Do you ever wonder who is buying your company’s computers, laptops, monitors and other devices after they are collected by your ITAD vendor and refurbished for resale? There are lots of markets for quality refurbished equipment around the world. One that is particularly important, in our opinion, is North American school systems.
Most school systems struggle to provide enough technology access for all of their students. In many schools, the ratio of student to computers is 3:1 – or even higher. Capital budgets are tight, and support resources are scarce in most K-12 school systems. What’s more, the limited number of devices that these schools do use are often outdated, slow, and unreliable because they can’t afford to purchase new ones.
Access to quality refurbished computers and tablets enables schools to purchase equipment at about half the price of brand-new. For most educational purposes, a computer that is a couple of years old has more than sufficient processing speed and memory. By partnering with a refurbisher that specializes in schools and education, a school system can not only acquire the hardware, but also have it delivered with a custom software image that includes key education software, and have it ready to connect to their network. By providing a warranty and customer support, the refurbisher affords a school with limited IT assistance the ability to better manage and support hundreds or thousands of computers.
Some companies want to donate their used computers directly to schools. Though this may sound like a great idea, most schools – just like your company – want to standardize on certain equipment. They also want reliable equipment and warranties, as well as valid operating systems and software licenses. Although donations for a specific school project might work well for a school, donations do not address the school system’s computer needs for these reasons.
Updated, reliable equipment and software helps to engage students in technology and learning. Having access to more and higher quality computers will help prepare students for college, and the work force.
It’s a fact that the most sustainable disposition for a computer, laptop, or tablet is reuse. What better way to reuse than in a way that enables our children to learn better and be more successful in school?
Many of the devices that Lifespan collects and refurbishes end up in school systems around the US and Canada. If you’d like to learn more about where our refurbished equpiment ends up and how it helps our community, contact us, or call (888) 720-0900 to speak to one of our ITAD professionals.
