The IT Lifecycle Management

Technology is meant to make your IT business easier. Ironically, it is also one thing that companies continue to struggle with. In previous years, businesses that involved technology in their processes didn’t only end up with operational pitfalls. They also ended up with bankruptcy. One of these companies was Nokia. Nokia’s technology became inferior to its competitors shortly after its worldwide boom as a mobile communications provider. According to Forbes, competition is thick in tech-related businesses. And failure to keep up with an efficient IT infrastructure leads to startup failure. To prevent your startup business from this, you need to manage your IT lifecycle effectively! In this article, we will discuss the essential phases in IT lifecycle management. But before we proceed, let us first define what IT lifecycle is.

The IT Lifecycle Management

What Is the IT life cycle?

Just like the human life cycle, the technology you use in business also undergoes the process of infancy and maturation. The difference is, your computers and network hardware become less useful as they mature and may cause a lot of trouble, affecting your business. The IT lifecycle is a series of changes in your technology and it has six stages. These are the procurement, deployment, management, support, refresh, and disposal.

Procurement

Procurement begins in knowing what technology you’ll be needing for your business. What materials do you need for your enterprise to run? What investments do you need to make to produce both high quality and quantity of products and services? When everything has been listed, determine who your sources will be for these materials or software. Choose suppliers who can smoothly work for you in the long run. Consider their location and past services. For hardware that needs updating or physical check-ups, you need a reachable provider. Seal the procurement with a legal document from your chosen providers. This is for a smooth flow of your partnership.

Deployment

Deployment in IT business doesn’t stop with possessing your materials physically or virtually. It also means getting your hardware or software running properly in your office or working space. Install, test, or make necessary changes for a well-ordered series of business. Arrange your materials where they’re accessible to you and your staff. An organized working environment leads to better productivity and efficiency.

Management

You need to designate the right resources to the right people in your staff. Your staff must be at least knowledgeable of the basic troubleshooting on the materials they’re assigned with.

Support

System crashes are inevitable. Your security will be at stake when you don’t get constant help from your service providers. A prepared timeline is vital for updates and reviews. With these, you continuously protect your wall and firewall from threats. Moreover, your software and hardware become steadily functional.

Refresh

Your IT tools for operations depreciate their value over time. This is because as technology evolves, your tools will need to keep up with the pace. And outdated ones become incompatible and unapplicable. Stay ahead of the curve and plan to replace an old machine before it gets corrupted. Research in the industry’s latest products will help.

Retirement and Disposal

Experts foresee that there will be more than 52 million metric tonnes of electronic wastes in 2021, as featured in UN News. This means that the issue of electronic waste management in environmental protection will get worse shortly. Many people dispose of assets irresponsibly because they don’t know the proper way of doing so, or their schedules are just hectic. The good news is, some companies offer to manage the disposal of your electronic wastes. Additionally, these programs can also remove proprietary information on these devices for your privacy and security. You can be economically and environmentally responsible while achieving your success in the industry.

Benefits of IT Lifecycle Management

It would be too easy to just stop there. Truth be told, it isn’t enough to simply know what the IT lifecycle management process involves. To fully understand the topic, the benefits that await those who succeed with said process also needs acknowledgment. Without further ado, let’s get started with the first one:

Increase Productivity

With lifecycle management, you make happy and productive workers. When the lifecycle of your tools is appropriately managed, there will be a less wasted time in troubleshooting and shortage of resources. These give less hassle to your employees. Thus, you and your staff can focus more on improving your products and services through project management. Moreover, your time will also be focused on other important aspects of your business. These aspects include marketing and advertising.

Improves Quality

With lifecycle management, you’ll be able to create innovative products and services for your clients and customers. This is because technology brings new trends that can improve the quality of your IT business. Additionally, updated technology can easily find product issues. These issues will also give you insights on how to better your services.

Avoid Security Risks

Technical tools and software are both prone to viruses and hacks. Company information, including sensitive ones such as bank and credit card details, may be targeted by cybercriminals if not adequately secured. This is why you need to update computers to their latest operating systems constantly. These updated operating systems can carry denser security data that will protect your devices. Your lifecycle management will help you maintain security by determining when you need to upgrade systems and devices.

Financial Management

When you already have a forecasted life span for your devices or software, you will be financially prepared for their replacement. You will be able to do a cost estimation and set aside a budget for these. Additionally, the money that would probably go for the troubleshooting and damages will be managed for more worthwhile projects instead.

To sum everything up, IT lifecycle management is the process of purchasing, setting up, assigning, checking, and disposing of tools for your IT business. All of its benefits lead to one result—business growth. This type of management prepares your IT company for future customer needs. You will also keep up with your competitors once you know your IT lifecycle well. Practice this process because an unmanaged technology will lead to loss of opportunities, financial loss, and business failure. You don’t want those to happen.

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