ROUND ROCK, TEXAS: Businesses concerned about data security, regulatory requirements and environmental stewardship are increasingly turning to third-parties to ensure proper disposal of unwanted IT equipment, according to an international IDC survey commissioned by Dell.

The research, conducted earlier this year of more than 1,000 companies in Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the U.S., also found evidence that the IT asset disposal (ITAD) sector is in the midst of a "major transformation," evolving from a relatively new sector to one with established processes and metrics.

Approximately one third of companies in the IDC survey use a third-party ITAD provider. North American companies are more likely to cite data security as their top motivation for using third-party IT disposal services while European companies rate requirements or mandates, such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE), as the key driver for their decision-making processes.

Small companies are far less likely to use IT disposal services compared with medium- and large-size companies, the IDC survey found. An estimated 11 percent of companies with less than 100 employees intend to use a third-party service, compared with 65 percent of companies with 10,000 or more employees.

"The findings of the IDC survey reinforce what we hear from our customers every day," said Doug Hillary, director, Business Solutions Group, Global Services at Dell. "While many businesses are serious about proper IT asset disposal, there is considerable work to be done to help small companies understand the need for, reliability and affordability of disposal methods. Dell is listening to the needs of our customers and will continue to make it easy for them to recover and dispose of unwanted IT equipment in a secure and environmentally safe way."

"This survey and other IDC research indicate that leading companies recognize the necessity to manage the risks that could come from the retirement of their technology hardware," said David Daoud, IDC research manager and lead analyst on this report. "Companies are increasingly adopting the proper IT asset disposal strategy with the aim of securing corporate data, reducing their environmental footprint and complying with state, national and international law."

CIOL Bureau