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IT Asset Recovery Ultimate Guide: Maximize Returns

Unduit has helped companies of all sizes achieve remarkable IT asset recovery rates. We have successfully boosted recovery rates from minimal fractions to an impressive range of 80-90%, resulting in substantial savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars in IT budgets. What's our secret to success? It's rooted in a decade of dedicated research and mastering the optimization process for complex organizations with thousands of employees spanning the globe.   But here's the best part: we're excited to share all the valuable insights with you. In this ultimate guide to IT asset recovery, you'll find everything you need to know about optimizing your asset recovery process and achieving maximum ROI on your EOL technology. What is IT Asset Recovery? IT asset recovery is the process of retrieving and managing company-owned technology devices from employees or other sources. It helps ensure efficient resource utilization, cost savings, and data security. Sometimes this term is also used to refer to the entire process of retrieving, managing, and potentially extracting value from IT assets that are no longer in use or needed by a company.    Importance of Professional Asset Recovery Service Even though companies have the option to handle asset retrieval in-house, leveraging professional asset recovery services offers several advantages. By partnering with a reputable service provider, organizations can always ensure the following benefits: Cost Savings: Professional services help maximize cost savings by recovering and repurposing IT assets instead of purchasing new devices. Resource Optimization: Partnering with a service provider frees up company resources that would otherwise be dedicated to asset recovery, allowing them to focus on more critical tasks. Data Security: Asset recovery company ensures that sensitive company information is securely handled during the whole process and they can be held accountable if there's any data breach. Environmental Responsibility: Service providers promote sustainability by facilitating proper recycling or refurbishment of recovered assets, reducing electronic waste. Compliance and Risk Mitigation: Specialized organizations specialize in helping companies comply with regulatory requirements and mitigate the risk of data breaches. Automated Workflow: Utilizing an automated workflow system, service providers streamline and ensure efficiency and accuracy at every step.   The Procedure of IT Asset Recovery Assessment and Deployment Recovering company assets is a critical process that begins with a thorough assessment and deployment strategy. This involves identifying the assets to be recovered, evaluating their condition, and determining the most suitable approach for each device. Asset Assignment and Tracking To ensure proper management and accountability, recovered assets are assigned to specific employees or departments. This allows for efficient tracking throughout the recovery process, providing visibility into the ownership and location of each asset. Reporting and Data Security Data security is of utmost importance during the IT asset recovery process. Comprehensive reporting mechanisms are implemented to track the progress and status of each asset. Measures are taken to safeguard sensitive data through secure erasure or destruction methods. Asset Removal and Repurposing Once data security measures are in place, assets are removed from employees' possession. Depending on their condition and company requirements, the recovered assets can be repurposed for internal use or refurbished for resale. Another option is to donate the assets to charitable organizations, extending their lifespan and making a positive social impact. Choosing to Warehouse and Redeploy, Recycle, or Resell Professional asset recovery services usually offer organizations three primary options: warehousing and redeployment, recycling, or reselling. Warehousing and Redeployment  Recovered assets in good condition can be stored in a designated warehouse for future use (after refurbishment). This allows for internal redeployment to other employees or departments, maximizing resource utilization and minimizing unnecessary expenses. Recycling To ensure the safety of company data and minimize environmental impact, assets that are no longer functional or needed can undergo responsible asset disposition.  Reselling Organizations that no longer require old equipment but prefer not to recycle them can opt for liquidation by properly reselling the recovered assets. Liquidation provides an opportunity to recoup some of the investment while ensuring proper data destruction and compliance with regulatory requirements. Choosing the Right Asset Recovery Company It's important to choose a vendor that has extensive experience dealing with retired IT equipment. An experienced team of asset recovery specialists can help you get maximum residual value from every retired IT asset. Here are the major factors when evaluating vendors: Secure Chain of Logistics: Look for a vendor that prioritizes the secure transportation and handling of your assets and offers maximum visibility. This includes secure packing, using asset tag for better asset tracking, chain of custody records, and transportation insurance to safeguard against loss or damage. Global Support: If your organization operates internationally or has a distributed workforce, it's essential to choose a vendor that offers global support. This ensures seamless asset recovery regardless of location, with expertise in navigating local regulations and logistics. Flexibility in Service Options: A reliable vendor should offer flexible service options tailored to your specific requirements, whether on-site asset removal, hard drive destruction, or remarketing assistance. Certificates of Data Destruction: Data security is paramount in asset recovery. Ensure that the vendor provides certified data destruction services, verifying the proper sanitization or destruction of all electronic equipment. Reselling or remarketing: Opt for a vendor with expertise in recovering value from used assets. Look for those with a wide buyer network and the ability to maximize returns on your assets. Environmental Reporting: Choose a vendor with transparent environmental reporting to ensure their commitment to sustainable practices. Certifications and Compliance: Prioritize vendors with certifications like R2 or e-Stewards to ensure compliant e waste recycling. Integration with Systems and Inventory: Opt for a vendor that seamlessly integrates with your current systems to share data about your existing IT assets. This will help minimize conflicts and make the process seamless. Automation and Software Capabilities: Look for vendors leveraging automation and software platforms to take efficiency and visibility to the next level. Typical ITAD service providers usually don't offer this. Other than this, assess reliability through past projects, and client references to ensure their expertise meets your needs. Tips to Maximize Recovery Rates Before discussing best practices to maximize recovery rates, it's important to understand how they are calculated. Recovery rates are simply determined by dividing the number of recovered IT assets by the total number of eligible assets. Early communication with employees Proactively communicate with employees during offboarding, requesting the return of devices and providing reminders at each stage. Automating these communications ensures consistent and timely interactions Utilize automated solutions Implement an automated asset recovery solution to streamline processes, from tracking and management to reporting and disposition. Automation improves efficiency, reduces errors, and optimizes recovery. Ensure full visibility and reporting Establish a system that provides comprehensive visibility and reporting on all levels. Robust tracking mechanisms enable monitoring, and identification of bottlenecks, ensure no valuable assets are lost, and help with informed decision-making. IT Asset Recovery Cost Determining the exact pricing for IT asset recovery services can be a complex task. Here are some of the top factors that impact the cost: Hardware Specifications: The type, age, and condition of recovered IT assets influence pricing. Higher-value or specialized equipment may require extra handling. Electronics Recycling: If included, recycling services add value but can affect costs. The scope of recycling offered may vary. Storage Costs: When warehousing your assets with the vendor, consider expenses related to space, security, and maintenance. The volume of Assets: The quantity or volume of assets being recovered can impact pricing, as larger quantities may require additional resources or processing. Additional Services: Factors like data wiping, asset testing, refurbishment, remarketing, compliance records, and asset management software fees may impact pricing. We hope you found this ultimate guide to IT asset recovery helpful in understanding the importance and intricacies of the process. If you're interested in learning more or need further assistance in optimizing IT asset recovery in your organization, we can help. Get in touch with our team to explore how we can help you maximize returns, streamline your recovery efforts, and maximize ROI on retired assets. Continue reading

