IT asset disposition is increasingly essential as technology continues to evolve and a prominent shift in industry standards. Traditional ITAD services have changed over the past five years and include value-added services to help clients navigate hurdles produced by a post-pandemic landscape. Services such as ERP integration, ESG reporting, and remote management are among the most notable. Value-added services play a key role in reducing e-waste by helping to keep used IT assets in circulation.
Value-Added ITAD
Doing business in a digital era has significantly increased the use of technology over the past decade, making IT asset disposition a crucial industry to protect the environment. Value-added IT asset disposition (vITAD) is a concept HOBI pioneered to describe the recent change in ITAD industry standards. This new era of ITAD includes enhanced communication services, non-traditional asset services, mobility and data center services, and donation programs that help accomplish social ESG initiatives. Value maximization is critical to reducing e-waste and achieving a circular economy.
Value Maximization
The end of life doesn’t have to mean the end of use. ITAD providers offer mobile lifecycle management services for enterprises seeking to maximize the value of assets after retirement. Not every piece of IT equipment has reached the end of its useful life cycle when it is retired, and there are several ways to maximize the value of used IT assets. Maximizing value in retired IT assets keeps them out of the waste stream and helps provide electronics to those without access or seeking alternatives to purchasing new devices.
- Repair and remarketing opportunities help provide an alternative sales channel for purchasing new devices. With technology prices rising annually, consumers opt to keep their electronics as long as possible or purchase used devices. This also helps reduce the demand for resources to manufacture new devices. Partnering with an ITAD provider offering remarketing opportunities can help an organization achieve environmental ESG goals.
- Remote working resulted in an increased demand for IT assets. Many chose to use personal devices, while others preferred to continue using office equipment, but either way, the need for technology became a prominent issue. Many remote students had no access to technology to complete assignments, creating a digital divide between those without access. Some ITAD enterprises offer donation programs that enable clients to provide used IT equipment to those in need. This helps bridge the digital divide and allows enterprises to achieve social ESG goals by giving back to their communities.
- Partnering with a vITAD provider that offers services like employee buyback and donation programs enhances community involvement and helps companies achieve ESG goals. Employee buyback options for clients allow companies to benefit their employees by allowing them to purchase used IT equipment.
As the next generation of IT asset disposition, value-added ITAD services benefit companies that partner with ITAD providers by expanding the lifecycle of their retired IT assets, which contributes to the circular economy, protects the environment, and eliminates waste.