How Circular IT Is Transforming Data Centers: A Look at Refurbished Solutions

The circular economy is rapidly reshaping the IT industry, gaining substantial traction for its sustainable ethics as well as financial savings.

Traditionally, businesses have replaced their hardware with brand-new equipment from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). Today, that approach is shifting towards a more responsible model – one that reduces waste, cuts operational costs, and extends the value of existing IT assets.

At the heart of this shift is Circular IT — a model focused on maximizing the lifecycle of equipment through refurbishment, upgrades, and reuse. By minimizing the demand for new manufacturing and avoiding premature disposal, Circular IT is helping businesses build more resilient and sustainable data centers.

The challenges of new IT hardware

Replacing data center equipment with the latest OEM offering has been the default for businesses far too long. But this strategy brings growing challenges, from escalating costs to sustainability concerns.

• Cost: The cost of acquiring new IT hardware continues to climb — driven by inflation, supply chain disruptions, and increasing demand for high-performance components. For many businesses, these rising prices are putting significant pressure on IT budgets. The impact is further amplified by OEM recommendations to upgrade every three years — a cycle driven more by sales goals than actual performance needs.
• Environmental impact: 60-80% of the carbon emissions produced by an IT asset occur during the manufacturing process. Building brand-new hardware implies extracting elements such as rare metals, depleting limited resources and using damaging practices such as mining. Disposing of operational hardware further leads to the generation of e-waste, therefore increasing the hardware’s environmental footprint, and that of its owners.

The trend behind circular IT hardware

The shift towards refurbished IT is now globally driven on three major fronts: environment, economics and politics.

Enhanced sustainability focus

Awareness of our environmental footprints and their consequences is growing all the time. Businesses are facing increasing pressure both from consumers and industry regulators to introduce sustainable practices and demonstrate ecological responsibility. Refurbished IT reduces both the demand for new hardware manufacturing and the premature disposal of data center infrastructure.

By addressing both ends of the hardware lifecycle, it significantly lowers the overall environmental impact—curbing:

• Manufacturing-related carbon emissions
• Resource extraction
• E-waste generation

To find out more about sustainable IT strategies, read our Green IT industry guide. You can also check out our Green Data Center guide for practical, environmentally responsible measures you can implement in your enterprise data center.

Cost-effectiveness

Organizations are rethinking their procurement strategies and turning to refurbished hardware as a cost-effective alternative. In 2023, Gartner observed that “organizations can experience up to 60% in cost savings by simply extending product life spans from three to five years”.

Refurbished IT not only offers substantial savings compared to new equipment, but also provides the reliability and performance needed to maintain operational efficiency — all without compromising on quality or warranty support.

Parts availability

Refurbished IT provides a reliable alternative amid ongoing supply chain disruptions and geopolitical uncertainty. With fully tested, readily available stock, it enables businesses to bypass long lead times and maintain operational continuity.

Refurbished hardware explained: What it is and Why it matters

Refurbished data center equipment is pre-owned but has been restored to its original condition. As a reputed international provider of refurbished IT hardware, Evernex rigorously tests and certifies each product to guarantee industry compliance, optimal performance and durability.

This model offers a second life to performing and affordable hardware.

Refurbished spare parts allow businesses to only replace the components they need rather than refreshing the whole system, extending their data center’s lifecycle and optimizing their IT budget.

Embracing circular IT for a sustainable data center future

As organizations look to reduce costs, improve resilience, and meet sustainability goals, Circular IT is emerging as a powerful strategy to rethink how data center infrastructure is sourced, managed, and maintained.

Choosing refurbished components avoids the production of e-waste while reducing businesses’ dependence on new hardware manufacture and supply chains.

About the Author

Stephen Roberts, Infrastructure and SPaaS™ Business Manager at Evernex, brings 27 years of experience in the IT industry, specializing in extending the lifecycle of IT assets to reduce environmental impact. His expertise covers IT refurbishment, buy-back, data sanitization, and the global resale of data center hardware.