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Continuing to use technology past its prime may be less expensive than replacing it, but it comes with plenty of other problems. That’s why IT Asset Disposition is such an important part of your ongoing IT processes.
Do you have old technology that needs to be replaced?
Sticking with old technology may save you some money in your IT budget, but its lack of functionality and security can slow down your business and put you at risk.
That’s what IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) has become a critical service over the course of the past decade. Even though hardware spending dropped over the course of 2020 due to the pandemic, it remains an area of spending worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year. All that hardware eventually gets too old and needs to be replaced.
That’s where ITAD comes into play.
Put simply, ITAD is the practice of knowing how, when, and where to dispose of IT hardware. This is important because, eventually, all hardware (and software) becomes so old it’s dangerous to continue using.
This is generally known as “end of life”, the point at which there is no longer any type of support offered for the given technology. No support means no updates, and no updates means no critical patches or fixes. Without security updates and bug patches, you open yourself up to a number of risks:
There are many ways to tell that it may be time to upgrade your technology:
Does Your Hardware Function Properly? As step number 1, it doesn’t get much easier than this:
In a nutshell, you need to know whether your hardware is holding you back, making you wait, and slowing your business down.
Is The Software Up To Date?
Now that you’ve determined how functional the hardware is, the next step is the software. Even if this technology hasn’t been turned on in a week, there will likely be some updates that have to take place.
Updates are important because they correct existing errors and mistakes in software, and patch potential flaws that could leave it vulnerable to security threats.
One by one, open up each program you would plan to use on a regular basis. If there are updates that need to be installed, a pop-up window will likely open on start-up. However, if the previous owner turned off that automatic function, you’ll need to manually check for updates, which can be done in the program preferences.
What Is The Status Of Licenses And Warranties?
After double-checking that everything is up to date, the next step will be to confirm the status of any existing licenses and warranties.
Depending on the type of business, there may be specific software needed for daily operations. The bottom line is that if you need it to get work done, you should know whether you can use it.
Lifecycle Management will increase your business’ productivity by helping you make informed decisions on IT needs and services. The key is that it helps you make better purchasing decisions by looking at various resources and their lifecycle stages.
For example, if a particular asset is about to expire, and if you already have that asset in your inventory, you have more lead time to order and replenish. If not, you know that you will have to determine an alternate solution as soon as possible. Inadequate lifecycle management can lead to a range of problems, including:
Need a hand tracking your IT assets’ lifecycles and replacing them on a seamless schedule? Outsource IT Solutions Group can handle it for you. If you need help in managing your assets, allow us to assist.