All the computer equipment your business uses, known as IT assets, will follow a typical lifecycle from purchase to the retirement of an asset. IT asset management (ITAM) aims to optimize each lifecycle stage to get the most value from every asset you invest in.
This article will cover asset lifecycle management and the different stages and principles associated with it. By the end, you’ll have a better idea of how this system works and benefits a company’s bottom line. Keep reading to get all the details.
What Is Asset Management Lifecycle?
The asset management lifecycle follows the life of computer equipment from when you purchase it to when it needs to be disposed of.
The computer equipment your business runs on is essential to your company’s success, so it should be managed accordingly. A lot of detailed planning must go into this process to ensure you make smart investments at each stage.
What Are the Stages of the Asset Management Lifecycle?
There are typically five stages of the asset management lifecycle. Those stages are:
- Creating an inventory: The first stage of the lifecycle is creating an inventory of assets on hand. When you hire an ITAM partner, they can help you create an inventory if you don’t have one in place. As new assets are purchased or old assets are disposed of, the inventory needs to be updated continuously.
- Asset procurement: The procurement stage is when you purchase new equipment for your company. IT professionals can help with this process by finding the best equipment that fits within your budget. Additionally, they can negotiate with vendors to get equipment at a more economical price.
- Asset deployment: Once purchased, equipment must be deployed into daily use within a company. IT partners with experience in provisioning are highly trained to set up equipment like computers to ensure it is functional upon first use. If equipment isn’t deployed correctly, it can cause a lot of frustration, so this stage is crucial. Using an IT partner can also give you a centralized location to deploy assets from, making it easy to ensure timely delivery no matter your office or employee’s location.
- Routine maintenance and audits: Computer equipment must be updated and maintained consistently. This process ensures it functions well and extends its lifecycle, so you don’t have to invest in new equipment as often. Performing audits of your company’s assets can help determine what needs to be replaced or repaired.
- Asset Disposition: Every asset will either see its performance decrease with age, or there will simply be more efficient technology that comes out, rendering the previous piece of equipment obsolete. Disposition involves either selling equipment for the best possible value or disposing of it following proper regulations while clearing out any stored information.
Each of these stages can have a significant impact on a company’s bottom line. They each ensure computer equipment performs to the top of its ability so your company can run as efficiently as possible. Along with these stages, there are some principles involved in ITAM that make all of this possible.
What Are the Four Principles of Asset Management?
There are four common principles of ITAM. Each contributes to best practices for each stage of the asset lifecycle. Those principles are:
- Getting the most value out of assets: At each stage of the lifecycle, the ultimate goal is getting the most value from every asset. The goal is to improve the company’s bottom line through detailed financial planning, extending the life of assets, and negotiating the best prices when buying and selling equipment.
- Facilitating communication: A detailed asset management process can’t go very far without good communication throughout a company. ITAM professionals can help by assigning specific team members to individual processes and ensuring everyone throughout the company is notified when changes will be made.
- Financial planning: ITAM teams should work in tandem with financial and business leaders to plan budgetary needs. This prevents any surprises from coming up during the asset lifecycle as new equipment needs to be purchased or additional investments are required.
- Consistent tracking and monitoring: Every asset on hand should be consistently tracked and monitored through an inventory system. ITAM is meant to keep everything organized within a company at each stage of the asset lifecycle. That way, you know when routine maintenance needs to be done, or when it is time to repurpose an asset through disposition.
A lot goes into asset management, from these principles to the key stages of the asset lifecycle. It can seem daunting to companies just getting started to try to figure all this out on their own. If you’d like help managing everything, Multiply is here for all your needs.
How Multiply Can Help
Multiply is a team of IT consultants and senior service technicians with years of experience in the IT field. Multiply partners with businesses to create more streamlined systems for success throughout the ITAM process. Multiply will help bridge communication between every team involved and create a successful planning and tracking system to make managing your company’s assets a breeze through every step of its lifecycle.
To learn more about how Multiply helps with IT assets and data management, contact us today!
