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Secure & Sustainable IT Asset Disposition
Maximize Value, Minimize Risk: Your Partner in Responsible ITAD.
Ironclad Data Security
We prioritize your data security above all else. Our certified data destruction process adheres to strict NIST 800-88 standards, ensuring all sensitive information is permanently erased. We provide official Certificates of Destruction for your records, giving you a clear audit trail and complete peace of mind.
Maximum Value Recovery
Our goal is to maximize the financial return on your retired IT assets. We meticulously test and grade each piece of equipment, then leverage our extensive global remarketing channels to find the best buyers. This proven process ensures you receive the highest possible value for your hardware.
Responsible & Sustainable Recycling
We are committed to protecting our planet through responsible electronics recycling. Adhering to a strict zero-landfill policy and R2/e-Stewards certifications, we ensure all non-viable assets are processed in an environmentally compliant manner, helping you meet your corporate sustainability goals.
Comprehensive ITAD Solutions
We manage the entire disposition lifecycle for a wide range of enterprise and corporate IT assets, ensuring security and compliance from pickup to final reporting.
Our Proven Results
Maximize Your Return, Eliminate Your Risk
Our approach to IT Asset Disposition goes beyond basic logistics. We are your strategic partner, focused on a process that uncovers the maximum financial value from your retired IT hardware. This is all accomplished while ensuring your sensitive data is completely destroyed and all environmental regulations are met, giving you total security and peace of mind.
+60%
Higher ROI on Retired Assets
100%
Guaranteed Data Destruction
How It Works
A Process Built on Trust
We know that trust is earned through transparency. That’s why we’ve developed a rigorous, end-to-end process that protects your organization at every stage. From the initial secure pickup to the final reporting, every asset is meticulously tracked. We guarantee certified data destruction for your security, responsible recycling for compliance, and an expert remarketing strategy to maximize your financial return.
1. Secure Logistics & Pickup
Your assets are securely transported from your location to our facility by trained and vetted personnel.
2. Intake & Asset Tracking
Upon arrival, every asset is inventoried and tracked by serial number throughout our entire process.
3. Certified Data Destruction
All data is permanently destroyed using methods that meet or exceed NIST 800-88 and DoD standards.
4. Value Recovery & Reporting
Assets with remaining value are tested and remarketed, while you receive detailed reporting on everything we process.
Experience and Scale You Can Trust
We’re proud of the work we’ve done helping hundreds of organizations manage their IT assets securely and sustainably. These numbers represent our commitment to reliability, value, and our clients’ peace of mind.
2.5 M+
Assets Processed
1,500+
Satisfied Clients
12 M
Pounds of E-Waste Recycled
15+
Years of Experience
Ready to partner with an industry leader? Let’s discuss your organization’s ITAD needs.
For decades, data center end-of-life hardware has been treated as an “e-waste” problem. It’s a cost center, a compliance headache, and an environmental liability that needs to be “disposed of” as cheaply and quietly as possible.
This “take-make-dispose” model is broken. It’s financially short-sighted and environmentally unsustainable.
Leading data center operators are now embracing a new, far more profitable model: The Circular Data Center.
This model reframes “e-waste” as “under-utilized assets.” It shifts the entire focus of ITAD from disposal to value recovery. The goal is no longer to just recycle hardware (a low-value, energy-intensive process) but to reuse and remarket it, extending its life and turning a massive cost center into a significant new revenue stream.
The Problem with a “Recycle-First” ITAD Partner
Most ITAD vendors are, at their core, recycling companies. Their business model is built on volume and material recovery. To them, your 3-year-old servers are just a commodity, valued by the pound.
This “recycle-first” approach is a critical financial mistake:
- You get scrap-level value: They give you pennies on the dollar for the raw materials (aluminum, copper, steel) inside your hardware.
- You lose 100% of the functional value: You get $0 for the billions of transistors on the CPU, the terabytes of capacity in the SSDs, and the gigabits of throughput on the NICs.
- It’s bad for your ESG report: Recycling is better than a landfill, but it still has a significant carbon footprint. It is the last resort, not the first choice.
The “Reuse-First” Model: A Strategic Financial & ESG Win
A “reuse-first” ITAD partner operates like an investment manager for your hardware. Our goal is to find the “highest and best use” for every asset to maximize your financial return and your positive environmental impact.
The process is simple: Reuse > Harvest > Recycle.
- Reuse (Maximum Value): A functional 3-year-old server is tested, securely sanitized of all data, and sold as a complete unit on the secondary market. This returns the highest value to you and has the best environmental outcome, as it offsets the carbon footprint of manufacturing a new server.
