With the global shift toward remote work, IT asset management (ITAM) often occurs outside the traditional office environment. As a result, businesses are facing a host of new challenges with respect to IT administration and lifecycle management.

In particular, we’ve seen Device as a Service (DaaS) solutions become a hot talking point for industries of all kinds as more companies leverage affordable cloud-based deployments to manage out-of-office functions. While the DaaS ecosystem offers several notable advantages such as cost savings, fast deployments, and improved security, it also raises new questions.

• Is it possible for companies to manage a cost-effective IT deployment in the era of remote work?
• What factors help secure off-premise devices?
• How can companies ensure they’re getting the maximum value from their investment?

These concerns can by addressed by establishing effective policies for device lifecycle management.

What is IT Lifecycle Management?

Lifecycle management is a set of processes and procedures meant to track and manage IT infrastructure across its usable life. Typically, assets are tracked throughout the IT lifecycle process with status reports provided at regular intervals. While some companies have the staffing to manage this in-house, many turn to asset management vendors who have established processes to set up and monitor IT devices with ease.

Few companies have the expertise to perform extensive lifecycle management on their own, so trusting a third-party is often the best way to guarantee an effective lifecycle management process. Add in an increased number of questions about governance and optimization that come on the back of the pandemic’s disruption, and it’s no surprise that so many companies struggle with asset management.

The IT Asset Management Lifecycle

To illustrate everything that goes into an ITAM process, we’ll give an overview of how asset management providers set up and monitor an IT ecosystem.

It begins with an assessment of the client’s IT infrastructure and available technology. Assessments identify existing process or security gaps in the client’s infrastructure and review what combination of new or refurbished hardware will best address its needs.

During deployment, Novastar coordinates all aspects of infrastructure installation, starting with shipping, storing, and asset tagging. From there, we take care of software image management, load and testing, installation and deployment, and ongoing maintenance and repair.

If a new technology needs to be retired or replaced, we’ll help with teardown and ensure that end-of-life electronics are disposed of safely, including:

• Uninstalling equipment
• Managing lease termination
• Auditing testing, disk wiping or destruction
• Refurbishing and appraising
• Remarketing to recover asset value

Throughout these steps, ITAM providers should manage all aspects of performance tracking and reporting through an IT asset database. As hardware grows out of date and a new business vulnerability becomes apparent, the process starts from the beginning.

Operators should keep tabs on these assets and view regular reports on performance in order to gain complete visibility into their IT infrastructure across all devices, processes, and analytics. This makes it easy to determine the optimal time to phase out old technologies and deploy new solutions for business improvement.

Additionally, this type of hands-on approach makes it easy for ITAM providers to keep tabs on any number of endpoints, whether they’re in the office or remote workstations. A partner in ITAM will help businesses ensure that all remote workstations are set up, monitored, and secured appropriately to your needs. This is by far the easiest way to guarantee security and compliance in a changing ecosystem where remote work is the norm.

How Novastar Goes Beyond to Add Value Through IT Asset Managment

Device management can bring plenty of benefits to business efficiency, and it’s important to find an ITAM partner who understands your priorities. The best ITAM providers offer white glove delivery across all components. Novastar offers fully managed deployments for remote workers at scale—something not commonly found from other providers—as a core part of our service offerings.

To further bring value to each client’s device management process, we’ve spent years designing processes around IT asset disposition, asset recovery, and remarketing. Aside from supporting new asset acquisitions, logistics, imaging, installation, maintenance, and end-of-life (or lease) options for your IT assets, we work to find and recover value wherever possible throughout the process.

This type of recovery can go a long way to help a business manage its device lifecycle costs, particularly when unpredictable market forces cause seismic shifts in business operation. There are many forces that may affect the viability of your current IT infrastructure:

• Business mergers or acquisitions
• Customer returns
• Project cancellations
• Inventory surplus
• System upgrades or refreshes

No matter the need, Novastar works with customers to maximize device recovery value, all while minimizing costs related to warehousing, auditing, and transportation logistics. In this way, we provide a level of device lifecycle support that few others can match.

Maximize ROI With Device Lifecycle Support

Novastar has the staff, facilities, and expertise to offer complete, sustainable IT lifecycle management. We understand the role that your devices play in business efficiency, and we tailor our services to help businesses mitigate costs on large IT deployments. Further, we always ensure that end-of-life electronics and their components are handled safely to protect workers and the environment. Whether your organization is in-office or composed of remote work staff, there’s no reason to struggle with device management. Contact Novastar Solutions to level-up your device management.