New Service Turns Used Data Center Equipment into Dollars

Institutions going through a data center refresh now have a way to squeeze some cash out of their old hardware. MarkITx, an online marketplace for buying and selling used enterprise IT equipment, today announced the launch of Portfolio Selling via GearTracker, a service for selling batches of pre-owned data center and IT hardware.

Newly emerged from a three-month beta, Portfolio Selling follows a "four-step process that ensures equipment quality, protects the seller's data, estimates the equipment's true worth and guarantees the transaction and each counterparty's reliability," according to a company statement:

  • Step 1: Inventory Pickup. Institutions sign up for Portfolio Selling online, at which time MarkITx initiates the pickup process. Equipment is transferred to R2- and e-steward-certified locations for evaluation, with no obligation to ultimately sell on MarkITx.
  • Step 2: Inventory Audit. MarkITx and its partners conduct a full physical audit and test every item to be sold, while meeting standards for secure data destruction (including Department of Defense Certificates of Destruction). Institutions may also request on-site data destruction for added security.
  • Step 3: Inventory Assessment. MarkITx provides a detailed inventory of equipment with an estimated value for each item. The seller then decides whether to sell the gear via MarkITx or have it shipped to another location.
  • Step 4: Equipment Portfolio Posts to MarkITx. MarkITx promotes each individual item to a network of pre-approved global buyers.

"Even when IT executives know there's value in their equipment, the old sales process has been so painful that many are happy simply to pay to have equipment hauled away," said Frank Muscarello, MarkITx co-founder and CEO, in a press release. "MarkITx's Portfolio Selling offers the convenience of rapid removal but with a real return for used equipment."

For more information visit the MarkITx site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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