Composite scenarios from real deployments
Degausser Case Studies from India
How Indian banks, ITADs, data centres, hospitals, government departments and educational institutions have configured Proton degaussers, and what they set out to achieve.
Banking
Regional bank, 40 branches, RBI inspection finding
Situation. A mid-sized bank was unable to evidence disposal of customer data media. The asset register and the destruction records did not reconcile, and off-site tape was unowned. Media was reaching general waste.
Solution. A Proton T-1.5 with a PDS-75 at headquarters, a 1100 wand and PDS-75 at each regional office, and a PDS-88 at headquarters. A written disposal policy, a per-asset register with the T-1.5's per-cycle field reading, and tape brought into the same process.
Outcome. The inspection finding closed with the register, the machine verification certificate and the recycler documentation on file. The tape inventory was rebuilt — 2,000+ cartridges classified, a retention decision made on each, and the eligible ones destroyed in batches.
Data centre
Colocation provider, weekend floor refresh
Situation. A colocation provider needed to retire 900 drives over one weekend, deliver per-asset destruction evidence to four named customers, and had no equipment capable of it.
Solution. A Proton T-5 (NSA listed, under 20 seconds, digital cycle counter) and a PDS-100 with the rear output slide, plus a PDS-88 for the NVMe modules and SSDs that made up roughly a fifth of the batch. Registers were issued per customer.
Outcome. 900 drives and 190 flash modules destroyed across two days. The T-5's cycle counter and the per-cycle LCD readings gave each customer a register that stood up to their own internal audit. The provider has since repeated the configuration on subsequent refreshes.
ITAD
ITAD plant, cost per drive problem
Situation. An ITAD plant was losing margin on destruction work. The line was crusher-bound rather than degausser-bound, and operators were handling each drive three times.
Solution. A Proton T-1.5 for magnetic throughput and a PDS-100 with the rear output slide so drives eject straight into a container, removing the manual ejection step. Register format moved from a spreadsheet to a per-asset export from their asset system.
Outcome. Elapsed time per batch roughly halved despite doubling weekly volume. The register stopped being the bottleneck at client acceptance, and the faster, consistent output let them price a second customer contract they had previously declined.
Government
State department, tender with an NSA clause
Situation. A state government department's specification required an NSA/CSS evaluated degausser and an evaluated destroyer, with a field verification certificate at delivery and AMC in the commercial schedule.
Solution. A Proton T-4 with the 12 V battery operation option — the secure room had no mains — and a PDS-100. Bid pack included the datasheet, channel authorisation letter, EPL reference and a specification compliance matrix mapped line by line. AMC, installation and training were priced in the commercial schedule from the start.
Outcome. Technically compliant and commercially responsive on the first submission. The battery option removed a site electrical dependency. Post-delivery acceptance passed on the field verification certificate at commissioning.
Healthcare
Hospital group, imaging devices overlooked
Situation. A multi-speciality hospital group's media policy covered servers and laptops. MRI and CT modalities holding DICOM images and patient identifiers on internal drives were not covered at all, and were resold after service without consideration.
Solution. A Proton T-1.5 and PDS-75 for the IT estate, and a PDS-88 for phones, SIM cards, ID cards and optical media. The device resale and service procedure was rewritten so that any drive leaving the hospital is degaussed first, with the register countersigned by the medical records officer.
Outcome. The imaging-device gap closed. A monthly destruction routine was established, and the register is now produced for the hospital's information security audit as standard.
Education
University, exam data and CCTV
Situation. A university had no media destruction process. Retired lab computers were accumulating in an unlocked store, CCTV recorders were replaced every few years with no thought to the drives inside, and the exam server was due for replacement.
Solution. A Proton T-1 and a PDS-30 with the SSD kit — a modest capital outlay appropriate to the volume. A one-page disposal rule, a locked media store, and a per-asset register countersigned by the IT manager and the administrative officer.
Outcome. The accumulated backlog was cleared, the exam server drives were sanitised and destroyed under the written rule, and the process now runs monthly. The university has not needed a larger machine.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to the questions Indian buyers ask most often. Cannot find yours? Call us — we answer technical questions on the phone.
Are these real customer case studies?
They are composite scenarios based on the configurations we supply and the requirements Indian organisations in each sector typically have. We have not published named customers or their data without permission — where a customer has asked to be referenced, we will introduce you directly.
Can you share a reference customer in my sector?
Yes, subject to their consent. Tell us your sector and requirement and we will arrange an introduction where the customer has agreed to it.
What results should I expect from a degausser project?
Two things: reliable, evidenced destruction, and a measurable throughput improvement if you move to a faster machine. The second is usually visible within the first project.
How long does a typical installation take?
A bench or drawer machine is usually installed and commissioned in a day. A NSA-listed machine with installation, training and acceptance documentation is typically a few days. Your auditor's acceptance test is often the longest pole.