Don't trash your old servers, rather refurbish

Refurbishing servers for reuse, either within your own operations or by selling them, presents a cost-effective alternative to purchasing new equipment.

This is particularly beneficial for companies looking to offset the cost of their cloud migration.

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David Coleman  24 Oct 2024

By refurbishing servers, businesses contribute to the circular economy, where resources are reused and recycled, reducing e-waste and lessening the environmental impact of IT infrastructure.

Partnering with a certified IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) provider ensures that all sensitive data is securely erased during the refurbishment process, safeguarding your business from data breaches and regulatory penalties.

The financial upside of refurbishing servers

For organisations that are downsizing or eliminating their on-premise IT infrastructure due to cloud adoption, refurbishing servers offers an attractive financial proposition.

Revenue generation: Refurbished servers can be sold to secondary markets, generating a return on investment for hardware that would otherwise be considered obsolete.

Cost avoidance: Proper disposal of IT equipment can be costly due to regulatory requirements, particularly for e-waste.

By refurbishing and reselling or redeploying servers, companies avoid these expenses while reducing their environmental footprint.

Tax incentives: Many regions offer tax breaks for environmentally friendly practices such as recycling and refurbishing.

This means that choosing refurbishment could further reduce the overall costs associated with decommissioning legacy servers.

Refurbished servers and the cloud

As businesses move towards cloud-based services, some may still require a hybrid cloud infrastructure where certain critical applications remain on-premise.

Ryan Birkenbach is ITAD manager at Desco Electronic Recyclers

In this case, refurbished servers can play a key role.

Companies can redeploy refurbished servers to manage sensitive workloads or latency-sensitive applications that are better suited to on-premise management.

This allows for a cost-effective solution without the need to invest in new hardware.

Refurbished servers can be repurposed for non-critical tasks like software testing and development environments, eliminating the need to invest in new equipment for these functions.

Sustainability and brand reputation

Sustainability is not just an environmental consideration but a brand differentiator. Clients, consumers, and investors are increasingly drawn to companies that demonstrate responsible environmental practices.

By refurbishing servers, businesses can align with their sustainability goals, enhance their corporate social responsibility (CSR) profile, and contribute to a greener IT ecosystem.

Refurbishing legacy servers presents a powerful opportunity to do more with less, contributing to a circular economy and reinforcing their commitment to responsible business practices.