Suhaib K.

ITAD specialist

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Technology

August 21, 2018

Why Enterprise Mobility Management Solutions Have Become a Top Priority for Enterprises in 2018

  Enterprise mobility is evolving into an essential function that supports the growth of an organization. It is a trend that is becoming one of the main priorities for big cooperation especially for both customer engagement and workforce mobilization. Enterprise Mobility is growing as a solution that allows organizations to manage resources and customer engagement across a variety of mobile device through the internet. As enterprise mobility is moving at a lightning speed; many corporations are taking this opportunity to strengthen their employees’ capacity both onsite and remote to drive more return on investment (ROI). Enterprise mobility does not only refer to mobile devices and mobile workers; it also entails mobile corporate data. Enterprise mobility has the ability to improve the productivity and efficiency of employees and to drive a bigger ROI. A recent study stated that the market size of BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] and mobile enterprise would see a massive growth by 2021. It has been expected to reach a whopping sum of $73.30 billion by 2021 from $35.10 billion in 2016. The efficiency of enterprise mobility has led both businesses and employees to demand more mobile-first solutions. The ongoing trend in the industry shows that Enterprise Mobility Management, IoT, and Managed Mobility Services are going to become more common ideas. The process of using these concepts will also become much less complex than it is currently. Internet of Things (IoT) on the Rise  The IoT is evolving in a fast-paced and has an amazing impact on how enterprises take advantage of connected devices to remain informed and collaborative. Every day the things around us are getting smarter because objects are being equipped with microchips and sensors. As a result, IoT based devices will improve enterprise mobility management through monitoring and optimize products, services and business model. The primary objective for the enterprise is to collect the data, and with this, they can empower their employees to connect, collaborate and respond quickly to any emerging activities. Custom- designed IoT solutions will make entrepreneurs capable of managing CRM, data processing and other complex processes. In the years to come, the enterprise will rely on big data and analytics to optimize the process and to make a more informed decision. Expansion of Location Based Services: Location based mobile apps suggesting nearby cafes, restaurants, clinics, malls or any utility service at your current location has seen tremendous customer adoption. With the massive success recorded in on-demand mobile apps like Airbnb Uber etc., the next years’ will experience a massive improvement in the number of business apps developed with the sole purpose of business. Mobile apps will provide further improved customer experience due to the reduction in load time. Migration to Cloud Computing: Cloud-based technologies are gaining momentum as the top enterprise mobility solutions for a number of reasons which includes server storage, network and network services on an Infrastructure as service model (IaaS) or application deployment platform on a Platform as a Service (PaaS) or software application on Software as a Service model (SaaS). As cloud services are getting matured, the hybrid cloud solutions are quickly becoming go-to storage solutions because of their ability to hold a substantial amount of data. However, security remains the main challenge; but in coming future, enterprises will resolve security issue by opting for more hybrid solutions and coming up with on-premises apps and other apps on the cloud.  

