Corporate IT assets disposal soon to be regulated says IBM

Stan Beer
Thursday, 02 December 2004 05:30

IT Industry - Development

Australian organisations will soon be forced to comply with IT asset disposal regulations according a senior IBM manager. Andrew Rutter, general manager, IBM Global Financing ANZ, said today that e-waste and IT asset disposal is a growing issue for governments around the world and would soon be regulated in Australia.

"While it is not yet governed in Australia, it's only a matter of time before Australian companies will be forced to comply. Australian companies should therefore start to think strategically about planned IT asset disposal and the benefits it can bring.," said Rutter. "Many organisations deal with the issue by selling assets to staff, auctioning them or throwing them away. However, in future they may face regulatory, environmental and data privacy issues. Also, they are not extracting the full value from their IT investment."

According to IBM, which is now in the IT assets disposal business in a big way, Australian organisations need a strategy for the responsible disposal of IT assets. IBM claims that as companies replace ageing systems, they face a real challenge - how to properly dispose of their IT assets when current methods are often costly, environmentally unfriendly, time intensive, or involve data risk (possibly leaving confidential data on systems).

IBM collects used IT equipment and currently processes approximately 10,000 IT assets in Australia each month through its recycling facilities, including one at Homebush Bay. According to IBM, it often buys IT assets that are able to be refurbished and resold through its certified used equipment program and also donates quality used equipment to charities.