Maximising your investment in devices

IT budget holders often consider the initial cost of devices but don't factor in the retrieval rate and device refresh costs that can incur additional costs.

To help you avoid this challenge, I'm sharing some of the common aspects, I observe clients often overlook within a device management strategy. 

The Importance of Device Lifecycle Management

Device Lifecycle Management is a crucial process that helps businesses keep their IT assets secure, compliant, and up-to-date as per relevant regulations. With hybrid or remote working strategies, it's critical to ensure that this process is followed diligently. However, managing this process without considering the intricacies of device management can create challenges for businesses. 

One way in which an ineffective device lifecycle management can impact your ROI is by affecting your device retrieval rate.

The retrieval rate of your end user devices

Though often overlooked, the retrieval rate of your devices dramatically impacts your ROI bottom line. With 90% of employers operating within a hybrid model of working, managing this challenge is even more important.

Considering the cost of equipment retrieval

If you have a 10% annual staff turnover rate, as an SME with 200 employees, you're collecting 20 laptops yearly. As an enterprise business, if you have 2000 employees, you're collecting 200 devices during offboarding, so the commercial impact soon becomes more significant. 

This equipment retrieval calculation doesn't take into account any compliance issues with rogue devices.  

For devices that are retrieved, failing to repair, wipe, or repurpose these devices can incur further costs. These devices often end up accumulating in a cupboard, aging and depleting in value. 

The example above illustrates the magnitude of costs that can be incurred if your device lifecycle process isn't managed effectively.

The challenge with end user device retrieval

Typically, I observe several common challenges with the joiners/movers/leavers strategy that negatively impacts the device retrieval rate.

1. Lack of process. A timely process should be in place that seeks to retrieve devices in alignment with when an employee leaves the business.

2. Disorganised collections. An agreeable time should be agreed with the employee to avoid failed device retrieval attempts.

3. Negating responsibility for device retrieval. Leaving employees with the responsibility of returning devices is a hit-or-miss strategy. Taking ownership of device retrieval should be an organisation's responsibility.

What does good look like?

1. Keeping your company's IT asset data in one system makes it easier to track software licenses and hardware devices regardless of location.
2. Have a comprehensive device inventory. Maintain a comprehensive list of all company devices, including their specifications, purchase date, warranty status, and users assigned to them. Having a dedicated device management team further simplifies this process.
3. Data backup and security measure. Use encryption and other security measures to safeguard data.
4. Budgeting for device management. Device management costs should be factored into your company's budget, including the cost of procurement, deployment, maintenance, and retirement expenses.

A strategic Device Management service

An effective Device lifecycle service takes away all of these pains providing streamlined processes for retrievals and redeployment. This maximises your investment in devices, without compromising on your employee experience. 

Device lifecycle mananagement is our specialty. We manage your device lifecycle for joiners, movers, and leavers. Our technical operations center has the facilities and technicians in place to give your devices a second life, reducing stress and the costs associated with this often complex strategy.