The IT industry is fraught with jargon and acronyms, and the management of IT systems is a segment containing many very similar terms. Two of these most commonly found are ‘ITAM’ and ‘ITAD’ – and while technically separate disciplines, they can be considered to work together. But how? Let the experts at Procurri explain all…
What are ITAM and ITAD?
ITAM is an acronym that stands for IT Asset Management. It is an all-encompassing discipline that includes tracking, managing and optimizing the usage of all IT assets within an organization. This process happens all the way through the lifecycle of IT assets – from their initial conception and procurement to their retirement and eventual disposal.
ITAD is an acronym that stands for IT Asset Disposition. It refers to the process undertaken by IT assets when they reach the end of their desired or functional life; including the destruction of data held within, reuse, recycling, resale, or ultimate disposal.
It should be noted that while each is technically a separate process, ITAD can be thought of as the ‘end of life engine’ that completes the ITAM lifecycle for an asset.
The IT Asset Lifecycle
The lifecycle of IT assets can be thought of as a framework which every piece of software and hardware goes through. In its simplest form, the stages are:
- Request and procurement – the initial decision to implement the asset, and the purchase of it into the business
- Deployment – the installation of the asset into the organization, and the pushing it to ‘live’ status
- Maintenance and optimization – the continuous cycle of maintenance and improvement to keep the asset working to the best of its ability
- Tracking and auditing – the ongoing cycle of tracking performance and functionality to ensure the asset is still fit for service and purpose
- End-of-life and ITAD – the asset reaches the end of its desired or functional life and is decommissioned and retired from the organization. In the case of a physical hardware asset, this will include recycling, refurbishment, reuse, resale, and/or disposal.
This demonstrates how ITAD fits in as the final stage of the IT lifecycle, contributing to ITAM overall at the end of the process.
How ITAM and ITAD Work Together
ITAM manages tech assets across their whole lifecycle, with ITAD securing their eventual retirement. When properly integrated, ITAD acts as a complementary factor to the overall ITAM process; providing additional accuracy, security and compliance.
Data Accuracy and Asset Visibility
While ITAM maintains detailed records for each asset, including serial numbers, assigned owners, physical or virtual locations, and depreciation values, ITAD validates the final stages of this by confirming asset retirement, verified data destruction, and the final disposition method such as recycling or resale. With comprehensive ITAD processes included, the lifecycle loop is ended and closed; preventing “ghost assets,” eliminating discrepancies, and reducing audit gaps.
Procurri ITAD protocol creates a detailed inventory of every asset upon induction into an ITAD facility. This provides a transparent journey of progress through the process, vigorous chain of custody, and confirms data destruction and/or thorough recycling/resale/destruction with a guaranteed certificate issued for every individual asset.
Security and Risk Reduction
ITAM’s record-keeping identifies which assets store or process sensitive data, helping organizations prioritize risk. ITAD, as the last stage of the asset lifecycle, is all too often the final hurdle and one in which organizations lose their chain of custody as they consider it completed by a third party.
In order to maintain compliance, ITAD providers such as Procurri who ensure certified data destruction, maintain a documented chain of custody, and provide compliance evidence should be used. This collaboration significantly reduces the risk of data breaches, loss of intellectual property, and regulatory penalties – which can be significantly costly both financially and in terms of brand reputational damage.
Compliance and Readiness for Audit
ITAM supports various industry and locational regulatory standards through its data tracking and reporting. At the last lifecycle stage, ITAD can reinforce compliance by providing certificates of data destruction and environmental compliance records. Together, they create a complete, defensible audit trail that stands up to internal and external scrutiny.
At Procurri, our on-site data destruction services are compliant with industry best-practice standards including (but not limited to):
- ADISA (Asset Disposal and Information Security Alliance)
- NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
- DoD (US Department of Defence Data)
- NAID AAA (National Association for Information Destruction AAA Standard)
- HMG Infosec 5 (UK His Majesty’s Government Infosec Standard 5).
The Financial Benefits of ITAM and ITAD Alignment
The proper and conscious integration and ownership of ITAD into the ITAM process brings about not just efficiencies and consistency in approach, but also financial benefits. Creating a closed-loop view of the IT asset lifecycle from purchase all the way through to retirement, money can be saved and recovered.
