Deferred Hardware Replacement: The Silent Killer
by: Edward Stringfellow
If you are the person that thinks your car is just getting “broke in” at 150,000 miles then this article is for you. I certainly understand the idea of driving it until the wheels fall off, but this isn’t a great approach for your corporate technology planning. Technology is constantly evolving and needs an appropriate lifecycle plan in place, otherwise you will end up with random productivity loss, unexpected capital expenditures, and unhappy employees!
Let’s start with the hardware side of the equation. First we need to define some REALISTIC, useful lifecycles for this equipment. Realistic meaning how fast the technology is evolving, how it’s being used, and how long until end-users start using it as an excuse for not getting work done:
|
Device
|
Realistic Useful Life
|
|
End-User Desktop
|
4
|
|
End-User Laptop
|
3
|
|
Server Platforms
|
4
|
|
Networking Gear
|
5
|
|
Mobile Devices
|
2
|
The first step is an assessment of your current infrastructure to figure out what areas have the most impact on productivity followed by general business impact. The easy part is mapping the Realistic Useful Life versus actual time in service. This assessment will give you a very accurate picture of what areas need attention and will also help frame a lifecycle plan that will get you on the right track.
Often we see one of two extremes, newer end-user equipment with out-dated servers and networking gear OR the opposite. Neither one of these situations is ideal as it leads to unplanned replacements that affect end-users as equipment fails or the company experiences downtime for a server outage. Having seen this situation so many times we are able to help Clients quickly prioritize where they need to focus on short, medium, and long term so that they get the maximum value of this hardware spend.
The next step in getting this under control is to commit to replacing any out-of-warranty hardware whenever it’s having issues. Stop spending time rebuilding desktops that are old or replacing parts – just replace it. I know it seems cheaper to fix things ad-hoc, but it is a productivity drain. Go ahead and purchase a couple of spare (new) machines and have them ready for instant swap out when an older machine dies or has issues.
Now we need to setup a realistic hardware budget for the next three years. Prioritize spending across the categories and in line with what is most business critical in your specific situation. It might be getting all new workstations deployed or purchasing a new server – whatever makes sense. If you don’t plan on having to spend the money and the hardware is “working”, guess what, you will not do it! We suggest purchasing new hardware with a warranty equal to the expected useful life. This makes it easier to keep track of when to replace it and also ensures there are no unexpected replacement costs during the useful life.
The final piece of this is to DO SOMETHING. Deferred maintenance isn’t going away, just like the roof on your house isn’t going to fix itself. Talking a consistent pro-active approach can quickly get a company on a comfortable lifecycle that ensures higher productivity and happier end-users! Contact Stringfellow today to have us perform a free assessment of your infrastructure and help put a plan in place to ensure your business is functioning at its maximum potential!
