We live in an age of accelerating technological evolution, with the average speed of computers increasing, and data storage capacities doubling each year. As a direct consequence, the IT Asset Disposal industry is also experiencing a period of continual growth and evolution. IT asset disposal (ITAD) is the practice of managing end of life IT equipment, such as hard drives, laptops and servers. As these assets find themselves outdated with increasing regularity, demand is increasing for companies who are able to dispose of them safely and securely, while minimising the impact of e-waste on the environment.
A report by Markets and Markets, a market research company, has predicted a growing demand for ITAD services and has highlighted some of the main factors driving this demand. In our latest article, we take a closer look at the report.
Exponential Market Growth
The headline figure from the report is the forecast for exponential growth in the ITAD market over the coming years. At the time of publication, the report estimated the ITAD market value at $11.3 billion USD, but this is expected to increase to $20.09 billion USD by 2022.
In terms of market share, the report estimated that remarketing and value recovery accounted for 30.86 percent of the total ITAD market value. Remarketing and value recovery is the practice of reselling IT assets after they have been securely wiped of any sensitive data. IT asset disposal vendors are able to maximise return for their clients in the used IT asset market by tracking global supply and demand to find the right buyer at the right time.
Despite the rise of mobile devices, computers/laptops were the largest overall market segment, accounting for 51.87 percent of all devices at a total value of $5.06 billion USD. The report also forecasts continued growth for the computers/laptops segment, which is expected to almost double in value to $10.09 billion USD by 2022.
Bring Your Own Device
The report found that one of the major growth drivers was the ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) trend. With employees bringing their own devices into the workplace, and the continued migration to the cloud, the average lifespan of a business’ IT assets continues to shorten. With the bring your own device trend projected to grow from $35.1 billion USD $73.3 billion USD by 2021, this is a pattern which is expected to continue, driving increasing demand for specialist ITAD vendors, and continued growth in the industry.
The Impact of E-Waste
E-waste is one of the great challenges posed by our increasing turnover of information technology, with the UN Environment Programme reporting that up to 90% of the world’s electronic waste is illegally traded or dumped each year. The rising awareness of this environmental issue is consequently expected to foster growth in the ITAD market, as industries and national governments introduce regulations to prevent the illegal dumping of information technology, stimulating greater demand for the services of qualified ITAD companies.
With over 25 years industry experience, tier1 are proud to be the UK’s most accredited ITAD supplier. We possess the skills, accreditations and experience to handle our clients’ data with the care they deserve, and to dispose of it responsibly and legally.
Contact us today on 0161 777 1000 or visit https://www.tier1.com to find out how we can help you dispose of your data safely and reliably.
