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Blancco Autopilot Detection Named Technical Innovation of the Year in Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence

Data erasure leader clinches Gold Stevie Award for its ability to flag potential data security ‘trapdoor’ in IT asset reuse

BOSTON and LONDON – Aug 7, 2025 — Blancco Technology Group, the industry standard in data erasure and mobile lifecycle solutions, today announced that Blancco Autopilot Detection has won the Gold Stevie® Award for Technical Innovation of the Year in the Information Technology category of the Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence. The Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence recognize the remarkable achievements of individuals, teams, and organizations that are shaping the future of technology across all industry sectors. More than 1,500 nominations from organizations of all sizes in 36 nations and territories were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of tech-related categories. Other category winners include previously announced Blancco partner IBM, as well as household brands Amazon / Amazon Web Services, Apple, Cisco, Google, JPMorganChase, Meta, Microsoft, Netflix, Oracle, Salesforce, and Walmart. 

Blancco Autopilot Detection was developed to overcome a security and efficiency challenge faced by IT asset disposition (ITAD) companies handling data storage drives and devices for enterprise businesses and other customer organizations. When customers enroll their equipment in unified endpoint management (UEM) tools such as Microsoft’s Windows Autopilot and Intune, ITAD-sanitized devices can automatically reconnect to the original company network and then synchronize with the management server. While enterprise data synchronization fills a need when devices are active within an organization, this function can redownload data onto devices intended for resale, posing a major security risk.  

“We are thrilled to have Blancco Autopilot Detection recognized for technical innovation by the Stevie Awards,” said Lou DiFruscio, chief executive officer of Blancco. “Scalable, trustworthy data security is critical for businesses worldwide, including when laptops, desktops, and drives are ready for a second life outside their organizations. Absolute confidence is a must-have. That’s why our product development teams continually seek out new ways to equip IT-driven organizations, as well as the ITADs and managed services providers that serve them, with the most capable data erasure functionality possible.” 

Blancco Autopilot Detection is the first and only enterprise-scale offering that programmatically identifies and flags the presence of UEM enrollments in used devices during the erasure process. Before  Blancco’s innovation, all devices had to be individually powered on, assessed for the UEM data risk impact, then flagged appropriately and quarantined. This multi-step, manual process created bottlenecks for ITADs and created the potential for sensitive corporate data to be overlooked on devices slated for the circular economy. 

“For businesses to more fully buy into reselling their used but valuable and still-functional IT assets, we must provide market-relevant solutions that keep customer and corporate data safe and do so with increased efficiency,” said Russ Ernst, chief technology officer at Blancco. “Being recognized for Blancco Autopilot Detection is a wonderful marker in a long history of innovation that includes more than 40 patented or patent-pending ideas developed to help provide highly efficient, robustly secure erasure and diagnostic solutions that preserve device functionality, eradicate data completely, and help bring more used devices to the secondary market as society’s use of data storage technologies evolves.” 

Winners of the awards, named the Stevies from the Greek word meaning “crowned,” will be recognized during a gala awards event on Tuesday, September 16, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. 

“We’re proud to honor the 2025 Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence winners for their remarkable achievements,” said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller. “We look forward to celebrating their innovation and impact at the awards ceremony on September 16.” 

To learn more about Blancco, please visit www.blancco.com. 

About Blancco Technology Group

Reduce Risk. Increase Efficiency. Be Sustainable. 

Blancco Technology Group provides organizations with secure, compliant, and automated solutions that accelerate the transition to the circular economy. Each year, tens of millions of Blancco erasures allow top-tier organizations to protect end-of-life data against unauthorized access, safely redeploy data storage assets, and firmly comply with increased data protection and privacy requirements. Our precise device diagnostics help move used IT assets confidently into the circular economy, enabling enterprises, IT asset disposition (ITAD) vendors and recyclers, and mobile industry stakeholders to operate more sustainably.

Globally approved, recommended and certified by governing and industry bodies around the world, Blancco is the industry standard in data erasure and mobile lifecycle solutions. With 40+ patented or patent-pending ideas, we continue to grow the number of innovative solutions global companies can rely on to accelerate operations, secure their data, and grow their businesses. Read more about us at www.blancco.com.

About the Stevie Awards 

Stevie Awards are conferred in nine programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations and territories. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performance in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.