Data centre decommissioning projects create a series of challenges for IT professionals. How do you keep data security as a priority throughout the project? What practical, best practice solutions exist for both small and large businesses? How can you ensure your decommissioning project works in line with the Circular Economy? Pavel Kruba, Client Sales Manager at Sims Recycling Solutions, Czech Republic, discussed these issues at the Datová Centra Pro Business 2016 (Data Centers for Business) conference in Prague in November.
Pavel Kruba, client sales manager at Sims Recycling Solutions, Czech Republic, discusses incorporating data centre ITAD projects into the Circular Economy.
Kruba reviewed many of the data centre solutions used by Sims Recycling Solutions for data centres in the Czech Republic and throughout Eastern Europe. They include removing a wide variety of equipment, from IT assets like servers, SANs, network and telecom equipment, and tape libraries, to operational assets such as server racks. The countless numbers of cables needed to connect equipment also must be collected, transported and recycled in an environmentally sustainable manner.
After materials are removed from a data centre, it is imperative that all of the data they contain is securely and permanently wiped before the equipment is remarketed or recycled. Industry-leading and bespoke tools ensure complete data security certified by industry standards. Global accreditations provide clients with peace of mind that their equipment is being processed by a company that meets the highest industry standards, such as ADISA and ISO 27001. Holding local accreditations like those in the Czech Republic from the Národní bezpečnostní úřad (NBÚ) or National security authority, confirm that a provider also complies with all local legislation and regulations.
Attendees at the Datová Centra Pro Business 2016.
In addition to being compliant, Kruba discussed the need for data centre projects to operate within the Circular Economy. In this model equipment is reused, repaired and refurbished so that once these assets end their lives as one product they can become another useful product before being converted into secondary raw materials.
Sims Recycling Solutions enables clients to reuse their IT and extend its lifecycle. Instead of viewing decommissioned data centre assets as waste, we consider them to be a source of valuable primary materials. This makes businesses more sustainable by reducing the consumption and disposal of materials and energy. It also makes businesses more profitable by delivering maximum financial value for assets no longer in use – all while ensuring complete data security.
Learn more about developing sustainable and secure data center decommissioning projects.