IT asset management plays a key role in keeping equipment up to date and ensuring you get enough value from old assets. Part of the asset management process is tracking and managing the asset lifecycle. In this article, we’ll break down what the asset lifecycle is, the stages of the lifecycle, and some best practices. Keep reading to get all the details.
What Is Asset Lifecycle?
The IT asset lifecycle is the entire life of IT equipment from the moment you purchase it and begin using it in your business to the moment you dispose of it.
When you hire an IT asset management partner, they will help you track and manage the full lifecycle. Having a partner of professionals track the lifecycle for you ensures you acquire, replace, and dispose of equipment at the best possible times. That way, you receive the most value for your hardware at each step of the process.
What Are the 5 Key Stages of Asset Life Cycle Management?
During the asset lifecycle, you will encounter five key stages. Those five stages are:
- Planning
- Acquisition
- Deployment
- Management
- Disposal
An asset management partner can help you through each of these stages to get the best results. The next sections will break down the processes involved in each one.
Planning
Not every business thinks about tracking when they purchased new equipment or how many IT assets they have on hand. However, it’s actually a pretty important part of the asset management process.
When you hire an asset management partner, they can help review your current IT equipment inventory or create one from scratch if you haven’t been keeping track of the assets you have on hand.
Some businesses may even be surprised by what can be considered IT assets. Everything from routers to monitors to website content and more can be considered IT assets. It’s important they are tracked and monitored accordingly.
The planning stage will not only help you create an inventory but also plan for future purchases, needs, and disposal of current assets. When you have a strategy in place, it makes the whole process go a lot smoother. It prevents having to slow your business down due to big IT equipment transitions.
Acquisition
The acquisition stage is where you buy new equipment. This can sound easy, but there’s quite a bit of strategy that should go into the IT assets you purchase.
An IT asset partner can help you purchase the right assets in the right quantity for your company’s needs. You want to buy assets that provide the most value for your budget and will help your company run smoothly. The best assets will also maintain their value for a long time. That way, you can get some value back later in the asset lifecycle.
Deployment
In the deployment stage, assets go through what is called provisioning, which is when the asset is set up according to the specifications a company puts in place before the asset can be used in daily business activities. When you hire an IT management partner, you can ensure that new equipment gets set up correctly, so there aren’t any big issues when you begin using it.
If any problems or questions occur, you can also rest assured that you will have support from knowledgeable professionals along the way, like the service partner at Multiply.
Management
The management stage is day-to-day IT processes. It can include things like addressing any malfunctions that occur and routine scheduled maintenance. Having an IT partner by your side will help things run smoothly during your daily business operations. That way, your company never has to feel panicked or miss a beat when an asset malfunctions.
Management of IT assets can also include redeployment. This is where assets may be moved or repurposed to other areas of your business. The ability to redeploy and repurpose assets helps extend their lifecycle, so you get more value from them.
Disposal
The final stage of the asset lifecycle is disposal. Many companies can make the mistake of leaving old equipment sitting because they don’t know what to do with it. That’s where an asset management partner can help.
When you replace old equipment, an IT asset management partner can help you sell it for the highest possible value. Many IT asset management services have connections where they can make the process of selling old assets for the right value easier.
If assets can’t be sold, an asset management partner can also make sure they are disposed of correctly. Some regulations must be followed to get rid of old equipment in an environmentally-friendly manner. A professional IT partner can help take care of the whole process.
IT Asset Management Best Practices
Along with the common stages of asset management, some best practices should be followed. IT asset management best practices include:
- Build your IT asset inventory using multiple discovery sources. IT assets in a business can cover a wide array of equipment. That includes hardware, software, and peripheral IT assets. You need to use multiple sources and detection methods to locate and track the lifecycle of each one.
- Manage all software and licenses in one place. It’s important to keep organized files of all digital software and licenses, even if they were purchased from different places. It’ll help you easily track when they expire or how long you’ve used each one.
- Conduct IT asset audits. It’s not only essential to have an inventory but also to stay up to date on how those assets are performing. Taking regular audits will give you a good overview of the value of the assets you have on hand and how well they’re keeping up with your workplace’s needs.
Following these best practices while going through the asset lifecycle will keep your business running smoothly. If you’re looking for a professional IT partner to help you each step of the way, Multiply can help.
How Multiply Can Help
Multiply is a team of IT consultants that aims to empower businesses to get the most out of their IT systems. Multiply can help you streamline your processes to manage IT assets and data more effectively.
Managing IT assets can seem frustrating, but our team of experts at Multiply will help you get on the right track. Contact us today to learn more about how Multiply can help you.
