Can you Reuse the Refuse?

Things aren't always what they seem to be. Case in point, a pile of junk, isn't always a pile of junk. And if you're anything like the many technology enthusiasts who buy hardware directly as opposed to through a proper procurement or purchase department, chances are, you've ended up buying a truckload of hardware that you didn't necessarily need. Instead of throwing it all away, there are things you can do to bring some of the hardware back in use. And before you stand up in protest of the fact that this will only add to the refurbished hardware market, we asked people to tell us ways that our companies could save on cost because they already had hardware lying around on their premises.

If you think back, at some point in time in the past, you may have come across a hardware vendor who would have tried to convince you to buy a PC because its hardware components will be more 'compatible' with change.

Most of us would have probably just given him credit for trying to be creative in his selling approach, and walked out with the CPU that looked good. He was probably trying to save you something for the rainy day.

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Things aren't always what they seem to be. Case in point, a pile of junk, isn't always a pile of junk. And if you're anything like the many technology enthusiasts who buy hardware directly as opposed to through a proper procurement or purchase department, chances are, you've ended up buying a truckload of hardware that you didn't necessarily need. Instead of throwing it all away, there are things you can do to bring some of the hardware back in use. And before you stand up in protest of the fact that this will only add to the refurbished hardware market, we asked people to tell us ways that our companies could save on cost because they already had hardware lying around on their premises.

If you think back, at some point in time in the past, you may have come across a hardware vendor who would have tried to convince you to buy a PC because its hardware components will be more 'compatible' with change.

Most of us would have probably just given him credit for trying to be creative in his selling approach, and walked out with the CPU that looked good. He was probably trying to save you something for the rainy day.

Whether or not you have a formalized finance department, you will want to cut back on as much of the cost burden as possible. Can an old computer serve as an attendance log or be used as part of a batch rendering process which your graphics or multimedia department may need? Can you clean up older components so they work as storage devices or servers to help you function more efficiently?

With technology solutions that sit in the Cloud, there is only a minimal, physical installation you need to do on your machine. The only real upgrade requirement which you may need is that of an Operating System and bump up some of the security vulnerabilities in the older machines, and you could be good to go.

Grant Laing at Blended IT Solutions says, "There is product from IGEL, that we use here to recycle old computers into thin clients. It is affordable and extends the life of the computer. You could also use the more powerful PCs as standby servers and such, as for networking gear. As for the stuff we cannot put to use but is still okay, we simply give away to nonprofits groups." Grant also points out that there are used Comms groups online which you can also take advantage of. Of course, not everything in IT has to be shiny and new! "There are plenty of Open Source projects that don't have very high demands on hardware." So reusing some of the junk you may have in-house and migrating to Ubuntu or an Open Source Operating System, might be the way to go.

Doreen Skonier, an Information Systems Technician, explains that there are places where you can donate computer hardware and monitors. "In the US at least, you can also get a tax writeoff for the amount you donate. Most Computer Refurbishing places take them."

Since Doreen volunteers at one of these refurbishing places in the US, she says, "We refurbish them and set them up to be sent out to the consumers who learn how to use these PC systems. They just contribute 5 dollars for the Microsoft License and use them throughout the facility where these individuals come in to take a class to develop skills."