The Balancing Act
Creating an ITAD plan is all about balance. Striking that perfect mix of function, cost, convenience, and security is different for each customer, but it’s a part of the process that we really love. We thought this would be a great time to talk about that balancing act, and maybe you can see how it could work for your organization.
The balancing act in designing an ITAD plan for our customers can take many different forms, most often depending on the customer’s specific goals. Because of HIPAA regulations, hospitals are very sensitive to the need for data security, for example. Schools, on the other hand, are often constrained by their budgets and need an ITAD plan that’s cost-effective. No two ITAD strategies are the same, and being able to skillfully thread that needle is a hallmark of a quality vendor.
Security VS Cost
Protecting your client’s data is one of the core mandates of an ITAD vendor – it’s one of the very reasons that the industry even exists. For some vendors it’s easy to justify any price in comparison to the cost of a data breach, but we’re tasked with protecting our clients, and that means that we have to be good stewards of both their data and their resources.
There are a number of ways that CDR Global can find a happy medium between security and cost. On-site hard drive shredding is a great way to ensure that data never drifts outside the chain of custody, but bringing the shredding hardware to the client costs more than doing the shredding at our facility. One way that CDR Global is able to offset that cost is by performing on-site destruction less frequently. It offers superior security while keeping costs in line. Making that sort of small adjustment to an ITAD plan gives you the ability to deliver industry-best security while keeping costs in line.
Inconvenience VS Strategic Advantage
Some executives see an ITAD plan as an extra layer of hassle in an already complicated IT system. To be sure, a good ITAD plan requires research, planning, and accountability to make sure that it helps promote the culture and strategic goals of any organization. You could say that it’s easier to not have an ITAD plan, much in the way that you could say that not taking out the garbage is easier than taking out the garbage. Just because something is easy doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
When CDR Global crafts an ITAD plan for a client who’s new to the process, we try to create something that can operate parallel to their existing IT plans. If hardware is scheduled to get upgraded, then we work with their schedule to collect it and deal with it accordingly. Likewise, we tailor our reporting methods and scheduling so that they can meet their compliance and managerial needs.
A well-crafted ITAD plan should complement a client’s operations, and in many cases, offer solutions to issues that would otherwise rob the organization of time and energy. When it functions properly, the ITAD plan can actually enhance operations and play a role in moving the firm towards its strategic goals.
Expense VS Revenue
When a client needs an ITAD plan that helps drive dollars to the bottom line, it’s essential that we find a way to maximize the value of their outgoing assets while minimizing the expense of the overall process, and there are a couple of ways that can make that possible.
The first way is for us to take the time to find the best buyer for your hardware. When we’re finding ways to generate revenue from our client’s assets, CDR Global is usually able to recover more money for something if we can perform a more thorough search for buyer who’s very interested in those specific pieces. Our system values transparency, and CDR will show you how we can find the best buyer, allowing you to recapture more value on your IT investment.
The second way is to be proactive in your IT plan. As a general rule of thumb, new items fetch better prices. If you were buying a used laptop, would you expect to pay more for last year’s model, or a model from 2010? It helps to keep that same mindset when you’re scheduling future IT upgrades. If you sell your hardware while there’s still a market for those particular devices, you’ll be able to recapture more of the value. That naturally requires that you upgrade more frequently, but if you consider the revenue from used hardware as offsetting the cost of new hardware, you’ll be creating an IT upgrade plan that, in part at least, pays for itself. If you wait until the hardware dies before you replace it, you’ll be recouping the bare minimum from that dead equipment, and you’ll be paying nearly 100% out-of-pocket for your new hardware. CDR Global can easily step in and help consult on the upgrade schedule for your IT system, allowing you to maximize the value of your hardware simply through some proactive scheduling.
What are you trying to balance with your ITAD plan? What are the specific challenges and requirements that determine how you handle the disposal of unused hardware?
If you think your plan could be easier, more secure, or possibly even more profitable, get in touch with CDR Global and let’s see if we can’t come up with an ITAD solution that enhances your organization.