ITAM itself, when implemented and managed properly, saves financial resources through the prevention of over-purchasing, eliminating ‘shelfware’ and avoiding unnecessary asset and service renewals (both hardware and software), through the maintenance of up-to-date asset inventories.
When ITAM reaches its final stage, ITAD can be adapted from the conventional cost center to a financial recovery mechanism with the likes of Procurri ITAD services. Through value recovery as a result of asset resale, organizations are able to both enhance their sustainability credentials through avoiding landfill, and generate revenue through remarketing and resale. This revenue generation is far from traditional and many organizations remain unaware of it.
ITAD also enables proper depreciation closeout, ensuring assets are retired correctly in financial systems and avoiding audit or compliance exposure.
Further value can be derived from the proper feedback loop that well-aligned ITAM and ITAD create. Data from ITAD feeds back into ITAM, and helps to optimize refresh cycles, extend usable life where appropriate, and forecast budgets more accurately. Such data may include the likes of:
- Actual resale values
- Asset condition when it reaches ITAD stage
- Failure rates of equipment.
The result is smarter purchasing, predictable spend, and measurable value recovery across the entire IT estate.
The Sustainability Benefits of ITAM and ITAD Alignment
Procurri prioritises sustainability, and operates on an entirely certified Carbon Neutral basis – something rarely found in the IT channel. However, it is not just through partnering with a green-first ITAD provider that organizations can use ITAM and ITAD alignment to present a sustainability benefit to their business. Such by-effects can come about through:
- Reduced waste
- Reduced carbon emissions
- Optimized resource consumption
- Avoiding unnecessary asset purchase and overconsumption – leading onward to reduced demand for raw materials; lower manufacturing emissions, and less energy consumed across the supply chain.
Furthermore, working with a zero-to-landfill ITAD service provider such as Procurri ensures that they are reused, resold, or recycled responsibly where possible. Refurbishment and resale keep equipment in circulation longer, directly supporting circular economy goals. Certified recycling prevents e-waste from entering landfills and ensures hazardous materials are handled safely. Secure data destruction further supports governance and risk requirements.
Aligning ITAM and ITAD thoroughly and properly while keeping an eye on ESG reporting can help solidify IT operations as a measurable contributor to sustainability and corporate responsibility goals.
The Operational Workflow Integration of ITAM and ITAD
Integrating a comprehensive operational workflow between ITAM and ITAD allows for a seamless approach to end-to-end (conception to completion) management of IT assets throughout their lifecycle within a business.
Such workflow could look something like the following:
- ITAM maintains accurate asset records from procurement onwards through to deployment: tracking ownership, location, configuration, and financial data
- At some point, an asset will be flagged as either:
- Ready for refresh
- Approaching end-of-life
- At this point, ITAM triggers an ITAD workflow
- In maintaining this workflow within the ITAM processes, the handoff can include:
- Asset details
- Data sensitivity classification
- Disposition requirements and recommendations
- ITAD services are then able to manage:
- Appropriate secure collection
- Appropriate data sanitization measures
- Appropriate action for refurbishment, resale or recycling
- The ITAD system feeds back into the ITAM the disposition outcome
- The ITAM systems updates its final records by recording:
- Asset status
- Financial records
- Compliance documentation including data sanitization certificates.
This integrated operational workflow allows ITAD to be operated as part of the overall ITAM process, without removing it and classifying it under a separate area of the business. The result is a coordinated process that supports cost control, compliance, and sustainability goals.
Sustainable and Secure ITAD from Procurri
Procurri manage their own secure ITAD facilities worldwide and work not just to basic legal regulation standards but also to industry best practice standards worldwide. With our zero-to-landfill policies and the ability to generate revenue from IT assets at their last stage of life whilst maintaining sustainability certifications means that our client base is growing all the time as organizations realise what can be done.
For advice on ‘green’ ITAD, or to learn more on how we can incorporate our ITAD protocol within your existing ITAM processes, get in touch with the team today!
