ROUND ROCK, Texas----Businesses concerned about data security, regulatory requirements and environmental stewardship are increasingly turning to third-parties to ensure proper disposal of unwanted IT equipment, according to an international IDC survey commissioned by Dell NASDAQ:DELL.

The research, conducted earlier this year of more than 1,000 companies in Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and the U.S., also found evidence that the IT asset disposal ITAD sector is in the midst of a “major transformation,” evolving from a relatively new sector to one with established processes and metrics.

Approximately one third of companies in the IDC survey use a third-party ITAD provider. North American companies are more likely to cite data security as their top motivation for using third-party IT disposal services while European companies rate requirements or mandates, such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive WEEE, as the key driver for their decision-making processes.

Small companies are far less likely to use IT disposal services compared with medium- and large-size companies, the IDC survey found. An estimated 11 percent of companies with less than 100 employees intend to use a third-party service, compared with 65 percent of companies with 10,000 or more employees.

“The findings of the IDC survey reinforce what we hear from our customers every day,” said Doug Hillary, director, Business Solutions Group, Global Services at Dell. “While many businesses are serious about proper IT asset disposal, there is considerable work to be done to help small companies understand the need for, reliability and affordability of disposal methods. Dell is listening to the needs of our customers and will continue to make it easy for them to recover and dispose of unwanted IT equipment in a secure and environmentally safe way.”

Other key survey findings include:

• Forty percent of organizations in North America opt for donation as a method of disposal, with the preference evenly distributed across organizations of all sizes.
• Banks 63 percent are more than twice as likely to use third-party disposal services compared to professional services 22 percent, education 25 percent and retail organizations 26 percent.
• More than half of financial services, health-care and retail organizations cite data security as their primary reason for choosing an IT disposal provider.
• Companies that don't currently use IT disposal services cite cost 31 percent, data security 25 percent and preference to donate/resell systems 20 percent as the top three factors. When asked to identify their number two reason, the issue of not knowing how to choose a qualified provider was a significant factor 15 percent.

“This survey and other IDC research indicate that leading companies recognize the necessity to manage the risks that could come from the retirement of their technology hardware,” said David Daoud, IDC research manager and lead analyst on this report. “Companies are increasingly adopting the proper IT asset disposal strategy with the aim of securing corporate data, reducing their environmental footprint and complying with state, national and international law.”

Dell’s Product Recovery Programs

Dell’s commitment to environmental responsibility includes efforts to provide customers easy-to-use and responsible product recovery programs. The company recovered 35.6 million kilograms approximately 78 million pounds of unwanted computer equipment for reuse or recycling from customers in 2006, a 93 percent increase over 2005. As a result of its global consumer and business awareness program, the company is ahead of schedule to achieve a multi-year goal of recovering 125 million kilograms about 275 million pounds of unwanted equipment by 2009.

Dell is the only computer manufacturer to offer consumers no-charge recycling services for its own branded computer equipment worldwide without requiring new product purchases. The company was the first to set product recovery goals in 2004 and completed the rollout of its global recycling program in 2006.

To request a copy of the IDC report, contact press at idc.com. Dell customers can learn more about the company’s asset recovery and environmental programs at www.dell.com/earth.

Dell to Host Teleconference Today

Dell will conduct a live news conference today at 12:30 p.m. CDT, featuring Dell executives and IDC analyst David Daoud. Media are invited to dial-in to the call via the following numbers:

US/Canada Dial-in #: 866-617-8381

Int'l/Local Dial-In #: 706-902-0286

Conference ID: 7339552

The call will include a Q&A session.

Methodology

The survey was conducted in January and February 2007, in a project sponsored by Dell. A total of 1,007 respondents took part in the survey, representing organizations operating in Canada and the United States for the North American zone, and Germany, France, and Britain for the European zone.

About Dell

Dell Inc. NASDAQ:DELL listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.dell.com, or to communicate directly with Dell via a variety of online channels, go to www.dell.com/conversations. To get Dell news direct, visit www.dell.com/RSS.