Closing A Site Without Killing The Network That Stays.
A retail operator consolidating from a satellite office back to HQ needed orderly hardware turn-down, secure device wipes, and continuity for the systems staying live. We did it on a single trip.
The Situation
What They
Were Up Against.
A retail operator was consolidating from a satellite West Coast office back to its Dallas HQ. Critical infrastructure at the satellite site. Surveillance cameras, badge readers, and the network supporting both. Had to stay live during and after the turn-down to support remaining operations. Some equipment was being relocated to HQ; the rest needed secure wipe and disposal. The internal IT team didn't have the capacity for a multi-day on-site trip.
Why They Called Us
The Fit.
They needed an experienced on-site tech who could land in San Diego, audit everything, separate keep-vs-dispose, run secure wipes, coordinate shipping, and make sure the camera and badge systems stayed online throughout. Tech Critic dispatched a senior Dallas-based engineer for 16 billable hours including travel. Flat rate, no surprises.
What We Did
The Work.
- On-site audit and inventory of every piece of hardware at the satellite location
- Categorized equipment for relocation to HQ vs e-waste disposal vs secure wipe and resale
- Coordinated packing and shipping logistics with the client's preferred carrier
- Performed certified secure device wipes on all retired endpoints per NIST 800-88 standards
- Verified that surveillance camera system, door access control, and the supporting network stayed operational throughout the wind-down
- Coordinated e-waste disposal through an approved environmentally compliant provider with certificate of destruction
The Outcome
Real
Numbers.
trip. Site wound down in a single engagement
downtime on the systems that had to stay live
chain-of-custody documented end to end
- Surveillance camera system, door access control, and supporting network remained operational throughout the wind-down
- All retained hardware safely transported to HQ with chain-of-custody documentation
- Secure device wipes performed and documented to NIST 800-88 standards for compliance
- Engineering team back at HQ the next business day. No week-long disruption to other priorities
Tech Stack
What We Used.
We didn't have a week to send our own team. Tech Critic handled it in two days, kept the cameras and door system online, and gave us the documentation we needed for the next audit.
Retail · Anonymized Client
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