4 Practical Steps for Better IT Asset Handling

Organizing technology hardware without even making an attempt means having a stringent chain of custody, documentation of data destruction, having a set IT asset disposal path, and deploying the power infrastructure for the organization.

All of these four basic principles make the hardware refresh a much simpler and predictable task, saving both time and money.

Imagine yourself in the same corporate office one day after the approval of a laptop fleet purchase, and you will find all decommissioned hardware in some vacant cubicle, just lying around without any plans for disposal.

The most effective way to recycle electronics is to develop a systematic plan that helps prevent bottlenecks like these from happening.

This overlapping period of old and new hardware is what usually happens at corporate IT whenever a hardware refresh hasn’t been planned.

It turns out that such unplanned hardware lifecycle ends in waste production. The U.S. alone produces seven million tons of e-waste each year.

To prevent this issue from happening in your case, make sure that your habits are as predictable as possible.

1. Build a Bulletproof Inventory Plan

For each unit entering the refresh cycle, one point of truth must be established immediately.

Asset ID, serial, department to which the unit belongs, and its condition grade must be logged. No movement can take place without this entry to maintain accountability.

For the healthcare sector, this entails the logging of a tablet by department name and ward identifier before distribution. In a retail environment, track the MAC address and enclosure type.

Field technicians performing an installation, such as attaching a Vidabox PoE adapter for tablets, need to have access to the central inventory.

Corporate refreshes of workstations involve logging of the monitor and desktop to the employee receiving it during each stage.

The true chain of custody identifies the precise party involved in the receiving, imaging, deployment, retrieval, and finally disposal stages of the asset lifecycle 

This chain does not start at the point of deployment, but right away, since the first thing out of the package is a warehouse scanner without a serial entry.

It can result in a disposal report that cannot be balanced at the time of audit.

2. Choose a Compliant Electronics Pathway

An IT closet is definitely not an option that should be considered as a long-term solution. The stock of old equipment in the room increases compliance risk drastically each week.

The selection of the retirement program has to occur before any piece of equipment goes out of order. Delaying the choice of the pathway to recycling will only lead to logistical problems.

For corporate IT environments, outsourcing the workstation refresh program implies working through a certified logistics partner.

Grading in a transparent way often gives a residual value, adding to the budget of the project.

In 2019, a total of 53.6 million metric tons of electronic waste were produced. This approach can be utilized by retailers in their ESG reporting for sustainable IT operations.

Selecting a partner in terms of IT asset management one should focus on transparent product grading and certified recycling.

The process of disposing of outdated equipment can be facilitated through solutions such as PCLiquidations’ certified electronics recycling.

It allows setting fixed prices, preventing any unforeseen logistics costs at the disposal stage. With the pathway defined beforehand, IT asset cleanup becomes an organized activity.

3. Make Secure Data Destruction Non-Negotiable

Data destruction should be included in the runbook deployment gate and not left to chance when somebody just gets around to doing it.

If a device is not positively proven to be wiped, then it doesn’t ship.

This means requiring NIST 800-88-compliant wipes with drive-by drive certifications on nursing station computers in the healthcare environment.

It is proven that theft or loss is by far the most common breach event and that erasure is vital.

With retail, the process of sanitizing the POS terminals must be certified by the on-site team lead.

The corporate IT department needs to implement a bootable image-based workflow that includes the capture of the drive’s serial number.

The principle of data security is actually incredibly easy to remember: if it wasn’t written down, it never happened as far as any auditor is concerned.

No amount of verbal certification will ever pass a rigorous audit trail test.

A properly organized certificate folder makes sure that an auditor can browse the records within five minutes.

4. Standardize Power and Connectivity Infrastructure

Think about some of the most common deployment mistakes made out in the field. A technician comes in to deploy digital signage and finds out there are no electrical outlets anywhere near.

A hospital kiosk tablet shuts down during working hours due to an accidental unplugging by the cleaning staff.

In both cases, the problem is caused by the very same issue: power was an afterthought.

In order to solve the problem of deploying tablets and kiosks in places with high foot traffic, it’s recommended to use the standardized power solution.

Power over Ethernet provides both power and networking capabilities using one cable only. No outlet survey and no electricians will be needed before installing anything.

Having reliable power solutions incorporated directly into the housing of the devices ensures their readiness to deploy anytime.

There are many advantages of using the standardized deployment approach. The number of service calls on-site has been reduced considerably for the IT team.

Using universal docking stations ensures that all workplaces are supplied with power and a network connection.

Hardware is set up without a single glitch when all power needs are addressed during development.

Your Next Steps

Plan so that your next upgrade goes without a hitch from start to finish. Make sure you have covered all the following points before anything is moved off the staging floor.

By planning, messy transitions can be turned into well-organized processes.

• Assets accounted for and a chain of custody log established: each item registered, inventoried, and monitored from receipt to disposal.
• Data sanitization procedure planned and documented: data wipe procedure specified, and certifications kept safely for each item.
• Recycling vendor selected: retirement plan developed for secure data sanitization and efficient IT processes.
• Infrastructure standardized: deployment packs contain everything required, and all surveys are finished.
• Compliance check finished: final audit of the project according to your own internal policies and other regulations.

Now, with inventory control and standardized infrastructure, transitions are managed easily.

As you reduce your carbon footprint, the performance of your systems stays the same. The compliance report is always up-to-date, even before anyone requests to take a look.

It’s just about implementing the right practices consistently.