Mustafa

ITAD specialist

Enterprise Mobility Management

August 09, 2018

Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Recycle Your Business Electronics

  1.     Better for the environment This one is obvious, but incredibly important. Recycling electronics keeps them out of landfills and helps to reduce your carbon footprint. E-waste dumps emit literal tons of toxic fumes when they burn their contents, so recycling your business phones, tablets and terminals helps to eliminate that. Did you know that the majority of e-waste in the developed world ends up in 3rd world countries? In fact, the majority of the countries in which these devices are sent to end up being incinerated, leaving irreparable blight on the world. Enterprise mobility management companies make recycling your devices in an environmentally conscious way easy.  2.       Gives your e-waste a new life If the ecological impact of discarding your electronic devices isn’t enough for you to begin recycling through an enterprise mobility management company, then perhaps you should consider how incredibly useful your old technology could be to someone else. Post purchase life-cycle management is an important factor to take into consideration when determining what to do with your broken or outdated devices. EMM solutions can give your “junk” a breath of new life for someone else! 3.       Keep your data safe and secure Believe it or not, a common method that thieves use to steal your personal data or identity is ripping that information directly from e-waste. Cell phones or tablets have a shocking amount of personal and commercial information stored on them. Recycling e-waste is a great way to make sure that sensitive data stays out of the wrong hands. Along with all the other benefits that they provide their clients, enterprise mobility management companies help to keep their clientele secure 4.       Throwing out devices can (in some cases) be illegal Many of the mobile devices that we use every day are prohibited from being discarded improperly. No matter how destroyed your mobile phone, tablet or terminal is, throwing it in the trash can result in penalties or fines on both the state and even federal level. EMM solutions, in addition to finding use for that mobile device and keeping it out of landfills, helps users avoid hefty fees. 5.       Your old or broken device contains a huge amount of valuable resources Did you know that many of the devices you use in business have a surprisingly large amount of precious metals? In fact, e-waste dumps have more gold in them than the majority of natural ore deposits! Regardless of the size of your company, whether you own a micro business or run a multibillion dollar corporation, enterprise mobility management companies can help you make sure that you’re not throwing literal money in the garbage.

Mustafa

ITAD specialist

Enterprise Mobility Management

July 27, 2018

Top 5 Benefits of Post Purchase Lifecycle Management of Devices for Enterprises

  Peace of mind: It can be difficult to effectively run a business if you’re worried about the possibility of one of your devices breaking down. Many small and micro businesses rely entirely on mobile devices and if one of those fails, it can bring their entire operation to a grinding halt. This, understandably, creates a lot of stress and anxiety in business owners. A post lifecycle management plan provides the peace of mind that comes with the reassurance that your business will quickly recover from a failed device. Increased productivity: As a business owner or manager, could you imagine how much productivity would be lost if your primary mobile device went down? It would be an incredible amount. Every minute that you’re devices are broken or disabled represents lost sales, delayed contacts and stalled production. Having a post purchase lifecycle management plan increases productivity dramatically. It not only saves time, but it saves money as well. Guaranteed Savings: A we mentioned earlier, every minute that you’re without a functioning mobile device for your business is a minute that you and your employees are unable to make sales and generate revenue. Sales are the lifeblood of your business. If you aren’t generating revenue, it doesn’t matter how effective your operations are, that situation is still unsustainable. Downtime for your business devices can cost you thousands. An effective post purchase lifecycle management solution can prevent those losses in a dramatic way. Quick fix for device damages:  Imagine for a moment two identical companies. They sell the same product or service, occupy similar environments, and have identical clientele. Now imagine that both of their primary mobile devices broke, but only Company A had a comprehensive post purchase lifecycle management system in place. Company A would be back in business almost immediately while Company B would be scrambling to figure out a solution to the issue. Something as simple as a contingency plan for your business mobile device could represent the difference between a healthy company and a struggling company. Consistent and reliable service delivery:  In its most elemental form, quality is defined as the ability to replicate a process 100 times and have the first process look and function exactly the same as the hundredth. Consistency and reliable results are the cornerstone of any successful business. Post purchase lifecycle management of your business phone, tablets and terminals can help assure quality of service delivery of your organization.  

