Spas Recycling describes Orphaned technology is a descriptive term for computer products, programs, and platforms that have been abandoned by their original operators.
Almost every office has some; someone’s computer stops working. IT replaces it and the broken machine is left on the floor in the corner of the office.A project is finished and the IT equipment is left in an empty office An employee leaves and hands their laptop back to Human Resources, who puts it in a closet.
These instances of orphaned technology are a shame, since the value of that equipment is not being recouped and it often takes up valuable space. The worst instances of orphaned technology, however, often happens at large corporations: A department is closed down, moved, set up at a temporary location, an employee simply leaves and goes un-replaced, or a data center becomes obsolete.
Orphaned Technology Value Recovery
When the computer equipment is no longer being used, many companies simply leave the equipment in the rooms, or on the desks, plugged in. Not only does this send money out the window because of the depreciating value, but the cost of electricity used would be better served to go towards a greener data center.
A typical desktop computer uses about 65 to 250 watts. Add another 15-70 watts for an LCD monitor. Figuring that the equipment will be asleep for most of its life, that’s still somewhere around Rs.300 a year in electricity but it could technically be as high as a few hundred dollars. Multiply that by 50 or 100 computers and the value lost becomes even more apparent.
What can companies do? Clean out their closets, clear off desks, collect unused servers, old telephone equipment, and have employees bring in their old home office equipment. Get a quote from Spas Recycling for collection and see how much money could be saved, or even made.