Blancco sanitises Chromebooks so they can be reused (Image Credit: Photo by Kaboompics.com)Data erasure specialists Blancco has announced that its Blancco Drive Eraser product can now sanitise your Chromebooks. The new capability, Blancco Chromebook Erasure, means that Chromebooks can be properly erased while preserving the underlying operating system.

Alan Bentley, President of Global Strategy at Blancco (Image Credit: LinkedIn)
Alan Bentley, President of Global Strategy at Blancco.

Commenting on the popularity of Chromebooks, Alan Bentley, President of Global Strategy, Blancco, said “While most students have returned to the classroom and employees are increasingly coming back to offices, the demand for Chromebooks has not waned. One forecast predicts nearly 30 million Chromebooks will be shipped globally in 2022, a decrease of 21% from 2021 but more than double the number of units recorded in 2019.

“As more of these devices enter the ecosystem, and as more organizations look to be participants in the circular economy, they need a solution that allows them to quickly and safely reuse these devices. Blancco Drive Eraser now meets that need.”

What does Blancco Chromebook Erasure do?

It doesn’t take long for a device to end up storing sensitive corporate data or personally identifiable information (PII). It means that when a device is to be reused or recycled, IT teams have to undertake a stringent cleaning process. That process can take a considerable amount of time if it requires operating systems (OS) to be reinstalled.

What Blancco is offering here is to remove all that data while preserving the underlying Chrome OS. It is a step that the company claims will save companies hours for each device they clean.

Blancco Drive Eraser for Chromebooks takes advantage of the factory reset mode on the device. That process on a Chromebook does a cryptographically secure erasure of all user data in just five minutes. When the device is rebooted it is clean and ready for the next user. Blancco will even provide a certificate of erasure to help with regulatory compliance.

This is not the only option that Blancco has to clean a Chromebook. It has Blancco File Eraser and Blancco LUN Eraser that can also do the job. The difference here is the five-minute process that Blancco Drive Eraser delivers.

Blancco says  that the key benefits of doing this are:

  • Guarantees user data has been erased quickly and securely
  • The operating system remains intact, no need to reimage the device
  • Produces a tamper-proof digitally signed certificate for each erased device to help with reporting and compliance
  • Auditable process to make reporting and compliance faster and easier
  • Blancco Chromebook Erasure is provided at no extra cost for those customers who already have a Blancco Driver Eraser license
  • Ergonomic UI design, facilitating quick and easy software use

Enterprise Times: What does this mean?

IT departments are open to anything that ensures devices are properly cleaned before being reused or recycled. If that process reduces the time that would have previously been required, then that’s a significant bonus. Blancco is offering to do both of these things with Blancco Chromebook Erasure.

It will be interesting to see how quickly Blancco sees take-up of this new product. Chromebooks have seen a significant increase in sales over the last four years. Statista reports that in 2019 17 million units were sold. That increased to 31.8 million in 2020 and 37.3 million in 2021 at the height of the pandemic. By 2022, Stastista predicts that sales will drop back to around 30 million units.

Many of those sales were to schools and as students complete their education, schools will want to recycle those devices for new students. Companies also bought a number of Chromebooks for staff who were working from home. The question is, who will end up buying Blancco Chromebook Erasure and in what quantities.

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