What is ITAD and What Does ITAD Stand For?

You may have seen the acronym but not known what the ITAD meaning was ITAD stands for IT asset disposition. So, what is ITAD? As you may have guessed, this has to do with eliminating old hardware and tech equipment, such as computers, laptops, phones, fax machines, scanners, and things like that can harbor sensitive information. The temptation to toss or store your old tech may be overwhelming, but did you know that doing so can not only breach your privacy but be bad for the environment too?

Now that you have answered the question, “What is ITAD?” you need to know when you may need to employ a member of the ITAD services industry to walk you through the ITAD meaning and how it may be relevant to you personally or for business considerations. If you own or work with tech, there’s a chance that you may, at some point, need ITAD.

When Might You Need an ITAD Provider?

What is ITAD in relation to your business? Well, here are some circumstances that may come up when you could require the benefits of an ITAD expert and someone a bit more familiar with the ITAD meaning to assist you. 

• You’re refreshing your equipment and replacing it with new tech, but you’re unsure of what to do with the old equipment.
• Your company handles sensitive, private information for clients. This could range from health data to financial records. In any case, you must act lawfully to destroy this data to protect your clients from a possible data breach. 
• You want to get rid of old tech in an environmental way. You know that destroying tech or simply throwing it away is bad for the environment, and you want to lessen your company’s carbon footprint. 
• Assistance with data erasure is on your mind. You know you need to destroy sensitive information, but you’re unsure how. 

Finding the Right ITAD Provider

Now that you know how important ITAD is and what is ITAD, how do you go about finding the right provider so you can procure important and essential ITAD services for your business or personal use? First, you’ll need to discover whether the asset disposition provider gives you a certificate of data destruction so you can rest assured that private information won’t be compromised.

You’ll also need to find out if the company operates under the laws and guidelines of the NIST. What is ITAD in regards to the NIST? This stands for the National Institute for Standards and Technology. The service provider will also need to be accredited by the NIST. 

Find out how they recycle tech that cannot be refurbished and reused or sold and if it’s done in an ecological manner. Make sure employees of the company are background-checked, and anyone handling your information has been properly screened.

Lastly, ensure transparency. The company should notify you of every step of the process and allow you an inventory of your equipment and each stage of the ITAD service as it goes. You should be able to check online to see at what stage your tech is when it comes to erasure, recycling, reselling, etc. A company should never keep customers in the dark. 

Benefits of the ITAD Services Industry

So, answering the question, “What is ITAD?” is simple. ITAD is an industry that can not only help you eliminate tech you don’t need anymore, but these providers are also responsible for deleting sensitive data to give you the peace of mind you require. What benefits can you gain from using a reputable ITAD service? 

An ITAD provider can guarantee that private information is securely erased and unable to be retrieved. According to federal standards, they also follow compliance and legal guidelines to ensure this is done in the most lawful way. 

Using asset disposition providers also makes it simple for you to get rid of old tech without doing the legwork yourself. All you have to do is give them the tech, and your part is done. They will take inventory of your items. They will securely erase sensitive data. They will refurbish tech that can be resold or properly and lawfully recycling tech that can no longer be used.  

The best part is if your tech can be fixed, cleaned, and resold, then you will receive the revenue from that process, which means that’s extra money you can put back into your business. There aren’t any downsides to using a reputable ITAD company, especially if you deal with multiple types of tech and sensitive information. It doesn’t make sense for you to deal with this type of situation yourself when experts can lighten your load.

To learn more about ITAD and how your company can benefit, contact PlanITROI today.