Fortune 1000 Company – Data Center Decommissioning Services

The Challenge

CompuCycle’s Fortune 1000 customer was in need of data center decommissioning to remove all server and network equipment from a 3rd party datacenter. 76 Complete 7-foot racks, cabling, overhead structures, and 30 tape storage cabinets and furniture needed to be removed.

The 3rd party data center required everything between the surface of the raised floor up to the all-thread rods that hung through the ceiling tiles to be securely packed and safely removed from the facility. The client also needed 60 Cisco Catalyst 6500 cabinets to be physically destroyed and 2,332 hard drives to be sanitized in accordance with NIST 800-88 Guidelines. The project needed to be completed within 5 days’ time, and the customer did not have the resources to do it themselves within the permissible timeline.

The Solution Implemented

CompuCycle provided their customer with decommissioning and disposal documents as well as a job safety assessment in order to provide a rudimentary idea of what CompuCycle would be doing over the next five days. CompuCycle walked the data center floor with the customer to confirm the scope of work required, and to ensure that there were no errors, delays, or interruptions in what was to be an expedited process.  Missing the deadline was out of the question. 

Within 5 days, CompuCycle was able to provide a simple and stress-free service to decommission all server racks, tape storage cabinets, and cabling and overhead structures, as well as securely pack and transport the assets to our secure R2 recycling plant for processing. The CompuCycle decommissioning team was professional, timely, and courteous. All tasks were meticulously performed while following stringent safety guidelines including wearing the necessary PPE as well as the other required equipment. CompuCycle completed the scope of work outlined by the client and completed the project ahead of schedule. 

All hard drives were sanitized using Department of Defense compliant software. Failed hard drives that could not be sanitized were physically shredded. CompuCycle provided a hard drive inventory report (make, model, model number, serial number, and asset tag number,) a Certificate of Hard Drive Sanitization (listing number of drives sanitized,) and Certificate of Hard Drive Destruction (listing number of hard drives shredded.) These documents are part of the compliance end of the data destruction process and CompuCycle worked diligently to ensure all standards and certifications were provided. 

All Cisco Catalyst 6500 cabinets were processed through CompuCycle’s state-of-the-art, fully automated, electronics shredding system. The cabinets and all other scrap electronics not suitable for refurbishment or resale were shredded into their raw materials (steel, copper, aluminum, plastics, and circuit boards.) The raw materials were shipped as feedstock to smelters, refineries, and mills. A Certificate of Recycling (listing total weight recycled) was issued to the client. These invaluable documents were directly uploaded to CompuCycle’s online portal for permanent storage and were immediately available to the client.   

The Result

CompuCycle provided a comprehensive, stress-free data center decommissioning service to de-install and recycle all data center assets. CompuCycle received positive feedback from the client who appreciated how the invaluable service from beginning to end with an emphasis on safety standards throughout the entire process. 

The entire process was well documented with appropriate certificates provided for the processes performed on the hardware.  CompuCycle was able to provide turn-key service within the five-day period.  

If your company would like to know more about the data center decommissioning services CompuCycle provides, please visit our contact page and a representative would be happy to assist you.