Some Highlights:
- Yes, but taking the example of Blancco, despite being a leading data erasure platform, there are large ITADs that have developed their own software.
- If operations span multiple countries, it can be required from local partners to use whatever standard you require.
- But companies often don’t use multiple software erasure platforms due to complexity and cost.
- Some systems use purpose-built software across categories or mobile software for applications in the mobility processing system.
- In the data center world, proprietary firmware must stay intact after erasure in order to maintain drive value.
Todd’s assessment:
Yes absolutely. I would tell you know Blancco (data security firm) is obviously a one of leading data erasure platforms, but there’s a lot of very large ITADs that have their own internal data erasure software that they’ve developed and do all the R&D to keep up the pace, there is couple that come to mind. So they only kind of eat their own dog food as they spent the money on that.
Todd Zegers,
President & CEO
Circular Integrity
info@CircularIntegrity.com
(949)346-1683
But let’s say you’ve got operations in seven countries, and you’ve got eight countries you need to go into and use partner. You know the chances are most of them probably use Blancco. So you could say, listen, I need you to use Blanco and if you don’t, then you can’t participate. But if you’re willing to implement a Blancco solution into those factories, then absolutely you should. You could dictate that.
From what I’ve seen, especially now that I am outside of my previous role and looking at and working with other companies, most companies don’t use multiple software erasure platforms. You have a lot of complexity and cost because obviously you have to tie those systems into your warehouse management system, whatever it may, a homegrown system or something like a Razor, Makor, IQ Reseller or something off the shelf, most of those platforms have APIs or connections already set up that are purpose-built to work with those other platforms. But you know, to me, I don’t see a big benefit of using multiple erasure systems unless, for example, maybe you’re very heavy in ITAD and maybe you’re very heavy in mobility. You know, Blanco, for example, has a product that goes across all those categories, but there’s also mobile software that’s very purpose-built for certain types of applications in the mobility processing system. Maybe there’s automation where in that robotic system it has to operate with the software that’s purpose-built specifically for that robotic system. If you look at the data center world, there’s a lot of back and forth as far as what’s the best software to use for an erasure perspective of diagnostic perspective in the data center landscape, because there’s a lot of proprietary software that resides on some of these drives. You have to make sure it stays intact because after you erase that drive and that firmware is gone, that drive is no more worth than any other kind of generic driver out on the street versus an EMC drive or one of these other kind of hyper high-value drives that has that firmware still residing on.
