What are the best practices for software asset disposal and retirement?

2 Evaluate and plan

The next step is to evaluate and plan your software asset disposal and retirement activities. You can use criteria such as business value, functionality, performance, security, compliance, and lifecycle to assess your software assets. You can also use standards such as ISO 19770-1 or ITIL 4 to guide your decision making. Based on your evaluation, you can create a plan that outlines the scope, schedule, budget, roles, and responsibilities for your software asset disposal and retirement projects.

3 Backup and migrate

The third step is to backup and migrate any data or functionality that you need to preserve or transfer from your software assets. You can use tools such as backup software, data migration tools, or cloud services to copy and move your data or functionality to other locations or platforms. You can also use encryption, compression, or deduplication to enhance the security and efficiency of your backup and migration processes.

4 Erase and destroy

The fourth step is to erase and destroy any data or functionality that you need to delete or eliminate from your software assets. You can use tools such as data erasure software, shredders, or degaussers to overwrite, cut, or demagnetize your data or functionality. You can also use methods such as physical destruction, chemical treatment, or incineration to render your data or functionality unrecoverable.

5 Verify and document

The fifth step is to verify and document the results of your software asset disposal and retirement activities. You can use tools such as audit software, certificates, or reports to confirm and record that your data or functionality has been backed up, migrated, erased, or destroyed according to your plan. You can also use evidence such as receipts, invoices, or contracts to document the costs, savings, or revenues associated with your software asset disposal and retirement projects.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?