- Harvest (Good Value): If a server is too old or custom-built, it’s not “scrapped.” We harvest its valuable components—CPUs, RAM, SSDs, and power supplies. These parts are tested, sanitized, and sold individually, unlocking value that a “recycle-first” vendor would have destroyed.
- Recycle (Asset Floor): Only after all “reuse” and “harvest” opportunities are exhausted do we responsibly recycle the remaining commodity materials. This is the final step, not the first.
How This Looks on Your P&L and ESG Report
The impact of this shift is immediate and profound.
On your P&L: Your ITAD line item flips from a cost (e.g., -$50,000 for “recycling services”) to revenue (e.g., +$400,000 in “asset value recovery”). This recovered capital flows directly back to your bottom line, helping to fund your next hardware upgrade.
On your ESG Report: You now have a powerful, quantifiable story for your investors and customers. Instead of just reporting “X tons recycled,” you can report:
- “Y units remarketed,” extending hardware life by 3-5 years.
- “Z tons of hardware diverted from the recycling stream.”
- “A measurable carbon offset by keeping hardware in circulation.”
itad.co Is Your Circular Economy Partner
At itad.co, we built our business on the “reuse-first” model. Our expertise isn’t just in logistics; it’s in data security and global remarketing. We have the technical facilities to test and sanitize tens of thousands of assets and the global sales channels to get you the highest possible price.
Stop treating your end-of-life hardware like trash. It’s a valuable asset that can fund your future growth and build your sustainability credentials.
Ready to unlock the hidden value in your data center?
Your hardware has a second life. A “reuse-first” strategy can fund your next upgrade and fuel your ESG goals. The first step is understanding what your assets are truly worth.
Let our data center specialists provide a confidential, no-obligation consultation. We’ll show you the real-world value hidden in your retired hardware and build a custom recovery plan.
Your data center isn’t like other data centers. Your hardware isn’t “off-the-shelf.”
You run on custom-built, high-density compute sleds. You’re an early adopter of OCP (Open Compute Project) hardware. Your racks are filled with specialized AI/ML accelerators that general-purpose ITAD vendors have never seen before.
So why would you use a general-purpose ITAD vendor to manage its end-of-life?
A standard ITAD company, whose business is built on processing millions of identical corporate laptops and beige Dell servers, sees your hyperscale hardware as a problem. To them, it’s non-standard, difficult to process, and has no clear resale channel.
To them, it’s scrap. To you, that means you’re leaving millions in residual value on the table.
The “Scrap-It” vs. “Smart-It” Approach
A generalist ITAD vendor runs on a simple model: “If we don’t recognize it, we shred it.” This “scrap-first” approach is a massive financial liability for two reasons:
- They Don’t Understand the Value: They see a custom-built OCP rack and quote you a price based on its scrap metal weight. They don’t see the high-value, remarketable NPUs, the advanced cooling components, or the chassis itself, which is in high demand by second-tier cloud providers.
- They Lack the Technical Expertise: They don’t have engineers who can properly test, audit, and sanitize custom hardware at the component level. Their “solution” is to physically destroy everything, erasing 100% of its potential value just to mitigate a risk they don’t know how to manage.
For hyperscalers, this is not a sustainable or financially sound model. You need a partner who is a hardware expert, not just a logistics-and-destruction company.
The Hyperscale ITAD Model: Technical Expertise First
A specialized hyperscale partner operates on a completely different model. When we see a rack of custom hardware, our process is built around value preservation, not just disposal.
- Engineering-Led Audits: Our team includes hardware engineers who understand your custom architecture. We can securely and non-destructively test your hardware to identify high-value, functional components.
- Component-Level Harvest: We know the true value isn’t in the “server” but in its parts: the processors, the memory, the network cards, and the specialized accelerator chips. We have the technical facilities to safely harvest, test, and inventory these components.
- Niche Global Markets: A generalist vendor sells on eBay. A hyperscale specialist has a global, private network of buyers for OCP and custom hardware. We have direct relationships with research labs, AI startups, and specialized hosting companies who are hungry for this specific hardware.
This expertise-led approach means we can unlock value from assets that other vendors would have already sent to the shredder.
Case in Point: The OCP Conundrum
We recently worked with a hyperscale client decommissioning 4,000 custom OCP servers. Their previous ITAD vendor quoted them a cost of $150,000 for the secure shredding and disposal of the equipment.
Our engineering team audited the hardware and identified that the chassis and networking components were in high demand. We managed the entire secure data sanitization process on-site, then used our remarketing network to sell the data-free hardware.
The result? Instead of paying a $150,000 bill, the client received a check for $900,000.
That’s the financial difference between a “disposal vendor” and a “value-recovery partner.”
Your Custom Hardware Is an Asset, Not a Liability
Your infrastructure is your competitive advantage. Its end-of-life shouldn’t be an expensive, high-risk problem.
