Dealing with technology from acquisition through its use to eventual disposal is something that almost every business must go through. How to go about it effectively as a SME is a worthwhile question.
In this article, we provide some answers to help your business.
Buying Technology from Reputable Suppliers
It’s important that businesses acquire technology equipment from reputable suppliers. While getting a bargain is always nice, it’s sensible to stick to reliable brands/suppliers that have a vested interest in doing right by their business customers.
It’s not necessary to buy every piece of technology new. Certainly, there’s some cost savings when selectively purchasing refurbished equipment. However, extra care must be taken if going this route.
In terms of a laser printer, for example, the risk is more about whether it’s going to offer value for money with its remaining lifespan vs the discounted price. However, with a refurbished laptop or desktop PC, there’s a greater risk of buying a compromised Windows operating system or malware lurking ready to steal away company account details. A full security inspection of a refurbished PC must take place, preferably along with a reformatting of the hard drive and installing a new Windows operating system too.
Getting the Most Out of Technology
Like any piece of machinery, technology might occasionally become faulty or wear out. Office equipment has a different average operational life depending on wear and tear. For instance, a server that’s rarely turned off will often have a shorter life than a desktop PC that’s only used a few hours on weekdays and powered down on weekends.
Maintenance is important with computing equipment. For printers, they require cleaning internally and the occasional replacement part. With PCs, the first thing to go wrong is usually the hard drive and with a laptop, the battery and power brick are significant vulnerabilities.
Covering for Equipment Redundancy
When relying on warranties where the PC may or may not be fixable with on-site coverage, it’s a good idea to have a few backup parts or replacement PCs available.
By sticking to the same brands and models, parts like a new power brick, power cable or laptop battery often can be replaced with almost zero downtime.
Safe, Legal Disposal of IT Equipment
E-waste in the UK is significant at over 44 million metric tons in 2017 alone. Businesses are legally responsible for protecting customer data by wiping the storage of computers, flash drives and external hard drives/SSDs before disposal.
The message is slowly being better understand across the business community yet over 40 percent of businesses still erase data before disposing of equipment often leading to significant data breaches. This risks substantial fines for failing to protect customer data.
EOL IT Services provides essential IT asset disposal services to businesses. Secure wiping of data storage using one of several methodologies ensures their clients meet legal requirements and protect company data. After all, it’s not just customer data that’s at risk; confidential company information might be on an IT technology asset too.
From the initial purchase through to eventual disposal, as long as businesses act sensibly towards both security and data records, technology will be far less of a headache.
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