How to Make the Most of Each Stage of your IT Hardware Lifecycle

No purchase lasts, forever-especially when it comes to IT. With evolving technology, businesses must upgrade their IT infrastructure, including hardware systems and user-facing software applications, but predicting the timeline of these upgrades is difficult. The life cycle of different IT hardware depends on various factors, such as for how long it has been in use, what purpose it is designed for, and more. Neglecting their maintenance and upgrades can result in outages like a system failure. This is why IT hardware lifecycle management is important. It is the area that focuses mainly on the installation, maintenance, decommissioning, and replacement of IT assets. Without this process, businesses may find themselves ill-equipped to navigate business challenges in the future.

IT Hardware Lifecycle Stages

To maximize the value at each stage of the hardware lifecycle, it is important to plan things right. Let's look at each stage of the IT hardware lifecycle:

• Planning: Comprehensive planning is critical and key to successful IT hardware investment. During the planning stage, evaluating your existing IT infrastructure is important to identify and address the bottlenecks. This helps to make informed decisions. Additionally, leveraging aftermarket maintenance services helps to identify opportunities to ensure your business increases efficiency, overall value, and growth. They help create a roadmap of clearly-defined steps your department can take toward infrastructure improvements.
• Procurement: Once you have thought of expanding or upgrading your IT infrastructure, your next step is to procure. Regardless of your choice, you must have a full-proof plan to maintain the hardware beforehand. Aftermarket services are a low-cost alternative for maintenance and pre-owned IT equipment purchase needs. They help secure your servers, storage, and networking equipment.
• Deploy and Install: Deploying and installing new hardware equipment can be costly and complicated too. Partnering with an experienced IT hardware vendor can simplify installation and deployment processes, reduce the time and costs associated with deploying hardware installations, and more.
• Maintenance and Upgrade: Experienced IT professionals know the right steps to reduce the overall cost of IT hardware maintenance programs. Choosing the right maintenance programs from the right vendor can make a huge difference and offer significant savings.

Benefits of Hardware Lifecycle Management

Hardware assets can be expensive to maintain, configure, purchase, install, and procure. They require significant management, or else they start depreciating rapidly. On the other hand, organizations that successfully execute the lifecycle management experience enterprise-wide improvements in their operations and, ultimately, their bottom lines.

• Forecast hardware needs with better budgeting: Running a successful business depends on planning future expenditures. Most businesses have started taking care of their hardware assets through lifecycle management. It ensures that your assets succeed and your business does not require significant capital expenditures.
• Reduce unexpected downtime by replacing the outdated IT infrastructure: Your businesses can experience a major halt if in case your IT infrastructure fails. It significantly impacts your business' bottom line. Hardware lifecycle management ensures that your IT infrastructure succeeds even if it has reached the end of its life. Lifecycle management helps to quickly scan your devices reaching their end-of-life and replacing them in time.
• Avoid delays caused by outdated hardware: Slow networks and crashing devices can lead to lost productivity and increased employee frustration. This can be extremely hectic if the issues lead to additional outages. Lifecycle management from reputed vendors can always help you to avoid delays and latency caused by outdated hardware at any stage of the hardware lifecycle.
• Ensures you make informed decisions before a crisis: Poor asset lifecycle management can lead to IT failure and unplanned investment. Decisions made under pressure lack the flexibility to run due diligence. However, by proactively managing the system, you can dig into the details and understand the pros and cons of your choices.
• Prevent security failures: Old networks and outdated hardware can greatly threaten your businesses, giving an opportunity to hackers and malware. Security breaches can impact a business in several ways, including data loss, system shutdown, damaged customer relations, and more. Therefore, it is important to perform regular health checks to maintain your IT asset hardware.

Aftermarket service: Low-Cost Alternative for Hardware Lifecycle Management

CXtec is a vendor-agnostic partner and one of the best low-cost alternatives for all your hardware lifecycle management needs. It offers RapidCare®, an industry-leading aftermarket maintenance service with a depth of experience and unmatched capabilities in the secondary market. It is a flexible alternative to OEM support that costs significantly less than OEM maintenance services. RapidCare offers multiple service level options, 24*7 support, hardware replacement services, services from experts and on-site engineers, and more.

To learn more about our RapidCare services, visit the link.