Mustafa

ITAD specialist

Enterprise Mobility Management

July 11, 2018

Top 5 cost-effective Enterprise Mobility Management solutions for small businesses

Top 5 cost-effective Enterprise Mobility Management Solutions for small businesses Over the past 10 years, consumers and business entities alike have slowly migrated from static desktop setups to dynamic mobile devices that go with us just about everywhere. In nearly all respects, we now live in a wireless world. Limited compatibility point-of-sale software and unintuitive business-to-business interfaces have become relics of the commercial world.  Mobile IT is now the cornerstone of any small organization that hopes to succeed in 2018 and with it comes the need for the enterprise mobility industry. It’s now become commonplace to see entire organizations with foundations that rest solely on integrated mobile devices for every member of their staff. However, this mobile revolution comes with its own unique challenges. With so many different apps and devices centered around business logistics, it can quickly become a tangled mess to manage and ensure that mobile systems securely operate the way they are intended. Luckily enterprise mobility experts can ensure your operations remain smooth and uninterrupted. Here’s a few helpful tips related to common EMM (enterprise mobility management) issues that won’t break the bank:       Down time can cost you thousands. Ensure that you have an EMM specialist on standby in case of issues. Your mobile device-based business can be thrown into serious disarray if you don’t have a safety net in place. Something as small as a broken device can end up costing you a hefty sum and that’s not counting the lost potential revenue if customers can’t complete their orders. Make sure that you have a specialist readily available to ensure your business runs the way it should.       Data recovery is key. One crash can upend days or weeks of commerce. Records can be lost, sales can be left unrecorded and your company can seriously suffer in the short term. An EMM company that provides comprehensive data recovery can bypass all the headache and stress of lost information.       Analytics, analytics, analytics. A detailed record of assets, costs, savings and liabilities gives small business owners insight into exactly where there money is going. Integrated mobile device metrics are essential in order to determine the overall health of a company. Make sure that your EMM specialist can provide you with quantifiable information in order to help you realize greater savings in the future.      Warranties can save you money, time and headaches. Many of us focus plenty of our attention and energy on the initial product or service. However, we often don’t realize how important after-sale service and guarantees are. Steer clear of EMM companies that don’t offer extensive or lifetime warranties on mobile devices. Never assume that the equipment you use to run your business will last. Have a contingency plan in place to avoid sudden downtime.      Don’t underestimate just how important EMM customer service is. Enterprise mobility is a highly specialized and technical field. Applications and devices aren’t always easy to use or understand. Make sure that you have access to an expert with up to date information, skills and expertise that can provide you with the mobility solutions you need with just the push of a button.  