At itad.co, we are specialists in hyperscale and custom hardware. We have the engineering expertise and the global market access to securely manage your data sanitization and maximize the residual value of your unique assets. Stop shredding your own money.
Don’t let a generalist vendor scrap your high-value hardware.
Your custom and OCP hardware has a significant second-market value. Let our hardware experts show you what it’s really worth.
Schedule a confidential, no-obligation Valuation Assessment for your custom hardware. We’ll provide a real-world estimate of its residual value.
Book My Free Hardware Valuation
“Decommissioning a data hall” is one of the most deceptively simple phrases in IT.
It doesn’t just mean “unplugging servers.” It’s a high-stakes, high-stress project with massive operational, security, and financial risks. One wrong move can lead to downtime in an adjacent live hall. One un-scanned hard drive can lead to a million-dollar data breach. One sloppy de-installation can destroy the resale value of your assets.
A successful data hall decommission isn’t a “rip and replace.” It’s a precision-managed project. As professional data center project managers, here is the 5-step plan we use to guarantee zero downtime and 100% compliance.
Before You Begin: The Pre-Decommission Audit
This is the most critical phase. Failure to plan here is planning to fail.
- Asset & Data Mapping: You must know exactly what is in every rack. What’s leased vs. owned? What’s slated for remarketing, redeployment, or destruction? Most importantly, what is the data-security level of every single server? This map dictates the entire project.
- Logistics & SOW: Define the Statement of Work (SOW). Map out the power-down sequence, the on-site “secure staging” areas, and the logistics for secure transport or on-site destruction. Get buy-in from your security, operations, and finance teams.
Step 1: The Secure Takedown & De-Installation
This is where amateurs cause damage. Your partner can’t just be “muscle”; they must be trained technicians.
- Phased Power-Down: The decommission must be isolated from the live environment. This involves a careful, sequenced power-down coordinated with your facilities team.
- “White Glove” De-racking: Assets intended for resale must be treated like the high-value electronics they are. This means careful de-racking, anti-static bagging of components, and protective packaging, not tossing servers onto a pallet.
- Cable Pulling & Abatement: A full decommission includes removing all associated infrastructure, including pulling all network and power cabling from under the raised floor and from overhead racks.
Step 2: The On-Site Asset & Drive Inventory
This is the lynchpin of your chain of custody. It must happen before anything moves.
- Scan at the Rack: As each server is removed, it is scanned. As each hard drive is pulled from its chassis, it is scanned.
- Real-Time Reconciliation: This serialized data feeds into a central portal. At any moment, you should be able to see “1,000 servers scanned, 8,000 drives scanned.” This 1-to-1 match between the asset and its drives is non-negotiable.
Step 3: Secure Data Sanctification (On-Site)
This is your primary security control. Never let data-bearing drives leave your facility unchecked.
- For Resale Assets: Drives are erased on-site using mobile, NIST 800-88 compliant erasure bays. Each erasure is digitally verified and logged against the drive’s serial number.
- For Destroy Assets: Any drive that fails erasure—or is slated for destruction—is degaussed and then fed into an on-site, industrial shredder under your team’s supervision. You get to see the fragments.
Step 4: Secure Logistics & Transport
Now that your assets are data-free and verifiably secure, they can be moved.
- Secure Transport: This doesn’t mean a standard freight truck. This requires sealed, GPS-tracked vehicles, ideally staffed by the ITAD partner’s own bonded employees, moving directly from your dock to their secure facility.
- “White Glove” Packing: High-value assets are custom-packed into secure containers to protect their value during transit.
Step 5: Final Reconciliation & Reporting
The project isn’t over until the paperwork is done. This is your proof of compliance.
- Final Audit Report: A serialized, itemized report of every single asset, including its serial number, its condition, and its final disposition (e.g., “Sold,” “Recycled,” “Shredded”).
- Certificate of Destruction: Your NAID AAA-certified proof that all media was destroyed in accordance with NIST standards.
- Value Recovery Report: A transparent financial statement showing the revenue generated from remarketed assets and your final check.
Why You Can’t Afford to DIY or “Low Bid” This
Using an unspecialized, “cheap” vendor or trying to manage this with internal staff is a recipe for disaster. The risks—data breaches, lost assets, project delays, and safety incidents—are too high. A data hall decommission requires a partner with the project management expertise, NAID AAA-certified security, and logistical scale to execute flawlessly.
Planning a data hall decommission in the next 12 months?
A successful project starts with a solid plan. Let our data center decommissioning experts help you build it.
Schedule a free, confidential consultation to start building your SOW and project plan today. We’ll help you identify risks and value opportunities you haven’t seen.