Secure it asset destruction

Business Challenge

As you seek to upgrade or replace your technology infrastructure, you will be required to retire some of your older IT assets. These assets may include tapes that are no longer needed, obsolete storage devices that have been replaced, or copiers that have been exchanged for newer models. These old IT assets all have one thing in common: they all contain confidential company information that must be protected.

As an industry professional, you need a defined process with secure procedures for destroying your out-of-date IT assets. Without such a process, your organisation may be at risk for regulatory penalties, damaged brand reputation, and/or inadvertent disclosures. In addition, once you have destroyed these older assets, you will also need to consider a socially responsible way to dispose of this Electronic Waste (eWaste) — therefore the destruction process must be eco-friendly in design.

What If You Could...

• Confidently manage your old, obsolete, or decommissioned IT equipment?
• Be sure that all sensitive information has been completely destroyed?
• Securely track your equipment throughout the destruction process, so you wouldn’t have to worry about it falling into the wrong hands?
• Dispose of destroyed data centre assets in an environmentally friendly manner that is compliant with strict mandates and industry regulations?

Industry fact: On average, the total weight of global electrical and electronic equipment consumption increases annually by 2.5 million metric tons according to the Global E-Waste Monitor. In 2021 alone, the world generated 63.3 million tons of electronic waste, which is equivalent to the weight of the Great Wall of China or approximately 16 pounds per person. That same year, only 17% of that e-waste was recycled. The rest of it was either stockpiled, shipped to a landfill, or sent offshore. The Global E-waste Monitor also predicts that global electronic waste (e-waste) will reach 74 million metric tons by 2030, almost doubling the amount of e-waste in just 16 years.

Iron Mountain Secure It Asset Destruction

With the Iron Mountain^® Secure IT Asset Destruction solution, you’ll reduce your eWaste by destroying and recycling a wide variety of IT assets — everything from computers that have held your most sensitive information, to old tapes, DVDs, and beyond. Plus, with services that include logistics, graceful shutdown or powering down, de-installation, removal, and processing, you can count on the fact that the entire process will be managed conveniently and securely. For customers that have regulatory requirements to observe, we also offer onsite destruction for certain assets so that they can be destroyed on your property, right in front of your own eyes.

Secure Chain Of Custody

With auditable verification and strict security practices that include GPS tracking, protected transportation, and a documented chain of custody, you’ll be aware of the physical location of your assets at all times. This way, you can be sure that your data will remain protected throughout the destruction process. You’ll also have the flexibility to schedule services on a one-time or recurring basis, depending on your unique IT asset disposition needs.

Environmental Responsibility

By partnering with us, you’ll know your disposition strategy will meet the strictest compliance regulations, and you’ll be able to rest assured that your eWaste is never landfilled. With the e-Stewards^®; recycling process, your lowvalue equipment will be managed in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut pollution, and save both energy and resources, thereby helping you to minimise your organisation’s carbon footprint and providing you with the benefits of the positive brand recognition that comes with improving your green IT posture.

What You Gain

• Best-practice-based disposition methodologies that ensure reliability and consistency from collection through final destruction of end-of-life IT assets.
• Peace of mind that your critical information isn’t lost, stolen, or jeopardised in any way — backed up through an auditable process and strict security practices.
• Compliant, environmentally correct disposal of potentially hazardous eWaste.

Secure It Asset Disposition Materials List

Data centre decommissioning options include physical inventory, server shutdown, cable pulling, media erasure and destruction, and asset redeployment. Assets that can be processed include:

• IT equipment (desktops, laptops, servers, mainframes, printers, cable and wiring, etc.)
• Office equipment (copiers, scanners, fax machines, phones, etc.)
• Audio/visual equipment (televisions, projectors, speakers, etc.)
• Consumer electronics (cameras, GPS devices, audio/ theater equipment, gaming devices, etc.)
• Other assets (batteries, retail POS, medical test equipment, etc.)
• Computer hard drives
• CDs/DVDs
• Backup tapes
• USB cards and jump drives
• SD cards
• Microfilm/microfiche
• ID badges
• Bank cards
• Photographs/audio and video tapes

1. Medical and hazardous waste items are not accepted.
   
   
2. Erasure and degaussing services also available for disk drives with or without destruction.
   
   

About Iron Mountain

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) provides information management services that help organisations lower the costs, risks, and inefficiencies of managing their physical and digital data. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain manages billions of information assets, including backup and archival data, electronic records, document imaging, business records, secure shredding, and more, for organisations around the world. Visit the company website at www.ironmountain.com for more information.