IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) Best Practices for a Cloud Migration

Are you planning a cloud migration? CEO of Wisetek, Sean Sheehan, discusses how a proper IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) strategy will make your migration not only risk free, but profitable too.

When it comes to the cloud, there are many advantages that a company can enjoy. From disaster recovery to increased collaboration, automatic software updates to security, these are just some of the benefits for the wider organization.

However, for all IT professionals, moving to the cloud can be a stressful time. Ensuring that your data is successfully migrated, keeping your IT environment up and running, and training your staff on the new system can be a daunting prospect, explains Sean Sheehan, Wisetek CEO.

With a lot at stake, it is no surprise that some companies don’t give enough thought to their old IT assets and often look at this equipment with the belief that it’s not only worthless but ready for the scrap heap.

Not only is this a common misconception, but it can also be a costly one too – both in regulatory and environmental terms and in the inherent value of the old assets.

If you are planning to move to the cloud, your migration should include a proper ITAD strategy, and consider the following topics:

IT audit

Before you start provisioning your new, virtual servers, you need to have a physical, global audit of all IT equipment to ensure everything to be disposed of is accurately recorded. While there are network tools which can detail some of this equipment, it is no substitute for a physical audit.

Redundant equipment valuation

As part of an IT audit, all equipment should be detailed by model, serial number and age, thus providing a proper valuation. Once this is performed, your ITAM strategy will include the intrinsic value within your IT assets – a value which you might have overlooked and will come as a pleasant surprise.

IT disposition

Your IT disposition strategy should involve both the destruction of the IT assets and recycling too. Whether on-site or off-site, IT assets must be disposed of in a certified way thus ensuring that all data is permanently removed and destroyed, therefore eliminating the potential of a data breach. Furthermore, it should be done in line with environmental standards of your jurisdiction too.

Reselling/reusing old parts

Recovering existing parts, and ensuring that they are ‘new’ supply equivalents requires detailed knowledge of the global market for used electronics. Only then will you achieve an optimal financial return on used parts. And while there may not be a market for a particular item, you might be able to reuse certain parts within your organization, thus recouping more value from your old stock.

Professionally project managed

Hiring a company that will give you a complete end-to-end managed service of the full ITAM process will give you the peace of mind that the ITAM part of your cloud transition will run smoothly, and ensure that certain ‘dark clouds’ won’t appear on your migration.

For more information about Wisetek’s services, see: https://wisetek.net/services/it-asset-disposition/