IT Asset Disposition services come at a cost, but what are the costs of NOT having a sound ITAD policy in place within your organisation?

The cost of a bad ITAD policy can be severely crippling to an organisation. Failure to minimise the risks of data breaches requires constant vigilance with cybersecurity tools, but organisations should never downplay the importance of data breaches occurring from discarded and redundant hard drives and other IT assets.

Data Security & Data Privacy

An ITAD policy must always emphasise data security and data privacy protection. The differences and similarities between the two are outlined here in a previous blog article. Failure to maintain proper data security will therefore lead to a breach of data privacy, which can potentially result in penalties for data privacy regulations such as GDPR.

Fines for non-compliance with GDPR should be particularly concerning for any company in 2022 with a weak ITAD policy. Fines have surpassed $1.25 billion (about €1.20 billion) since 2021, resulting in a seven-fold increase and record-high fines for organisations in the EU.

Loss of Revenue & Reputation

A business that has suffered a major data breach can certainly expect a negative reception from prospective and existing customers. Moreover, social media attention and traditional media coverage can contribute to driving away customers to competitors.

In a report from PwC, some of the major sources of GDPR fallout that respondents cited reflected this. 19% stated that the negative media coverage would cause them to lose customers, whilst 12% stated that negative coverage would de-value their brand.

Legal Consequences

The fines for GDPR non-compliance have already been discussed, but it is also important to consider the legal challenges posed by GDPR and the various EU member states, between corporations and states, and for data transfers between the US and EU in particular.

A robust ITAD policy can reduce much-unwanted friction between legal jurisdictions and the organisation simply because the organisation is committed to maintaining compliance from one major source: redundant IT assets.

How to Mitigate The Costs of a Bad ITAD Policy

Choose to consult a global ITAD leader: there’s no sense leaving things to chance when it comes to crippling data breaches, so always choose a reputable, globally recognised ITAD Company such as Rapid IT .

Ensure all processes are auditable: when working with a reputable IT Asset Disposition provider, there should be no doubts about their auditable processes which are made completely transparent to the client. Peace of mind is good for the business, but it’s also critical in the event of an audit to prove that all due diligence was used to remain compliant.

Look for maximum ROI on redundant assets: while ITAD processes come with their own costs, there should also be an opportunity for businesses to achieve a better, more cost-effective turnaround on redundant and end-of-life IT assets. Rapid IT operates a full Circular Economy and consequently either recycles or refurbishes IT assets which are then re-sold on our e-commerce platform, the Rapid IT Store, which generates revenue for the client.

Obtain all necessary documentation & evidence of data destruction: the processes of Hard Drive Disposal and Data Destruction are core ITAD services that must be thorough and consistent to ensure that absolutely no sensitive data remains on any devices. Rapid IT provides video verification and certificates of data destruction for each and every IT asset.

Secure on-site data destruction capabilities: having IT assets securely destroyed on-premises at your business location minimises any occurrences of discarded IT assets falling into the wrong hands and ensures that the entire process is time and cost-efficient, as well. Rapid IT offers on-premises data destruction services. We also offer a full range of Data Centre Services such as Data Centre Decommissioning.

Strengthen Your ITAD Policy with Rapid IT Services

As a global leader in ITAD services, Rapid IT is your preferred ITAD partner. Our experts can work in conjunction with your organisation to improve your ITAD policy and correct any weaknesses therein, which can potentially save your company from financial and reputational harm.

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