Data centre decommissioning, from the rack to the handed-over property
The migration is over, but the room is still there: energised racks, storage arrays with live data and a running property lease. Ecobraz decommissions data centres with per-rack inventory, recorded media treatment and removal within planned windows — until the room becomes a handed-over space.
The picture of those who finished the migration — but not the project
Is even one item on this list true for you? Then this page was written for you — describe your situation in one minute and get a technical reply, not a sales call.
- The cloud migration was completed months ago and the room is still intact, burning through energy and lease
- The building has to be handed back — with an entire data centre inside
- Powered-down storage arrays holding data no one has dealt with
- The project needs a schedule and windows — not a lorry that 'swings by to pick things up'
- The board asks how much it costs to keep the dead room running — and no one wants to answer
The decommissioned room that still costs as much as an active one
After the migration, the old data centre generates only three things: cost, risk and questions.
The rent on the rack graveyard
A decommissioned room keeps paying its lease, cooling, insurance and security — to protect equipment that will never be switched on again.
Real cost: months of full running expense for a site that no longer serves the operation — visible in any budget review.Live data in dead machines
A powered-down storage array is not a wiped one. The disks in the old room hold entire databases — and no one monitors a room that is 'done for'.
Real cost: a complete corporate data holding protected by nothing but a door — at the forgotten end of security.Dismantling without an inventory means assets vanishing
A rack stripped in a hurry, with no list and no custody, is an invitation to silent disappearance — and to an asset audit with no answer.
Real cost: valuable assets with no whereabouts, a contested write-off and an internal control finding.From an idle site to a handed-over property
Decommissioning treated as a project — with a beginning, middle, end and evidence.
How things stand today
- An entire idle room consuming lease and energy
- Storage arrays with no defined data treatment
- No inventory of what is in the racks
- The property deadline approaching with no plan
- A 'scrap removal' quote with no project
With Ecobraz
- A shutdown schedule with agreed windows
- Media sanitised or destroyed, with records
- Per-rack inventory before dismantling
- Complete removal, disposal and documentation
- An empty room and a property ready for handover
What the project delivers in the end
It is not a large collection — it is a closed decommissioning with evidence.
Property released
The room emptied within the lease deadline — with no penalty or extension.
Fixed cost eliminated
Energy, cooling and insurance for the dead site come off the expense sheet.
Data closed out
Each medium treated and recorded — the old room stops being a security risk.
Project dossier
Inventory, custody, certificates and final report — the decommissioning made auditable.
What is included — and what is not
Scope declared before scheduling reduces rework and surprises. Each batch is assessed technically.
In scope
- Servers, storage arrays, racks and appliances
- Network assets, structured cabling and PDUs
- UPS units and the site's battery banks
- Media treatment: sanitisation or destruction, according to scope
- Own rooms, corporate floors and colocation positions
The scope takes into account access, permitted windows, hoisting and dismantling, data treatment and property deadlines. Each site is assessed before the schedule.
Out of scope
- Civil infrastructure and fixed cooling (assessed case by case)
- Household batteries, toner, lamps and other standard exclusions
- Chemical, biological, radioactive or contaminated waste
- Equipment that will remain in production
Materials out of scope require specific chains and are not part of this service.
How it works, from contact to final destination
No collection is confirmed without a technical assessment. That is what keeps the operation predictable and documentable.
Describe the site
Racks, asset types, location, property deadlines and data requirements.
Technical assessment
A visit or remote survey to size the logistics, windows and risks.
Schedule defined
Phases, working windows, responsibilities and documents agreed.
Recorded shutdown
Per-rack inventory, media treatment and dismantling with custody.
Handover and dossier
The room released, waste disposed of and complete project documentation.
The proof the site was closed out properly
The documentation reflects what was actually carried out in each batch — no generic promises.
Per-rack inventory
A list of assets drawn up before dismantling — the basis of the project.
Media report
Sanitisation or destruction recorded for each medium treated.
Chain of custody
The journey of each asset, from the room to disposal.
MTR and CDF
Certified transport and disposal documents, where applicable to the material.
Project report
Consolidated by phase — the document that closes the decommissioning.
Scope and schedule
Windows, responsibilities and conditions agreed in writing.
Why decommission with Ecobraz
A data centre is not dismantled in a rush — it is dismantled with a plan.
A project, not a collection
Schedule, phases and agreed windows — the project rigour a critical room demands, even when decommissioned.
Data within the flow
Media sanitisation and destruction built into the decommissioning — without hiring three suppliers.
15 years of operation
An association founded in 2011, with recognition on EU and UN platforms — scope declared on the evidence page.
Closure dossier
The project ends with complete documentation — assets, security and audit addressed at once.
What infrastructure and facilities teams ask
Do you dismantle the racks and the cabling?
Yes — dismantling, organising and removal are part of the scope, defined at the assessment according to the site, the access and the permitted windows.
How do you treat the data on the storage arrays and servers?
Each medium receives the treatment defined in the scope — logical sanitisation where applicable or physical destruction — with a record per medium in the project report.
Do you work in overnight windows or at weekends?
The working windows are agreed in the schedule, in line with the building and operation rules — including restricted hours.
Do you serve sites outside São Paulo?
Projects in other locations are assessed according to size, logistics and deadlines. Describe the site and the location so we can check feasibility.
And if part of the estate is still in production?
The scope separates what leaves from what stays: the shutdown is done in phases, with a clear inventory of what belongs to each one.
Could also be part of your operation
Secure data sanitisation
Logical wiping with a report, for media that remain usable.
View solution →Physical destruction of data and media
Definitive disablement with custody, for no-reuse policies.
View solution →Servers, racks and storage arrays
Disposal of standalone infrastructure equipment.
View solution →Published basis, with a persistent identifier
This subject is developed in an original technical report by Ecobraz Emigre, published with a DOI on the open Zenodo repository.
VILLANOVA, Marcio. A Baixa Patrimonial Não Encerra o Risco: Responsabilidades e Evidências no Descomissionamento de Ativos de TI. Zenodo, 2026. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21398130 · All publications →
How much does one more quarter of the dead room cost your budget?
Describe the site, the racks and the property deadlines. The team gets back to you with a schedule, scope and the project documentation — in writing.