What Happens When You Don't Use Server Movers to Recycle Your Old Equipment

by Stephanie Faris on Monday, February 16 6:00

Any business that s been around for more than a few years likely has old electronic equipment hanging around. For many businesses, getting rid of old equipment can be tricky, with many still uncertain about the best procedure for disposal.

As equipment piles up, taking up office space and creating an obstruction, many businesses turn to server movers to remove and recycle old computers and servers. These experts not only take the responsibility off of a business s hands, but they also protect the sensitive data that may still reside on the hard drives of that equipment. For businesses considering handling themselves, here s what may happen when you don t turn the job over to experts.

The Dumpster Approach

Monitors, computers, mobile devices, and some components are banned from being tossed in your household trashcan or commercial dumpsters. This equipment has dangerous chemicals that, over time, can prove extremely damaging to the environment, especially when combined with other chemicals that can reside in landfills. Before you drop your old computer discreetly into your work dumpster, be aware that in some areas doing so is illegal. If you re caught, you could face stiff fines, depending on local laws. At the very least, your property manager could discover the violation and easily trace the action back to you, either through witnessing it on a security camera or pulling the device out of the trash and investigating from where it originated.

The Responsible Approach

Most businesses will take the extra effort to recycle old devices responsibly. This could include donating it to a nonprofit or taking it to a local electronics recycling facility, where they may or may not be given monetary credit for it. Many recycling facilities serve as scrap brokers, dividing up the parts and sending them off to manufacturers for repurposing. Unfortunately, an alarming number of businesses take old equipment away without properly removing all data that resides on it.

Your Risks

Even if you think you ve taken measures to wipe your hard drives, can you be 100 percent sure everything is erased? Even the best PC-wiping software can leave traces of data, putting businesses at risk. If even one piece of sensitive customer data ends up in the wrong hands, a business could face an embarrassing data breach incident that results in fines and reputation damage.

The Solution

When a business chooses a professional server moving company to handle disposal and erasure of old equipment, that business can trust all information will be removed. Server movers often use a combination of processes that ensures if one fails, the other will make up the difference. Many businesses now choose to play it safe and completely remove and shred hard drives in order to take away all possibilities that a data breach can happen.

If you have old equipment that needs to be removed, don t take risks with your data. A trusted server moving company can handle not only disposing of all equipment but ensuring it is done responsibility to remove a business s risk of a data breach.