Frequently asked questions about data center exits
Short answers. The detailed explanations live on the corresponding pages.
Scope and schedule
How long does a decommissioning take?
Discovery and reporting usually take longer than the physical work. Building access and data requirements set the pace, not rack count.
What has to be ready before a provider walks the site?
A physical inventory, a dependency map and a data classification. The checklist covers the rest.
Can several sites run in parallel?
Yes, where access allows. What should stay identical across sites is the reporting standard, not the schedule. See enterprise programs.
Data and evidence
Erasure or physical destruction?
Erasure keeps resale value and needs per-serial verification. Destruction is unambiguous and forfeits recovery. See the comparison.
Does destruction have to happen on site?
Only if your own obligations require it. Off-site is cheaper and faster but adds a transport leg during which the data still exists.
What should a certificate contain?
Serial numbers rather than counts, the method per device, custody dates, the facility, and the exceptions. That last item is the one most often missing.
Assets and cost
Can decommissioning pay for itself?
Sometimes, with recent homogeneous complete hardware sold at decommissioning rather than months later. A possible outcome, not a plan.
Why do two proposals differ so much?
Access, data requirements and how recovery value is treated. The six factors explain most of the gap.
Who values the assets?
Often the same party that buys them. Not necessarily a problem, but a structural conflict worth naming — or separating.
This platform
Does Data Center Exit perform the work?
No. Data Center Exit is an independent project-intake and matching platform. It does not perform decommissioning, equipment removal, data destruction or transport.
Is there a fee?
Not for the party submitting a project. The platform is paid by the receiving providers.
Is my information sold?
No. It is used to review and route the project only. See the privacy policy.
A question that is not here?
Put it in the open field of the form — it travels with your project to the provider.
Data Center Exit is an independent project-intake and matching platform. It does not perform decommissioning, equipment removal, data destruction or transport.