IT recycling firm AMI has helped Kainos raise £50,000 for good causes through recycling of old IT equipment, and saved the company months of work at the same time.
Every IT company has to refresh its equipment regularly to stay competitive, but what does a software company like Kainos do with its old tech? Securely discharging old tech usually takes months of internal work and costs money, but this year Kainos managed to speed up the process and raise money for good causes at the same time by recycling its old hardware through Irish IT recycling company AMI.
The kinds of tech AMI recycles includes desktop PCs, laptops, old hard drives, and smartphones, and the sale of Kainos' old kit raised a total of £50k. Kainos plans to donate £25k of this directly to charity and has earmarked the other £25k for its Academy programme, which helps young people get access to digital skills through schemes such as school coding clubs and annual coding camps for hundreds of children.
Disposal of IT equipment can be a real problem for tech firms as employees often work with sensitive data on proprietary projects that aren't allowed to leave the building or must be otherwise kept secret from competitors. Improper discharging of old IT equipment can lead to corporate information being recovered by a third party, with disasterous consequences.
Accidental leaking of personal information through improper disposal of hard drives would be a serious GDPR breach that could result in a hefty fine, but recycling firm AMI is qualified to ensure GDPR compliance. It's one of only a few companies in the world to hold the highest level of accreditation from the Asset Disposal & Information Security Alliance (ADISA), and last year helped firms recover £2.2m of profit from old IT tech.
Kainos partnered with AMI on the recycling scheme as they manage the entire IT disposal chain, from collection of old equipment and wiping sensitive data to reselling items of value and recycling parts that can't be resold. Equipment that can be resold is refurbished to increase its value, helping the company to return a profit on discharging assets. The firm also estimates that discharging of old IT assets was previously tying up the IT team for up to three months each year.
Dougie Johnston, IT Operations Manager, Kainos said: "Kainos aims to stay at the leading edge of innovation and as a result, we have a constant stream of IT equipment being made redundant. AMI offers a one-stop-shop for all of our IT disposal needs - across our UK and Europe offices. Its high level of accreditation also ensures that our disposal process is GDPR compliant. Much of the equipment we dispose of is in very good condition, and the ability to resell this and generate revenue for our social responsibility programmes is a huge bonus.
Source: Written based on press release
