Government agencies and nonprofit organizations are embracing technology to help drive down costs, improve productivity, and support objectives aimed at improving experiences for the end user. Equipping agencies and organizations with the right IT infrastructure to meet these goals is a major undertaking, and many find that technology lifecycle management benefits allow for better support of technology goals.
Understanding Technology Lifecycle Management
Technology lifecycle management includes all the elements of the IT infrastructure, including the planning, acquisition, deployment, and management of those resources. It not only requires an in-depth knowledge of the technology, but it also necessitates an understanding of the organization’s goals to merge engineering and financial components into a single business model. This approach allows government agencies and nonprofits to take a proactive approach to IT and use a long-term strategy to maximize the effectiveness of their technology investments.
When an organization has a firm grasp on their technology needs for the following one, three, and five years of their business planning, they can create financial models that accommodate their technology investment needs and support their business goals.
Within a technology lifecycle management approach, there are several necessary stages:
- Identify business objectives and the ways in which technology will be applied to support them
- Identify technology for IT infrastructure needs
- Execute implementation using qualified personnel
- Establish support elements, such as warranty, maintenance plans, help desk, and monitoring of systems
- Regular reviews to ensure system components are up-to-date and any scheduled acquisitions are on track for timely completion.
- Disposal of assets
Technology Lifecycle Management Benefits
There are technology lifecycle management benefits that can help government offices and nonprofit organizations minimize their spending and proactively pursue optimized IT infrastructure and services:
Cost savings
Technology lifecycle management minimizes costs in a number of ways. First, when an organization outsources lifecycle management, that service provider has close relationships with technology providers, allowing them to negotiate for the best possible price.
In addition, because the organization is proactively pursuing a strategic approach to technology, there’s planning for technology investments and the organization is not forced to buy a device, for example, when it is suddenly non-functional. Instead, it’s possible to plan ahead, secure the best pricing and not experience an unplanned cost.
Many nonprofit organizations run a July-June fiscal year, and big-box stores know this. Lifecycle management benefits include the ability to plan the replacement of the team’s laptops in January while prices are low and the organization is in a good position to negotiate the best deals.
Streamlined and simplified invoicing and support
As governments and nonprofits migrate to the cloud, invest in Internet of Things (IoT) technology, and support remote team members, a system glitch or downtime can lead to a rush of questions. Who’s responsible for the operating system, or would this be a problem for the software provider? Maybe it’s the device itself that’s causing the problem. These kinds of frantic questions are solved when there’s a lifecycle management provider. Any problem is solved with one phone call to one contact person.
Likewise, invoicing is streamlined and simple with technology lifecycle management. There’s a single invoice, allowing for improved monitoring of IT spending and easy identification of an anomaly or area that requires adjustment.
Technology lifecycle management benefits include the monitoring of all aspects that might impact system performance, such as warranties, scheduled upgrades, service level agreements, and monitoring of systems. Periodic reviews allow the provider and the organization to discuss performance goals and metrics to ensure systems are supporting the realization of specific goals.
Asset disposal
Asset disposal is generally a standard offering for technology lifecycle management. With technology quickly becoming obsolete, nonprofits and government organizations looking for a way to dispose of devices often simply hand it down to another nonprofit with an even smaller IT budget.
Even so, the area of asset disposal is a constant challenge for organizations. A technology lifecycle management provider will handle e-recycling and other aspects of asset disposal, including handling the data security related to devices being retired.
Outsourcing Technology Lifecycle Management Benefits
Few nonprofits or government agencies have the in-house resources to hire a specialist to handle technology lifecycle management. Even if there was a position created within the organization for this set of tasks, it would be almost impossible to find all of the varied capabilities and certifications necessary to handle this area of technology planning. As a result, this responsibility is often outsourced to a third party, with organizations realizing the following benefits:
- Subscription-based pay models allow for the preservation of capital budgets.
- Support and warranty services along with engineering expertise.
- Asset management and monitoring.
- Deployment and management of complex IT systems.
- Regular review of technology refresh schedules.
- Secure asset disposal for retired systems and devices.
Technology lifecycle management allows organizations to develop strategies that anticipate future systems requirements and focus on their goals and performance objectives while leveraging technology resources. Effective planning for the technology that supports the vision of the organization is a critical component of any thriving strategy.
For more information about technology lifecycle management, contact us at PAG. With extensive expertise in technology and expense management, we can help your organization meet your objectives with a streamlined approach to the IT infrastructure that supports your efforts.