Network Hardware Resale White Paper Sample

The opportunity to generate cash from selling old or unused network equipment is an appealing proposition. Corporate restructuring, downsizing, layoffs and bankruptcies all are fueling IT asset recovery, which Infoworld reports has grown into a $6 billion a-year business. According to Bernstein’s research, enterprises that sell equipment to resellers are usually paid in cash, which is especially attractive to companies going through layoffs and budget cuts.

In the network asset recovery arena, the accelerated adoption of virtualization technology is driving growth as it reduces the need for network switches. As a result, organizations increasingly are offloading unneeded gear to the secondary market for cash-back, trade-in or credit toward future purchases. A key fact to know: Resale values fluctuate as they are dictated by the ever-shifting winds of supply and demand. For example, the more plentiful the supply, the less value will be assigned to that particular device, unless demand is strong enough to warrant high inventory levels.

Industry watchers believe a spike in asset recovery activity early in 2009 will begin a period of expanding inventory on the used networking equipment market that will continue throughout the year. This is good news for those seeking pre-owned equipment because even the latest-generation products are often available within four to six months of introduction. There is also good news for sellers. Demand is increasing as more large enterprises than ever before are buying pre-owned equipment to control costs. As IT budgets continue to contract, the expectation is that supplies of new and previous-gen products will proliferate.