SAMR Inc. President Albert Boufarah Discusses the Importance of IT Asset Disposal

How to Properly Manage IT Assets To Protect Your Data

Anyone who has ever experienced a data breach will tell you that dealing with the aftermath is not a pleasant experience. A compromise has occurred to roughly 1 in 3 consumers over the past year and ensuring the safety of your personal info can be exhausting and time consuming. The threat is such that we’re seeing legislators scramble to come up with plans to protect consumer data by whatever means they can.

IT professionals are instrumental in their respective companies for making certain that internal & customer data is properly destroyed, according to Albert Boufarah, founder & President of Supreme Asset Management & Recycling (SAMR), Inc. Even one single hard drive that pops up where you don’t expect it and can cause tremendous hardship for all parties involved. Here are some ways to decrease the likelihood of finding yourself in this situation:

Demonstrability: Process documentation

Albert Boufarah explains that for the purpose of auditing, it is essential to have defined processes to display discipline, due diligence and standard practices in how IT assets are handled & data destroyed. Documentation (i.e. certificates of data destruction or inventory reports) provides evidence that these processes were observed & information was sufficiently deleted/destroyed.

Work Statement: Defining how equipment is processed

When a new vendor is onboarded, vendors are recommended to provide a written statement of work (SOW) which often details how equipment is processed. Albert suggests that typically, this can be an integral part of any audit at the corporate level, as it exemplifies the use of a vendor which operates in a reliable, systematic and predictable manner.

Transparency: Ensuring accountability of the process

When your processes are clearly documented, Albert Boufarah stresses the importance of ensuring accountability of what has been done and having an understanding of how it will be managed. A vendor like SAMR Inc. which emphasizes complete transparency is recommended for reliable asset disposal services.

Web portals can often be used to locate an IT asset at any given time, and to view an item’s status. Processed assets can be identified through a quick search using an identification number (i.e. serial number or asset tag) which should provide details on the location, certificates and service if needed.

The implementation of these three areas into your IT asset disposal plan should drastically improve your efforts toward compliance and organize your IT operating procedures resulting in a compliant & efficient IT asset disposition program.