IT infrastructure and asset management has become the backbone of a successful business. Unfortunately, many companies are still stuck in the relative dark ages when it comes to managing their IT asset lifecycle. It’s time to evolve and embrace a new paradigm. In this piece, the first of a series, we’re going to be looking at how you can take your IT lifecycle from antiquated to awesome.
The traditional IT asset lifecycle
- Procurement
- Management
- End-of-life
Asset procurement is the starting point for every IT lifecycle. Although you could see the planning and budgeting beforehand as a preparation stage. This is the area that often receives the most focus and attention. It’s exciting to receive and roll out new equipment, both for IT teams and end-users.
While costs are always an important factor (just ask the CFO), companies need to balance this with speed and performance when it comes to purchasing new assets. IT directors and managers want to be sure that they’re getting reliable equipment with uninterrupted uptime. This has an impact across the lifecycle of the equipment as items are optimised to get the best performance over their lifespan.
Then we move into the operations and management phase. This is where equipment needs to be monitored and kept running effectively for end-users.
Once equipment starts stuttering and performance drops, typically between three to five years, it’s time to plan for the next upgrade and refresh. Assets are usually collected, cleared of data and disposed of in line with certain governmental regulations. However, just because the equipment is no longer capable of supporting business operations, doesn’t mean that it’s completely useless.
This is where we see the advantage of an improved (evolved) approach to IT assets.
The evolved IT asset lifecycle
- Procurement
- Deployment
- Management
- Collection
- Recovery
We can see the similarities in the two lifecycles, but it’s the last phase that changes the whole approach.
These phases will all be unpacked in detail in this article series, but we want to highlight the importance of efficiency and planning in the Collection and Recovery phases. This is where you want a reliable and trusted IT service provider to be able to handle the logistics. Ideally, the distance the tech needs to travel should be minimised and it should be stored and processed in a secure facility.
In the new lifecycle, End-of-life becomes Recovery. It’s here that it becomes possible for companies to literally save millions of pounds through refurbishing and reselling assets.
For many IT assets, dependent on usage, there is still a second or even third life left in them after they have been decommissioned. Rather than just going straight for disposal you can generate value for the business through refurbishment and selling legacy assets to staff or third parties.
Any value generated through reselling assets can then be offset against the cost of the collection and removal or re-invested into other IT projects
There are major advantages across cost, sustainability and data protection when you adopt an IT Lifecycle approach that breakdown as follows:
1. Cost savings
IT costs add up quickly. As mentioned before, when it comes time for a refresh or upgrade, you have to find the right balance between performance and cost.
You can offset the costs of new equipment by refurbishing your end-of-life IT assets and reselling them. It’s essential that you have a trusted provider take care of this as all data needs to be securely erased. In a perfect world, one supplier would handle the entire process from collection to resale.
With the funds earned from the old assets you could offset costs or increase the overall size of your IT budget.
2. Sustainability
You can’t get away from getting new IT equipment. It’s essential to keep business running smoothly and to take advantage of new technologies. However, we’ve all become far more aware of how much carbon is involved in the creation, transportation, recycling and destruction of IT equipment.
This is why sustainability is such an important concept when it comes to the IT asset lifecycle. By refurbishing old equipment for sale or donation, you can significantly reduce the amount of carbon your business generates or, better yet, partner with a supplier that offsets carbon emissions by planting trees for every asset they process.
3. Security and processing
Many businesses have tight data and security processes in place for assets in operation, but it’s also important to consider this for old equipment. It’s possible to recover data from damaged or broken equipment, and this could cause severe financial and reputational damage to the business.
Decommissioned assets need to be carefully managed and processed to ensure that all data is securely erased to the highest possible standards and regulations.
The above are all reasons why, when it comes to choosing an IT partner, you want one that has embraced a new view of the IT asset lifecycle. It means that you’re not just reaping the financial benefits, but are also operating in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. We’re here to help find a solution to your IT needs.
Get in touch via email or by calling +44 (0) 203 0922 and let’s have a chat.
