_{If you wait to retire your assets until they fail, this week’s issue is just for you.}

Your assets only need minor fixes… So if they still work, why replace them?

It’s a question I’ve been asked countless times.

Most people I've spoken to are already aware they need to retire their assets. They don’t, for various reasons—whether it's difficulty justifying the upfront costs or believing that keeping the assets longer benefits the company.

Let me share a use case from a retail client. You'll see the signs that indicate it's time to retire your assets. For confidentiality, I won’t mention their name.

So let’s dive in!

Sign #1: Longer and more downtime incidents

This client has been using computers for over 8 years, with some reaching 12 years. They replace only the parts that wear out.

On the surface, it seems cheaper. They only pay for spare parts, which are easier to request than replacing the whole unit.

But data shows that the parts beginning to fail are becoming increasingly difficult to replace. An example is the motherboard, which has compatibility issues.

As a result, what usually takes a few days of downtime for a power supply can stretch to as long as 3 weeks.

Now imagine that CPUs aren’t the only pieces of equipment in the company. There are also workstations, access points, routers, servers, printers, and specialized equipment.

If one of these is about to break down, how much downtime can you expect?

Sign #2: Consumes more and more resources

In relation to Sign #1, the more downtime incidents occur, the more resources you will need to address them. Since not all equipment breaks down simultaneously, you may not notice the impact, especially if you’re only adding a few resources at a time.

Before you know it, your team has grown—or they may be burnt out from constantly putting out fires.

Another concern is the skills required to manage IT assets. The more types of assets you have in the company, the more challenging maintenance becomes.

In the client's case, the team has grown to manage both the various types of assets and the increasing downtime.

Sign #3: Increasingly affects business operations

It’s tempting to stay within your department. However, as an IT professional, you should communicate regularly with business users to become better at your job.

It helps you understand how your technology impacts them. Simply asking 'what if' scenarios and inquiring 'why' can provide insight into the effects of your decisions.

For this client, since some of their critical IT assets have reached 10 years, asking them if they’re prepared for a disaster caught their attention.

Imagine, the critical asset hosts both their ERP and warehouse management system.

I know disaster recovery is a separate topic. However, if your assets are beyond their useful life, they will likely break down sooner than later.

Remember, retiring assets is both a cost-saving and business strategy.

It’s going to save you from hidden costs while keeping operations running smoothly.

That’s it for this week! See you next Tuesday!

Ciao!