In the wake of shifting trade policies, many of which are shaking up the world of technology and fostering widespread unease, many enterprises are looking to create plans of action to stay afloat on changing tides. However, as organizations implement new and protective strategies, one often overlooked facet of IT business success — IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) — could be the difference between ensuring safety and falling victim to increased risk at the intersection of politics and technology
Across the world of IT, changing tides and emerging trends sway businesses and consumers alike, creating new demands and new strategies to meet them. While there are many topics of discussion circulating throughout the industry, including the cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and more, politics has recently surfaced as a particularly concerning the topic. With recent tariff expansions posing uncertain effects on the world of IT, many enterprises are concerned about how they will be affected by import impacts and are searching for ways to safely navigate the subsequent ripple effects.
A Bit of Background
Recently, trade and economic relations between the U.S. and China, two of the world’s largest national economies, have been shifted. Beginning in 2018, a series of U.S. tariffs and other trade barriers have complicated the exchange and import of critical technology equipment and goods, including laptops, keyboards, solid-state drives, routers, sensors, and more.
In the face of these uncertainties and business interruptions, many enterprises (and even more enormous tech titans) are facing apprehension about the possibly damaging impacts of changing legislation, including thin financial margins, price increases, loss of company value, and threats to existing operational frameworks. These reservations have been somewhat validated by Apple’s recent dip, exhibiting a lossOpens a new window of 5.2 percent as a result of the tariffs’ impact on their signature products. Big Tech, including Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon, has been hit particularly hard by tariff increases, losing a combined $162 billion in shareholder value. With the access to critical supply chains and markets tightened, many parties — from the enterprise to the end user — are concerned about the state of the digital future.
While the ultimate result of these still freshly altered trade practices remains shrouded and impacts on vendors, clients, brand considerations, IT expenses, and the technology industry as a whole are unclear, predictions can be made based on some of the current tangible results.
Assessing What’s to Come
With many entities across the industry fearing price increases on vital equipment from large players such as Apple, Dell, and HP, the enterprise is anticipating some changes. As of July 2019, the total value of U.S. imports from China was reportedOpens a new window at approximately $41.5 billion, a large portion of which consists of purchased smartphones, laptops, and other devices to support the enterprise. With Chinese imports having exhibited a $30 billion drop in the first sixth months of 2019, these targeted technology imports may have caused IT equipment consolidation across the industry.
With vital technological elements subject to tariff effects, businesses may be re-assessing their IT spend or seeking alternative strategies to avoid impact. Options here include a switch to the cloud-dominant frameworks that have already been catalyzing mass migrations throughout many business verticals. Boasting a significant perk of lowered IT maintenance and management expenses, outsourcing to cloud computing providers also offers a range of benefits such as scalability, continuity, efficiency, and more.
Alternatively, enterprises that are not entertaining an entire framework switch may abandon their old providers in search of IT companies that offer lower prices if finances prove to be a challenge. On the whole, technology providers have not yet begun passing much residual impact on businesses or consumers. Yet, cuts to financial margins (for instance, due to Apple, Google, or Dell, who have varying reliance on China for manufacturing or parts production, being forced to realign or relocate their supply chains) may eventually lead to price hikes. As a result, some enterprises may look to steer clear of that potential.
Overall, the one consistent element across all the potential avenues of change is this: the amount of lingering unnecessary or unneeded IT equipment has the potential to increase significantly with each business strategy change. With the total amount of globally generated e-waste, reaching a predicted 49.8 million metric tons in 2018 alone, that number has been growing steadily and is likely to be amplified by the tariffs as well. Going forward, as enterprises renew or reformat their operations, incorporate new equipment from different vendors or shed excess equipment as they move to the cloud, IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) will grow as a critical facet of this interplay of politics and technology.
Planning for the Future
The importance of safe, ethical, and thorough IT Asset Disposition for end-of-life equipment cannot be overstated in an era of proposed widespread change. Especially as the security and well-being of both global communities and environments are of growing concern, proper management of e-waste is paramount to a stable and successful world.
Unfortunately, reports acknowledge that in 2016, only 20 percent of e-waste was recycled through appropriate channels. As for that remaining 80 percent of e-waste, 4 percent was known to have been thrown into landfills, while the final location of the rest was never known for sure. The lack of proper recycling and handling is of significant concern as the levels of e-waste rise, as dumping in landfills or other improper methods allows toxic chemicals and dangerous metals (such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and other toxic fumes) to leech into surrounding soil and groundwater. This, in turn, poses significant risks for local communities and natural environments. Furthermore, without a proper ITAD strategy in place, businesses can put themselves at higher risk for improper data handling, data breaches, or other security issues during the equipment processing or retirement phase.
Allying with an ITAD expert ensures that enterprises, when recycling their excess IT equipment, can ensure compliance with federal, state, and local laws while achieving conscientious fulfillment of complex chain-of-custody proceedings, data destruction methods, and erasure procedures. When choosing an experienced partner to craft an ITAD strategy to ensure more excellent business continuity, indicators like R2, ISO 14001, and e-Stewards certifications can ensure businesses get the assistance they require.
As the landscape of technology remains amorphous, and the impacts of tariffs continue to develop, the end-of-life assets that are generated must not be forgotten. As the technological world expands and evolves, ensuring the health of the global population, and the security of the enterprise environment is an essential aspect of staying afloat on changing tides.