Mustafa

ITAD specialist

Enterprise Mobility Management

July 04, 2018

Device Lifecycle Management: Its Importance & Everything Else

Device Lifecycle Management: Its Importance & Everything Else Device Lifecycle Management (DLM) is the process of managing the complete lifecycle of a device, from procurement to disposal. This includes all the activities in different phases: planning, acquiring, deploying, maintaining, and retiring devices. DLM is a crucial part of any organization's asset management strategy, as it helps to optimize the performance and costs of devices, while also ensuring compliance with relevant regulations. Businesses of all sizes can benefit from it by properly managing IT assets and can ensure that their IT infrastructure is up-to-date, secure, and cost-effective. As a complex process, it involves a variety of stakeholders, like procurement specialists, and finance teams, not just  IT professionals. With COVID and the shift towards remote working culture, the demand and challenges have skyrocketed and the complexity in DLM has further increased. This blog post will provide an overview of device lifecycle management, its importance, benefits, phases, and how to implement it properly in your organization in today’s world. Importance and Benefits of Device Lifecycle Management Device lifecycle management has fundamental importance for all types of enterprises, not just to manage mobile workforce productivity and reduce operational costs but to deliver more value to the customers. Better Tracking: Inventory Management and Device Health Having proper implementation for device management enables more visibility into inventory and device health. This can enable organizations to ensure that they have the right number and type of devices to meet their needs. And their devices are being used effectively and efficiently without any issues with the device's battery life, performance, and stability. Boost Productivity Across the Organization Device lifecycle management can improve end-user experience and organizational productivity by ensuring devices are up-to-date, and there are no disruptions preventing users to perform their core tasks. Take Security to the Next Level Device lifecycle management can help organizations to ensure that their devices are properly configured and secure. This can include installing security updates and patches, as well as enforcing strong passwords and other security measures. Mitigate Compliance Risks Device lifecycle management can help organizations to ensure that they are complying with relevant laws and regulations, such as those related to data privacy and the disposal of end-of-life devices. 6 Common Phases of DLM Planning This is the initial and pre-procurement phase of DLM, where an organization determines its device needs and creates a plan for acquiring and managing these devices. This may involve conducting a device inventory, analyzing usage patterns, and setting goals for the DLM program. Procurement In this phase, an organization acquires the devices that it needs, either by purchasing them outright or through a leasing arrangement. This may involve evaluating different vendors, negotiating contracts, and establishing payment terms. Deployment After the device provisioning phase, they need to be deployed to the appropriate users, or implemented in existing systems. This may involve configuring the devices, installing the necessary software, and providing training to users. Maintenance This phase involves ongoing efforts to keep the devices in good working order. This may include activities such as applying software updates, repairing or replacing damaged devices, and monitoring performance. Reporting The reporting phase of DLM involves collecting and analyzing data about the performance, usage, location, ownership, and status of devices. This information is used to inform decision-making and improve the efficiency of the cycle and significantly improve cost savings. Retirement Eventually, devices will reach the end of their useful life (EOL) and need to be retired. This phase involves decommissioning the old devices and disposing of them in an appropriate manner, which may include securely wiping data and properly disposing of the device in accordance with relevant regulations. It's important to note that DLM is an ongoing process, and these phases may overlap and occur multiple times throughout the lifecycle of a device. And the activities are not limited to the mentioned phases but also include enrolling in Mobile device management programs, installing security software, asset recovery, responsible disposal of the hardware and data, repair and refreshing of the devices, warehousing, and so on. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) What is the Difference between Device Lifecycle Management and Mobile Device Lifecycle Management? Both of these terms, DLM and MDLM are used interchangeably. Still, the main difference between them is Device lifecycle management covers all types of devices, including mobile devices, IoT, servers, printers, medical devices, and workstations. In contrast, mobile device lifecycle management is specific to mobile devices, tablets, and laptops. What are the common challenges associated with DLM implementation? Managing a diverse fleet of devices: As mentioned earlier, organizations may have a variety of different devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, each with different requirements and capabilities. Managing such a diverse fleet can be complex and time-consuming. Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations: Organizations must comply with various laws and regulations in the different regions they operate in, and it can be challenging to develop processes. Keeping up with technological change: The technology landscape is constantly evolving, and IT managers must keep up with these changes to ensure that the organization's devices are current and effective. This can involve upgrading or replacing devices, which can be costly. Other common issues include but are not limited to: managing device security, maintaining budget constraints, dealing with end-of-life devices, handling hardware and software issues, and device repairs What is IoT Device Lifecycle Management? IoT (Internet of Things) DLM focuses on managing the various stages of an IoT device's life. Such devices are connected to the internet and are used to collect and transmit data, often for automation and control purposes. It usually increases the complexity as data privacy and security risks increase because of the volume and sensitivity of the data IoT devices transmit. How can device lifecycle management be improved? By implementing automation on various aspects such as device procurement, software updates, and maintenance and repair scheduling.  Enhance inventory tracking and ensure everything is tracked accurately  Implement proper device security by using strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and regular security updates.  Regularly upgrade or replace devices: As devices age, they may become slower or less reliable. By regularly upgrading or replacing devices, organizations can ensure that their end-users have the latest technology and features at their disposal.  Properly dispose of end-of-life devices when they reach the end of their useful life, they must be disposed of in a responsible manner. This can involve wiping devices to remove sensitive data, and disposing of devices in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. What things to consider when choosing an MDM or DLM Solution? When choosing a solution for your company’s devices, there are several factors that you should consider to ensure that you select the best solution for your organization's needs: Compatibility: Consider the types of devices that you will be managing and ensure that the solution is compatible with these devices. Features: Consider the features such as device enrolment, inventory management, security policy management, and DLM/MDM software. Integration: Consider how easy is to configure the solution with your organization's existing systems and processes. It’s best to choose a solution that is compatible with your existing systems and can be easily integrated into your workflow. Watch out for hidden costs, lack of transparency, upfront costs, subscription fees, and maintenance or support costs. Choose a solution that fits within your budget. Scalability shouldn’t be neglected if your organization is growing, the solution should accommodate the remote work culture, future growth, and the changes in your device fleet. At Unduit, we offer turnkey solutions for your enterprise device management. We help Fortune 500 companies minimize the TCO on end user devices. Get in touch with us to learn more. 

Suhaib K.

ITAD specialist

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