Data center decommissioning
When a data center closes, every server, drive and switch in it still holds company and customer data, so decommissioning starts with getting that data off safely, before anything is moved, sold or scrapped.
Call us, or tell us what's leaving, how much of it there is and where it lives, and as many as three IT asset disposal firms will come back to you with a price and the certificates they provide.
Data center decommissioning services
The companies doing this kind of work go by the name ITAD providers. ITAD stands for IT asset disposition, which really just means retiring old equipment and handling whatever data sits on it.
A full-service firm books the pickup and, once the work is finished, hands you a certificate of destruction, so you have something in writing to show for it (ERI). While your gear is on the road to their site it goes out under a chain of custody, meaning a written log of who held it and when, so nothing goes astray on the way from you to them (Park Place).
If it bothers you that drives might head out of your building still carrying data, some firms will wipe everything at your own site first. Gear that still works can often be resold, which the industry calls remarketing, and that is how disposal firms recover value from retired equipment. Getting quotes costs nothing.
Clear, purge or destroy?
The American standard for wiping data is NIST SP 800-88, and its current version was released in September 2025 (NIST). It calls this sanitization: making the data impossible to recover with a given level of effort.
Clear overwrites all the parts of a drive that an ordinary user is able to reach. Purge goes one step further, so even a top lab couldn't pull anything back off it. Destroy means the drive is torn up, scorched, smashed or melted down (Blancco).
Since a destroyed drive can't be resold, the choice comes down to how much your data needs protecting and whether you'd like some money back on the hardware.
What certifications does the firm need?
Two certifications count here. SERI runs R2v3, which has been in force since June 2020; any firm with it has to sanitize to NIST SP 800-88 and to follow your equipment's trail once it leaves their hands (ITAD Intelligence). e-Stewards firms also have to hold NAID AAA, a separate certification for data security.
Providers with e-Stewards generally charge 10 to 20% more than firms carrying only R2v3, so your budget matters here (ITAD Intelligence). Each firm replies with a price and the certificates it issues, so you can compare both side by side before you choose. Ask for quotes now and you'll be comparing real prices instead of guesses.
Paper that proves the data is gone
Request a sanitization certificate with every batch of drives. A good one records what kind of sanitization was done, by what method, with which tools, and how the outcome was verified (Blancco). Miss any of those four details and the paper proves a lot less, so read it before you sign anything.
File the certificates with your company paperwork. Should anyone ever question what became of the data, you'll have the answer in writing.
Ask for a disposal quote
Common questions
What's the process for shutting down a data center?
- Write down every piece of hardware and note which items hold data, since those need wiping and the rest just need moving.
- Work out how sensitive that data is, because that decides how thoroughly things get wiped and whether resale is an option.
- Ask for quotes so you can weigh up prices and certificates together.
- Book the pickup, or have everything erased at your site if you'd prefer no drive leaves with data aboard.
- Collect the certificates for erasure or destruction and put them on file.
Is deleting the files enough before I sell the servers?
No. Research by NAID in 2017 turned up personal information that could still be recovered on 40% of secondhand devices purchased online (ITAD Intelligence). Deleting files is a different thing from clearing, purging or destroying.
Is there data center decommissioning in my area?
Tell us where the equipment is when you ask for quotes, and the disposal firms that reply will know from the start where they're coming to.
What will data center decommissioning set me back?
There's no set price list, since the total varies with how much equipment you have, how thoroughly it's wiped and whether any of it can be resold. Each quote you receive shows a price for your room, along with the certificates the firm issues.
What if the servers are relocating rather than retiring?
If the gear is bound for a colocation facility instead, tell us your space, power and city one time, and as many as three colocation providers or brokers will quote you directly.
More on retiring hardware: ITAD services, Hard drive destruction.