How the IT Giants Stay at the Cutting Edge

Kyle Bittner coordinates IT asset recovery efforts as the business development manager of Ex-IT Technologies.

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The IT industry is fiercely competitive, with data centers striving for the top position in effectiveness, efficiency and stability. With costly new technologies appearing often, it can be difficult to stay ahead. IT departments, large and small, know the key to a seamless upgrade path is the effective resale of aging equipment and components to fuel new purchases.

Budgeting the Refresh Cycle

A common upgrade tactic of IT giants is getting a valuation on current equipment in operation prior to an upgrade. The company combines their upgrade budget with the value of current equipment to finance a larger purchase. An accurate valuation depends on using an asset recovery company experienced in the retiring equipment. It is also important to discuss the time frame, since the value of used assets declines over time.

Another way to gain funds for the new purchase is memory. Often data centers will outgrow their previous operating systems and need to run multiple ones using virtualization software. That software requires more memory. Since systems have a set number of memory slots, it is necessary to buy higher-density modules to replace the low-density ones. If the old modules cannot find a home in a server with open slots, they can easily be sold to an asset recovery company and converted to cash.

Value of Old Equipment

The green push for efficiency has relegated power-intensive systems in favor of low-power options. Does that mean the old systems with 1.8 volt or 1.5 volt memory are obsolete, and destined to levy a disposal cost? Don't let the recyclers send a bill until the systems have been valued from a working basis. Even though a lot of the major data centers and corporations push for the cutting edge, there is a strong resale market for refurbished product. Whether a corporation is expanding with capital constraints, or other countries purchasing with an older technology base, there is a liquid market for used servers, networking equipment, and client systems.

Using the Right Company for the Job

IT giants are the best at what they do, and they focus on that by diverting non-core tasks to others. For that reason, data centers will work with an IT asset recovery company to handle all of the retired equipment, so they don't have to do the work themselves. The recovery company knows what's of value and therefore worth spending time on, and what should be responsibly recycled. Some recovery companies have repair capabilities and maximize return even on formerly defective equipment. Data security is a huge concern for IT companies, so they use a certified company with data destruction capabilities to ensure their brand is protected from information leaks.

The continuous purchase of new equipment can be fueled by the effective resale of the old by using an IT asset recovery company, that's how IT giants profitably stay at the cutting edge.

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