As the dust settles on the seismic shift brought about by the pandemic, we find ourselves firmly in the era of hybrid work. The tentative return to office has now evolved into a well-established norm. Businesses are no longer just reacquainting themselves with onsite IT equipment after months away; they are navigating the intricacies of a workplace transformed by the fusion of remote and in-person collaboration.
The hybrid work model has not only weathered the storm, but has become the bedrock of the corporate landscape. This reality leads to a reevaluation of office spaces, with considerations for full office consolidations, downsizing, and relocations become integral to strategic planning. Due to these workplace transformations, a demand for specialized IT asset disposition services (ITAD) has emerged. The services include hardware disposal & destruction, data erasure & repurposing, among others.
Here are just a few upcoming expectations over the next two years:
Improperly deleting data and disposing of hardware not only may result in costly data breaches, but sensitive data can be extracted from discarded devices that do not follow a correct process.
For example, in 2020, Morgan Stanley was fined $60 million for failing to properly decommission hardware containing wealth management data from two data centers in 2016. In another incident, ShopRite and its parent company, Wakefern Food Corporation, will pay $235K after two supermarkets threw away electronic devices exposing thousands of customers’ medical information.
Bringing on a team of dedicated professionals to handle these specific IT services, in addition to larger consolidation, expansion, or relocation services, can save critical time and cost while lowering potential security risks.
Align is a leading global provider of Technology Infrastructure Solutions—from the desktop to the data center. Recently, our team was brought on to evaluate the office footprint for a global financial firm, which included an office closure. The Align team followed our vetted IT Asset Disposition Program (ITAD) to help safeguard assets and eliminate risk throughout the closure program.
Reach out to one of Align's Workplace Technology experts to learn how we can help re-evaluate your office and IT today. Contact us now.