Choosing the right IT asset disposition (ITAD) provider for your company can be challenging. Providers have different policies and procedures and may hide details in their fine print that must be examined to determine what kind of service you will get. Paying attention to those details could save your company significant money and protect your brand reputation.
To save you time and money, we thoroughly researched the services provided by 8 major ITAD providers and hardware manufacturers offering ITAD services. We read through their policies, scoured their publicly available documentation, and read all the fine print we could find. This information was completely accurate as of April 2024, when we studied the online documentation. Let’s see what we found on HP’s Device Recovery services.
HP's ITAD Services: An Overview
Hewlett-Packard, commonly called HP, is a large manufacturer of quality computer and office equipment. They also offer a Device Recovery Service as part of their sustainability tools. They state that their service includes the secure and sustainable repurposing of end-of-use devices to provide you with residual value. However, finding real information on their services requires sifting through their site and downloading numerous documents.
Range of Assets Accepted and Online Asset Valuation Tools
HP’s Device Recovery Service allows you to create a list of assets online through its quoting tool. They only accept a limited selection of laptops, desktops, and monitors, primarily for aging devices with less value, like only 8th generation and older i7 processors, for example. Their online tool accepts no other equipment, so companies with diverse technology may need to use multiple providers to handle all their assets.
HP’s online tool says it will generate a quote based on the fair market value of the hardware features, condition, and location. However, when trying to use their tool for a standard list of devices, their online tool showed -$577.12 for each device and stated, “Unfortunately, the device/s that you provided have no value. HP can still help protect your business data with our secure end-of-use services and prepare for a technology refresh that supports environmental sustainability.” You are then instructed to contact their representatives to discover your options.
Interestingly, repeated attempts to find any single device on their list with residual value failed. While 8th-generation i7 processors are aging, they are not considered obsolete; other ITAD providers quoted these same devices as having residual value.
ITAD Collection Services
HP’s Device Recovery Services offers two options depending on the number of assets you have. For small businesses with lower volumes, you must use their self-shipping option. For larger companies, they will have their partners package and pick up devices from a centralized location. This means that if your company has smaller satellite locations, you may need to ship your assets yourself to a centralized location or use their self-shipping option to send them to HP’s service providers, creating additional work for your team and incurring greater risks.
Data Destruction Services
HP offers both on and off-site data destruction services using NIST SP 800-88 standards. Any data-bearing storage devices that cannot be successfully sanitized are physically destroyed. They require their vendors to maintain auditable records to document the process. New units in unopened (original) packaging and “other equipment that does not contain customer or HP business data” are exempt from this requirement, although it’s unclear how they determine that equipment contains no customer data.
HP also states in their video that they prefer hard drive shredding as the most secure way to ensure data security, which is contrary to the circular economy initiatives they outline in their Sustainable Impact Report.
Reporting Procedures
HP will send you audit and financial reports, certificates of data sanitization, and a sustainability benefit report to help your company meet data-compliance requirements. However, they do not appear to offer any online portal to track assets, monitor progress, or download your reports. They also made no mention of offering assistance with audit trail reconciliation.
Recycling and E-Waste Policies
HP states that they favor vendors with third-party certification (R2, eStewards, or WEEELABEX), although in some cases they say they will use their own standards. They require their vendors to disclose the identity of all downstream vendors and state that audits of these third-party vendors must be conducted on-site once every three years.
HP does state that it does not allow e-waste to be exported to developing countries, either directly or through intermediaries. HP defines e-waste as nonworking parts or devices; this does not include materials defined as non-hazardous under the Basel Convention, working equipment and parts that are not intended for disposal or recycling but are for donation, reuse, or resale. The donation, reuse, and resale loophole has frequently been exploited by other e-waste handlers and their third-party providers to ship e-waste illegally overseas.
Chain of Custody Tracking
There is no information regarding a chain of custody in HP documentation other than stating, “We track your returned assets throughout the process” on their very lean ITAD brochure. They had no further clarification of their chain of custody procedures, and it appears you would need to contact them to obtain tracking information since no mention was made of an online tracking portal.
Cash Value
Despite the icon on their Device Recovery Service page showing cash exchanging hands, it appears that you will get no cash back with HP’s service. The fine print states that they only offer credit on non-HP products toward purchasing new HP products. It was unclear if HP products would return residual cash value.
Additional Fine Print
Here are some of the important fine print notices at the bottom of their documents that will affect the ITAD process:
- Non-HP Branded Devices: “The purchase of new HP devices is a prerequisite for non-HP branded devices.” So, you must buy HP products to get value. Despite a deep dive through all their fine print, it was still unclear whether HP products would give cash value or if you also must buy HP products.
- Fair Market Value: “Fair market value will be assessed based on the age and condition of the device.” Yet repeated attempts to find any device they offered to take failed to have fair market value using their online tool, even though other providers said those same devices had value.
- Physical Product Evaluation: "Quote is subject to physical product evaluation upon receipt by HP. Not all devices may have any residual value. If not, they will be responsibly recycled." We interpret the statement in parentheses as an acknowledgment that they do not strictly adhere to the quoted price. Based on our conversations with HP clients, this interpretation seems accurate. For fairness, it is worth mentioning that this practice is somewhat standard among many ITAD providers.
- Geographic Location: “Service levels and response times for HP Recovery Service may vary depending on your geographic location.”
Assessment of HP Device Recovery Services
In our thorough research process, we found a lack of transparency that would require customers to dig deep into their sustainability reports to find the necessary information on how they handle used devices, indicating that, like many manufacturers, HP’s Device Recovery Service appears to be part of its corporate sustainability tools. In contrast, dedicated ITAD managed service providers typically offer a full suite of ITAD services, including secure data destruction, detailed reporting, chain of custody tracking, and environmentally responsible recycling, along with cash value for retired assets.
Find Out How We Can Help
If you are an enterprise, government, or institution looking for ITAD solutions or have any additional questions, please contact us at ICT. You can also check out our white paper on HP's ITAD solutions for more information.
Summary Chart of HP’s ITAD Services
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