Cascade has twice been listed as a "Visionary" on Gartner's ITAD Magic Quadrant for North America

Gartner, a leading IT market research firm, re-issued its Magic Quadrant report (2011) for the IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) industry. Again, Cascade is recognized in the report as one of 17 ITAD firms in North America that offer the best capabilities, certifications, and track record to justify consideration on the “short list” of any enterprise searching for ITAD services.

This Magic Quadrant report was developed through more than 120 ITAD related discussions with non-vendor and end-user organizations by Gartner analysts. Over 60 customer reference questionnaires were completed, and many end-users participated in one-on one interviews.
From this research, the report offers a description of each vendor, along with identified “strengths” and “cautions.” Gartner states Cascade’s strengths as:

• Cascade’s strong chain-of custody process resulting from the use of its own vetted staff and vehicles for most transportation logistics;
• Cascade’s strong commitment to environmentally sound asset disposition and recycling;
• Customers report Cascade’s customer web portal to be an “efficient, customizable online tool to track and report on asset status and billing”; and,
• Cascade is highly responsive to customer requirements.

Gartner did point out some cautions about Cascade, including our limitations on providing global solutions and our selectivity about which projects we perform in order to not over-reach.  (We readily admit to these limitations – it makes us better at what we do well).

Changes in the ITAD industry.
The Gartner report also commented on some interesting trends in the industry.

One conclusion of the report is that “The sharp focus on the two primary risks associated with ITAD—data security and the disposition of e-waste— combined with more strict and comprehensive legislative mandates and penalties for non-compliance, is forcing IT asset managers to more closely evaluate their ITAD processors and providers.” The report talks about the need for firms to not only recognize the role of independent certifications to evaluate the security programs of an ITAD vendor, but to also conduct their own due diligence, including an audit of the company and visit to one of its processing facilities.

Gartner also revealed that “executives responsible for ITAD are coming to realize that the combination of longer refresh cycles and the rising costs of proper disposition of IT assets is driving ITAD’s cost revenue equation to break-even at best.” This suggests that revenue generated from the resale of retired assets is not necessarily offsetting as much of a company’s ITAD processing costs as before.

Get the full report. To request a copy of the full 34 page report, visit Gartner at www.gartner.com. Current Gartner users may be able to sign in and download the report directly—ask for “Magic Quadrant for North American Information Technology Asset Disposition,” by Rob Schafer, November 30, 2011. The publication number is G00219748.