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Data Centre Decommissioning

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Overview

Data Centre Decommissioning

If you are considering the closure of your data centre and transferring your hardware to an alternative location, we offer a full range of decommissioning services for all your IT equipment.
Whether a company is moving a single server or is considering a full data centre migration, Secure I.T. Environments Ltd has the ability to run projects from beginning to end, however large or small.
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What is Hardware Decommissioning in Information Technology?

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Decommissioning is an important process that allows the removal of any business application or system from use in an organization.
This is a very common process of end-of-life servers that requires adequate analysis of data in a particular system. This is followed by the identification of data, metadata, and the system documentation that needs to be brought forward and retained as well as with an accountable process for deletion of the residual data that is present in the system.
When a company carries out its infrastructure planning from its asset list within its data centres, most thinking is around adding new server equipment and technology but do not think about the destruction of old equipment devices that are no longer needed or its data destruction.

Secure Data Destruction

Data Loss Prevention

System Documentation & Retention

Safe Disposal of Equipment

Security threats

Older server systems that aren’t supported any longer don’t get any new security patches, even though they may be vulnerable to new data security threats. If they’re left active, they’re vulnerable to attacks even if you no longer use them for business functions. And if they’re penetrated, malware or other threats can spread throughout your network. If old systems are shut down, it’s possible for a malicious insider to remove a device (and its data) without it being detected.

Spending

Idle hard drives still draw power, so they still have associated electricity and cooling costs. If you accumulate enough unused server machines, you may also be paying for additional racks and a bigger data centre than you need. If you don’t transfer licenses from your old machines to the new ones, you may have unnecessary software costs.

Usage

A machine that’s still connected and turned on within a data centre can still be used. If you don’t have an inventory, or identify, shut it down and disconnect it, you may unknowingly have critical processes or data on servers that are no longer being monitored or backed up within the environment.
Unfortunately, deciding it makes sense to discard old equipment within data centres isn’t as simple as dumping it in a waste (or recycling) pile. While the old hardware may not be valuable, the data it contains still is. The best way to protect an old disk is to uninstall applications and then use software that repeatedly overwrites the data and carries out data destruction. The drive should then be physically destroyed, ensuring that storage data can’t be accessed by anyone.
Just be sure that before you wipe the drive, you create and secure a good backup of its final contents. You may need it for document compliance reasons, or you may need to restore that day’s data to support a future project.
Is your infrastructure team successfully managing the complete life-cycle, from making the purchasing decision, through installation and support, and finally decommissioning and destroying an old device? Using a project manager for the asset disposition he/she will carry out a physical checklist and forward an asset inventory of the storage equipment to be disposed/relocated.

How it works

What Is the Server Decommissioning Process?

The entire data centre decommissioning process requires detailed planning and a decommissioning checklist of its assets especially when considering maintaining a live environment within the data centre. The key consideration should be your organisation’s sensitive information in your data centre, its security during the decommissioning project and the final site disposal.
Our partner is registered with the Environment Agency for IT recycling and is one of only 44 companies in the world that hold Asset Disposal and Information Security Alliance (ADISA) accreditation. Our IT recycling process follows industry-leading standards for data loss prevention which allows us to ensure your redundant IT equipment is disposed of in an environmentally, safe and secure way.
The importance of data protection in organisations is generally understood, but the risks and implications associated with poor data centre decommissioning are not. Luckily today, more professionals for data protection regulations and companies exist to provide this service, making storage, networking and server decommissioning easy and accessible. Think about it, most companies now consider cyber security an important tool to protect their IP and valuable data… why should this be any different when decommissioning your old equipment where the data still exists?
So, what happens when you decommission your server?

The Initial Preparations

During the initial phase, the project manager will draft the scope of work that needs to be done. He/she will establish goals for the data centre decommissioning and come up with expected project outcomes. He will also identify milestones and timelines. As much as possible, he will establish and set the necessary workflows to prevent the loss of crucial data.
In our experience, the initial set-up phase can make or break the entire storage, networking and server decommissioning process within any data centre. To avoid problems and challenges in the decommissioning project, here is a list of things that we would discuss during the initial phase:
Two colleagues strategy planning with laptops in the workplace

Identify and communicate with relevant decision-makers

First, identify all the people involved in the decision-making process. Assign tasks to each one of them. Set up a communication channel for everyone involved and keep them updated every step of the way.

Appoint a project manager

Assign or appoint somebody to oversee the entire server decommissioning process. We would recommend a person who has extensive experience with decommissioning old IT equipment within the organisation.

Set a budget

When setting a budget, it helps to work with a qualified auditor to provide you with a valid and concise valuation of your hardware and assets. And then, work together to come up with a realistic estimate of the project’s expenses.

