The year was 1999. The first BlackBerry mobile device launched. Bluetooth 1.0 introduced mobile wireless file sharing. AMD snubbed Intel with its 700-Mhz version of the Athlon chip, the fastest Windows-compatible microprocessor to date. Apple released the Power Mac G4. And, Synetic Technologies began offering an approach to IT asset disposition (ITAD) and IT asset management (ITAM) that transforms their clients’ businesses by taking the burden of protecting privacy and the environment off their shoulders. Synetic’s leadership and employees are honored to mark two decades of earning and keeping their clients’ trust in such a high-stakes area.
“We started out brokering computers, laptops and monitors. Their resale value was great because not every American household had one. Twenty years ago, a used or refurbished CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitor sold for $100. Today, it costs money to responsibly dispose of it,” says Ron Helmer, Synetic Technologies’ president and CEO.
The proliferation of technology has resulted in a commodity-driven market. Those businesses that did not evolve from the early days of profitably and safely brokering IT equipment are largely defunct due to unsustainable business models.
Helmer explains, “Whenever there is a new industry, security follows as an afterthought. In 1999, electronic waste wasn’t a factor. Only later did data security and environmental stewardship become a concern when the danger of data breaches and hazardous waste from computer components had serious consequences to privacy and our environment. Synetic got off the ground because we had clients early on who understood the gravity at the time and also what was to come.”
For two decades, Synetic has elevated its data security services to match the time, enabling the company to weather the shift in the market that drove many similar companies out of business. “As the years go by, the tsunami of electronics is an ever-growing threat to privacy and the environment. Early on, we had a vision to offer services to protect data first and foremost, well before streams of brokering computer equipment dried up. It is part of our company culture to be cognizant of providing true service and forward thinking in data protection, obtaining the industry’s highest ITAD and ITAM certifications and being prepared for trends,” states Gary Agness, Synetic Technologies’ vice president.
Service and forward thinking are the foundation of Synetic’s transformational versus transactional client relationships. As with all companies, clients must have a reason to do business with you. For Synetic, this means being flexible to market conditions and clients’ needs. It’s a business model that works, considering many clients have been and grown with Synetic since 1999.
Agness explains, “After clients join Synetic, they don’t see a need to change ITAD and ITAM service providers. As their needs change, they count on us to keep them ahead of the curve. Where our clients go, we go, so if they open a location in Romania, Synetic is there. They’ve seen time and again that no one is going to work harder for them than we are.”
Being present is important, but it’s not enough to sustain 20-year relationships or win new Fortune 1000 business the way that Synetic does. “Gaining our clients’ trust to be given ‘first right of refusal’ is not something we take for granted. We’re often asked, ‘Can you do this?’ Our out-of-the-box solutions are the additional value we bring to our clients,” says Agness.
The Synetic team stays on top of current and upcoming regulations, best practices, and verticals such as health care, financial, legal and more. Clients rely on the company to not only provide ITAD and ITAM services that eliminate the burdens associated with data protection and asset destruction but also to be consultants who can educate on risks and even help write corporate internal policies on asset management.
“Technology and the IoT (internet of things) certainly have changed what we do and how we do it, and it is the nature of ITAD and ITAM that will continue creating an environment in which our services and knowledge are critical for Fortune-listed corporations required to securely and responsibly dispose of used computers or IT assets, which done properly transforms their business,” says Helmer. “We’re honored to celebrate this milestone with our clients and continue guiding them in their ITAD and ITAM strategies in the coming decades.”