expect other states to follow suit.

How does this affect you in 2019? We believe it’s better to be safe than sorry, so if you plan to decommission any hardware this year, we strongly recommend you partner with a company that clearly understands data sanitization best practices. The reasoning behind this is that when it comes to safeguarding your organization’s data, both internally and externally, you can never be too cautious. An IT Asset Disposition company that is knowledgeable in the best practices towards Data Sanitization will be able to appropriately decommission any of your tech, completely wipe it clean of all data; and from their either resell, recycle, or destroy the equipment. Ensuring your organization’s security at all times, and possibly recoup some of your financial investment of the tech in the process.
 
The Importance of Going Green
 
Expect heightened attention around going green—as tech hardware rapidly advances, so too does previous iterations of tech become obsolete at an increasing pace. While critical to your business' operations, the impact of outdated tech taking up space in our landfills and recycling centers is undeniable.
 
Rather than find new ways to dispose of e-waste, many companies are investing into better ways to recycle the physical parts into new components. This means that you could expect to recycle more e-waste than you have in the past, with the aim to lessen the impact on the environment and stem the rush of outdated tech ending up in the garbage pile.
 
Partner with an Organization You Can Trust
 
While it is possible to stay abreast of the changes affecting the recycling and replacement of your tech this year, we strongly recommend that you partner with an IT Asset Disposition company you can trust. They can help you strategize the best way to dispose of unneeded or outdated tech, and ensure that not only are you within your local ordinance's compliance, but also minimize the impact on the environment as well. Finally, a partner will be able to help you get the best value on the resale of your equipment.
 
For more information, or to discuss your organization’s IT Asset Disposition needs, contact us at 678-393-3160 or info@unistartechnologies.com.

Data Sanitization is the process of purposefully and permanently wiping or terminating any data stored on a technology device. When done correctly, it is an irreversible process. That means that advanced technology will not be able to retrieve any trace of the data on the hardware, ensuring your organization’s privacy at all times.