Establish a timetable

After setting a budget, it’s time to establish a timetable. The less organised and the less prepared you are, the more likely that issues and delays will occur in your organisation’s services. If everyone in the project knows when a goal is due, then processes should proceed smoothly.

Outline the scope of work

Every process and stage of the data centre and decommissioning should be outlined clearly. You must assign who is responsible for what, how, when, and where. This way, the process stays fluid and consistent.

Prepare a document with all the contact information of your team members

You can never tell when issues may arise, so it’s best to create a document with all the contact information of all the important people, contractors, and other team members.

Set a time to start the decommissioning process

It is ideal to schedule the decommissioning process off hours. This is ideal during a data centre migration situation, but it still comes in handy during a server or data centre decommissioning.

Decommissioning

At this stage, all servers that need to be decommissioned need to be logged. The person in charge of the will have to identify the final designation of the hardware assets whether the services need to be repurposed, resold, or recycled. Also, he/she needs to identify and retain the software licenses associated with the servers to be decommissioned. Other things to do in this stage are as follows:
  • Schedule the cancellation of vendor maintenance contracts associated with the data centre or server, which won’t be migrated.
  • For a live environment, run simulations or tests on all backups to ensure they all remain functional.
  • Prepare a comprehensive backup of your data prior to decommissioning.
  • Complete a data erasure process using a reliable data erasure software.
  • Disconnect all equipment from the network. Do not forget to remove the firewalls and subnets.
  • Disconnect the power cord of all equipment that will be decommissioned.
  • If moving hardware racks, consider using tip guards.
  • If data in your drives won’t be erased, consider degaussing or shredding the remaining storage media.
  • Ask for a certificate of erasure or destruction. This is essential for data security purposes.
  • Complete all security requirements and make sure to have a comprehensive audit report.

Disposition

In this stage, the project manager needs to ensure the hardware is separated for auditing & processing. Auditing and processing warrant that servers along with other hardware are evaluated and labelled for either reuse or waste and for any vendor. A supporting company can assist in removal, auditing, processing and reporting for this disposition stage.
Lastly, the project manager should coordinate with the finance and accounting department, so that all servers and assets are taken off the books and that software licenses are accounted for.

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Our Approach

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Decommissioning servers, storage and networking from data centres do not have to be a headache. If you have this checklist and a project manager, then the entire process will be made easy.
At Secure I.T.Environments Ltd we aim to make the end-of-life decommissioning and disposal process easier for organisations. By partnering with industry specialists in server or other enterprise decommissioning, we guarantee that the entire process will go smoothly, and you’ll have the reporting and certifications you need to keep your data safe and organisation sustainable.
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WHAT TO KNOW

What to Consider when Building A Data Centre

Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)

PUE is an important measurement of energy efficiency in Data Centres, providing the metrics needed to make informed green efficiency changes in Data Centre infrastructure. With the cost of power rising, an efficient Data Centre Design not only delivers cost benefits to your organisation but is considerably less damaging to the environment.

Many low capital cost approaches in energy efficiency with often just small changes can save businesses thousands of pounds a year. PUE efficiency compares the total power energy used by a facility with how much is used by the IT components. The closer the figure is to 1.0, the more efficiently the facility is operating.
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Planned Preventative Maintenance

To ensure all equipment is in working order and will perform as designed in both normal operating conditions and an emergency, regular maintenance inspections must be planned and completed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. The service inspections provide the end user with the confidence that their Data Centre is operating at its best.
We provide a range of UPS, generator, air conditioning, and fire suppression maintenance services, ranging from simple repair to 24/7 support contracts with guaranteed response times.
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Remote monitoring

An early warning alert can prevent a situation from reaching a critical point of no return. Our support team offers customer UPS monitoring that detects any changes or errors in your system. Our automated management system monitors the environment and identifies even minor problems, sending alerts immediately and informing relevant personnel. Many monitoring systems can be remotely monitored via global operations architecture, via the cloud.
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LEARN MORE

How to build a Data Centre for your business?

Whether traditional, containerised or modular our energy-efficient scalable approach to any challenge is developed to align with the overall strategy of each business client, ensuring we optimise every data centre design and future fit-out at every stage.

With an in-house data centre design and build team of engineers, we fully support our customer-preferred architecture solution, working closely with you to ensure your data centres are running seamlessly and meeting your requirements. Utilising the latest efficient data centre cooling systems and infrastructure industry standards, we ensure no disruption to mission-critical services or business continuity operations, giving you peace of mind when working with Secure IT Environments.

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Taking Care of
Everything You Need

Design And Build

From initial concept through to handover, we deliver turnkey data centre solutions tailored to your needs.

Maintenance

Our expert teams provide ongoing maintenance to ensure your data centre remains secure, efficient, and fully operational.

