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When it comes to retiring data-bearing devices, security must be at the forefront. Allowing unused equipment to sit in storage poses a serious threat to your organization’s security and reputation. Take control of your company’s security and eradicate all your data-bearing devices through data erasure. However, an important question arises. What method of data erasure is the best process for your business: data wipe or physical data destruction?
Follow our Data Erasure vs Data Destruction Infographic below to find out!
Before an organization can answer that question, a fair market value assessment of the unused devices must be performed. A CentricsIT assessment reveals the true market value of your hardware. At its core, CentricsIT is an international IT hardware reseller. If anyone knows the true value of your IT assets, it’s CentricsIT. After value has been established, your company’s IT department can then make the important decision of deploying either a data wipe or a physical data destruction of the IT assets.
If the IT assets still hold value, the best option is a data wipe. Data wipes allow your organization to reuse the erased devices or sell them to add additional funds to your IT budget. In addition to resell value, data wipes are environmentally-friendly and can be performed in-house, eliminating the risk of stolen data during storage or transit. The tools behind data wipes provide extensive reports with detailed data, such as hard drive serial numbers, information on erased devices, technicians, and errors.
On the other hand, if the retired IT assets do not hold value, physical data destruction is the best option. Physical data destruction is an effective way of destroying data because it covers large amounts of devices at once. Physical data destruction is typically performed by a shredder that can scrap different types of media at the same time. PC magazine refers to physical data destruction as a “must have security tool.”
Both methods—data wipe and physical data destruction, are an effective way of eradicating your organization’s data. However, the main determining factor of which option is best depends on the fair market value of the equipment. If it holds value, wipe it. If it holds zero value, destroy it. If your company needs assistance in the data erasure process, CentricsIT provides recycling and destruction services.
