Device lifecycle management (DLM) involves managing the entire lifecycle of devices from acquisition to retirement to maximize usefulness and ROI.
The five main stages in the device lifecycle are:
- Device Planning — Assessing organizational needs and constraints to make strategic decisions about device requirements.
- Device Procurement — Purchasing the required devices based on needs, usability and cost considerations. Procurement should be centralized and standardized where possible.
- Device Provisioning — Getting devices deployment-ready by configuring, installing software, connecting to networks, testing, etc.
- Device Maintenance — Managing devices throughout their active service life via monitoring, maintenance, upgrades, security policy enforcement, etc.
- Device Decommissioning — Retiring devices that are outdated, damaged, or unsupported by wiping data, removing them from networks and disposing of them properly.
Key phases in DLM are inventory management, automation of tasks, monitoring usage analytics, and consistent policy enforcement.
Benefits of effective DLM include cost savings, enhanced security and compliance, increased productivity and uptime, better user experiences, and lower environmental impact.
For mobile devices like laptops, smartphones and tablets, considerations include selecting enterprise-grade models, enforcing strong passwords, utilizing mobile device management (MDM) tools, and trading in devices to offset upgrade costs.
IoT device lifecycle management focuses on assessing and securing devices, isolating IoT networks, promptly applying updates, and responsible decommissioning. This is crucial given the volume of data IoT devices handle.
DLM has become essential to address device proliferation strains on IT, data security risks, lost ROI from underutilized assets, lack of support for aging equipment, and environmental concerns.
Steps to get started with DLM include auditing existing assets, standardizing purchases, automating deployment, tracking usage, reviewing security, defining policies and seeking user feedback.
Key DLM benefits include improved efficiency via automation, enhanced security from tighter controls, lower costs through optimization, better ROI by reallocating underused resources, compliance from standardized data wiping, and environmental gains from proper disposal and recycling.
A DLM policy should outline roles, processes, performance criteria, configurations, compliance needs, access rules, retirement criteria and budget allocations.
Mobile device lifecycle management (MDLM) focuses on cellphones, tablets and laptops specifically, while mobile device management (MDM) handles the software-based administration and security of mobile devices. Together they enable comprehensive mobile asset management.
DLM solutions include inventory systems, MDM software, IT asset management tools, integrated DLM suites, PC lifecycle tools and IoT device management.
In summary, taking a big-picture view and proactively managing devices across their complete lifecycle enables organizations to maximize value from their technology investments. Implementing end-to-end DLM has become an IT best practice
