Tip of the Week: Cover Your Assets By Properly Disposing of Your Old Computers

It can be difficult to think about replacing expensive hardware like desktops and servers without breaking your budget, much less having to deal with your old data. Thankfully, there are certain steps that you can take to make the transition to a new PC or server much easier, and it all starts with properly getting rid of your old technology.

Before we get started, though, we want to emphasize the importance of taking preventative measures. These keep you from getting into a situation where you don’t have the technology you need. In other words, if your desktop is outdated, then you shouldn’t wait until it completely breaks down before you replace it. This makes it imperative that you identify warning signs for your ailing technology before it suddenly stops working.

Warning Signs
To get started thinking about what to do when your computer breaks down, look for the following warning signs.

• General PC slowdown
• Freezing or even operating system crashes
• Corrupted files or data loss
• Random shutdowns
• Startup errors

Keep in mind that these symptoms could be signs of other PC issues as well.

Understand When You Need to Replace Technology
Nothing your business utilizes can last forever, including technology like workstations and servers. If you suspect that your PC is reaching its limit, it’s crucial that you implement a strategy to properly replace it and dispose of the old one. If there’s no such policy to adhere to, you could be putting your business at risk of a data breach, and putting yourself at odds when the investigators look into whether it was your fault for failing to follow best practices. Gartner explains, “Best-practice PC disposal processes provide an audit trail documenting the serial-numbered inventory of disposed PCs, certification that proprietary and personal data has been removed and made unrecoverable, and transfer/reuse of software licenses, where applicable.”

Does your business have old technology that’s holding you back from moving forward? If so, contact GTSS right away. Our technicians can help your business completely wipe the data off of your old technology’s hard drives, or transfer it to your new, more recent hardware. Plus, we can recycle your business’s old devices so they won’t cause harm to the environment.

Our goal is to help your business make a smooth transition to new hardware solutions without putting your sensitive data at risk. To learn more about what we can do for your organization, reach out to us at (803) 298-3008.