2021 ITAD Benchmarking Report shows 27.4% increase in average values for retired IT assets

MADISON, Wis. - Jan. 15, 2021 - PRLog -- Cascade Asset Management (Cascade), a national leader in providing full-service IT asset retirement solutions to businesses and institutions, published its 7th Annual Benchmarking Report today. The study provides information and research on security, environmental, and financial issues related to IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) and the more general IT Asset Management (ITAM) discipline.

Reversing a trend from the last year, and undoubtedly due to the impact of the pandemic increasing the overall demand for IT hardware, Cascade reported a more than 27% increase in the overall average resale value paid for its refurbished equipment between 2019 and 2020. Laptops led the pack with their average value growing by 44%, on average. There was also a dramatic increase in the amount of laptops given away to worthy causes that were searching for affordable devices to meet work and school at home needs during the pandemic.

"In 2019, there was a flood of used equipment in the secondary market, driving down prices," notes the report's author Neil Peters-Michaud. "In 2020, supply chains were disrupted, and we saw a surge of interest in refurbished devices in domestic markets. As more people chose refurbished equipment, they appreciated it as a more affordable and viable substitute for new devices in many instances."

In the survey portion of the report, a higher percentage of respondents indicated they would spend less on purchasing new IT assets in 2021 (24.6%) compared to 2020 (16.6%). This may be due to the growth in spending for remote work in 2020. Meanwhile, expectations for increased or maintained IT hardware spending declined from nearly 70% in 2020 to 57% in 2021. Also, there was increased uncertainty (18.0%) in future IT investments indicated in the responses.

Going into 2021, organizations plan to remain consistent with their device refreshes. Respondents expect that 64% of their laptops (same as the previous year) and 51% of their desktop PCs (up from 46% last year) will be 4 years old or less when they are retired from use. While 2020 disrupted many organizations' asset disposition activities, it appears they plan to get back on track with normal retirement programs in 2021.

The full report is posted online at: http://www.cascade-assets.com/2021report. In addition, Cascade will present the report findings as part of a webinar hosted by IAITAM on Tuesday, January 19^th at 5:00 p.m. ET). Additional inquiries about the findings can be directed to the author, Neil Peters-Michaud, npm@cascade-assets.com.