Modular Data Centres

Fast, flexible, and scalable — modular builds help you adapt to changing business demands with minimal disruption.

Containerised Solutions

Self-contained, portable data centres built for rapid deployment and optimal performance in any environment.

Upgrades and Refurbishments

We help modernise existing infrastructure, improving performance, security, and energy efficiency.

Secure Environments for Critical Infrastructure

Specialist design and implementation for high-security, mission-critical environments across government and commercial sectors.

FAQ

Answers to the Most
Common Questions

A data centre design and build service provides end-to-end solutions for creating a data centre. This includes planning, designing the infrastructure, and actual construction, ensuring an efficient and functional facility.
There are three key areas to consider when planning to build a new data centre to ensure the project meets the needs of the organisation it’s designed to serve: existing facilities, the organisation’s business needs, and the data centre technology environment. Having answers to specific questions in these three areas will put your organisation in a position to make the best choice for design, build, installation, and start-up of your new data centre.
Key to understanding how to plan and build a new data centre is knowing the details of your existing data centre setup and capacity, whether that is your own facility, a colocation provider, or a cloud service.
Getting a clear picture of what already exists helps determine if building a new data centre is indeed the right option. In this digital age It’s possible that colocation, outsourcing, or a cloud or hybrid model could best meet your organisation’s data centre needs.
As part of this evaluation process, it’s also critical to understand the goals of the business, and how the data centre meets the needs of the company. A key part of this is understanding the scale of IT in the organisation, as well as how the data centre and its operations align with the business. That requires looking closely at how much data the business deals with, how it is gathered, stored, and accessed, what contact uses the data and how, and the relevant industry standards the data centre must comply with.
After getting a good sense of organisational goals and how the existing facilities are serving the business, and could you scale this down. it’s also critical to understand the company’s technology and data center physical environments.
Data centre projects are complex undertakings. When it’s done right, a brand new data center will support your business objectives and meet current and anticipated future needs. The way to set up your organisation for success with this project is to understand existing data centre facilities, know the business needs of the organisation, and have knowledge of the necessary data centre and technology environment.
Buildings used as storage facilities are most often located in the suburbs, areas with uninterrupted power supply. The centres are built in a fenced area that is protected from unauthorised intrusion. Data centres are located in one- or two-storey buildings, in buildings using modular construction techniques or containerised units. They can also be built internal or external of a main building
The data center houses switching routing and storage hardware. The function of that hardware depends on the type of data center. There is also generally a large amount of power and cooling equipment as well as admin space. Some data centers are for access from a customer to a business’s serve
Sometimes they can be found in the city centres, refurbishing industrial buildings, storage facilities, and hangars. Buildings must meet strict requirements, must be selected based on the load-bearing capacity of walls and floors, and the materials used for construction.
To ensure an uninterrupted power supply, two mains from different substations, battery packs and emergency diesel generators are normally used. Switching to the emergency power supply is performed in milliseconds, so the risk of losing company data is minimised.
The timeframe can vary based on the size, complexity, and specific requirements of the project. Generally, smaller data centres might take a few months, while larger or more complex projects can extend to over a year.
Several factors are considered, including the client’s capacity needs, scalability, redundancy, cooling and ventilation systems, energy efficiency, and security measures. The geographical location and potential natural disaster risks are also evaluated.
We adopt the latest technologies and best practices, such as using energy-efficient hardware, advanced cooling systems, and renewable energy sources when possible. Regular energy audits also help in maintaining efficiency.
Absolutely. Our designs often incorporate modular elements that allow for easy expansion, ensuring the facility can evolve with growing data needs.

Costs can vary widely based on the size, location, technologies used, and other factors. We recommend reaching out with specific project details for a tailored estimate.

Data Centres

Case Studies

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What are the requirements to build a data centre?

Glangwili Hospital – Carmarthen Wales

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Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn

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Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

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Testimonials

What Our Clients Say

Opus Trust Communications

We would like to thank Secure I.T. Environments for delivering during a challenging time, as well as in a short turnaround. We are very pleased with the results

Hayden Savage, – CEO

EPUT

Our migration went smoothly and we went live in the new location as planned on the Monday morning. Thanks to the careful planning of Trust IT projects and estates teams, working in close partnership with Secure I.T. Environments, we were able to plan for the challenges of working on a tight timeline.

Jannette Leonard, Director of IT

Opus Trust Communications

We would like to thank Secure I.T. Environments for delivering during a challenging time, as well as in a short turnaround. We are very pleased with the results

Hayden Savage, – CEO

EPUT

Our migration went smoothly and we went live in the new location as planned on the Monday morning. Thanks to the careful planning of Trust IT projects and estates teams, working in close partnership with Secure I.T. Environments, we were able to plan for the challenges of working on a tight timeline.

Jannette Leonard, Director of IT

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