---
title: "Renewing your IT estate | DataRoad IT"
description: "A slow PC can cost €1,375 a year in lost time. Service life by device, renewal in waves and secure disposal of your IT estate. No-obligation proposal."
language: en
url: https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-estate-lifecycle-renewal-disposal/
source: https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-estate-lifecycle-renewal-disposal/
publisher: DataRoad IT (DataRoad - IT Services and Consulting), Portugal
---

> A slow PC can cost €1,375 a year in lost time. Service life by device, renewal in waves and secure disposal of your IT estate. No-obligation proposal.

# Renewing your IT estate: when to replace and how to dispose

At a glance For decision-makers short on time.

- 01 Reference: laptops 4-5 years, desktops 5-6, servers 5-7, switches and access points 6-8.
- 02 A firewall is only worth having while the maker publishes security updates.
- 03 Renewing 20% to 25% of the estate a year removes budget spikes and rushed purchases.
- 04 At disposal: erasure to NIST SP 800-88 and handover to a licensed WEEE operator, with e-GAR.

### In this article

A five-year-old laptop that wastes a quarter of an hour a day costs the company around €1,375 a year, for a single workstation. That is almost the price of new equipment, paid every year for nothing in return. **IT estate management** exists to avoid this waste: deciding replacements by risk and cost, never by age or breakdown. It is the method DataRoad applies to every estate it manages.

## How much are you paying to keep old equipment?

The invoice for a new machine is visible. The cost of the old one is diluted in slow start-ups, freezes and batteries that cannot last a meeting. Let us do the maths with clear assumptions, which you can adjust to your situation:

- **Hourly cost** €25 total cost per employee.
- **Daily delay** 15 minutes lost on a five-year-old machine.
- **Working year** 220 working days.

Result: 0.25 h × €25 × 220 = **€1,375 a year**. Across 10 workstations in the same situation, the company pays every year the value of several computers it never receives. For light roles or rarely used machines, keeping them can still pay off. The aim is to retire what no longer pays for itself. We develop this calculation in the article on [the hidden price of a slow PC](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/hidden-cost-slow-it-estate/).

## How many years does each item in the estate last?

There is no legal deadline. The figures below come from DataRoad's 11 years of experience planning IT estates and are for budgeting, not obligation.

| Asset | Reference horizon | What usually forces replacement |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Laptop | 4 to 5 years | Wear, worn-out battery, slowness, end of updates |
| Desktop computer | 5 to 6 years | Slowness and compatibility with the current operating system |
| Server | 5 to 7 years | Manufacturer warranty expired; disks and power supplies at risk |
| Firewall | Until the manufacturer's last security patch | Without patches, it stops doing its job |
| Switch | 6 to 8 years | Support ended, insufficient throughput or PoE power |
| Wireless access point | 6 to 8 years | New Wi-Fi generation, more connected devices, end of support |
| UPS | New batteries every 3 to 5 years | Insufficient real runtime |

"End of support" is the day the manufacturer stops fixing vulnerabilities. The device still switches on, but any flaw discovered afterwards stays open forever. On a laptop that is a risk; on a firewall, which guards the network's front door, it is unacceptable.

### Once fully depreciated, does it have to go?

No. Portuguese Regulatory Decree 25/2009 sets an annual rate of 33.33% for IT equipment, leaving it with zero book value by the third year. The rule serves the accounts. A good laptop keeps delivering long after that.

## Which signs force an early replacement?

- **No security patches**: Windows 10 lost support on 14/10/2025. Machines unable to run Windows 11 were left exposed; the alternatives are in the guide on the [end of Windows 10](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/windows-10-end-of-support-migration-plan/).
- **Critical item out of warranty**: if the server or firewall fails, restoring it depends on finding parts.
- **Repeated support calls**: the same device several times in a quarter is money leaving unseen.
- **It no longer serves the business**: applications that will not start, Wi-Fi that cannot keep up, monitors that will not connect.

## How do you renew an estate without surprises?

Waiting for a breakdown guarantees the worst case: a person at a standstill, a rushed purchase and the price of the day. Planned, the process becomes predictable:

- **Asset register with dates** Purchase, warranty end and support end recorded per device. If you do not have one, start with the [checklist for auditing your IT estate](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-estate-audit-checklist-8-blocks/).
- **Warranty to the end of planned use** On servers and laptops it avoids surprises in the final year of service.
- **A quarter of the estate per year, at most** Renewing 20% to 25% annually, on a four- to five-year cycle, smooths the budget.
- **Infrastructure in its own window** Firewalls, switches and access points replaced out of hours, as a project.

To turn this plan into figures, see the guide to [budgeting for IT in 2027](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/it-budget-2027-managed-services-fixed-cost/).

## What should you do with equipment at end of life?

It carries years of email, proposals and client information. Before disposal:

- **Erase the data properly** Deleting or formatting is not enough. NIST SP 800-88 (Rev. 2, published in September 2025) is the international standard for making recovery impracticable. On an encrypted disk, destroying the encryption key is an accepted method.
- **Leave a trail** Serial number, technique used, date and person responsible for each disposal.
- **Hand it to someone authorised to process it** Decree-Law 152-D/2017, as the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (Portuguese Environment Agency) explains, requires companies to send WEEE to a licensed management entity or treatment operator, never to household collection points. The e-GAR waste transport form is the proof.

## How was it done in a real case?

In 2022, DataRoad won a public contract from the União de Freguesias de Massamá e Monte Abraão to install and configure a new business server. The work combined UPS, local and cloud backup, consultancy and the move of the old systems and data to the new infrastructure.

That is renewal done properly: the core replaced with planning, power and backups updated in the same step, without waiting for something to break. [See the project in detail](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/massama-monte-abraao-server-ups-backups/).

Under [IT Unlimited](https://www.dataroad-it.com/en/managed-it-services/), the asset register, warnings of expiring warranty and support, and the replacement plan are included in estate management.

## Questions from those managing the budget

### What is the right interval for replacing a business laptop?

Between 4 and 5 years, as a reference. Sooner, if it loses security updates, breaks down frequently or costs more in lost time than a new one.

### Does fully depreciated equipment have to be replaced?

No. The 33.33% rate is an accounting one; the equipment stays as long as it is secure and productive.

### Can company PCs go in the supermarket recycling bin?

No. The Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente requires delivery to a licensed management entity or operator, and only after the data has been securely erased.

### Does formatting erase the data?

Not with any guarantee. Apply a sanitisation method such as those in NIST SP 800-88 and document it.

## Sources

- Regulatory Decree 25/2009, depreciation: [Portal das Finanças](https://info.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/pt/informacao_fiscal/legislacao/outros_diplomas/Documents/Dec_Regulamentar25_2009.pdf)
- Windows 10, support dates: [Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-10-home-and-pro)
- NIST 800-88 guide, Rev. 2: [csrc.nist.gov](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/88/r2/final)
- WEEE FAQ: [Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente](https://apambiente.pt/sites/default/files/_Residuos/FluxosEspecificosResiduos/REEE/FAQ%20REEE%20agosto%202021_DRES_V1.1.pdf)

## Next step: your renewal plan, ready in 10 working days

We inventory every device, flag what is already out of warranty or support and deliver a phased plan, ranked by priority and with estimated cost. No-commitment proposal.

**More than 10 workstations · support contract · remote, on-site and telephone support.** Call +351 211 459 950 * or write to sales@dataroad.pt.

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