Thankfully, when you need to outsource something of this scope, you have lots of choices. But those choices can cause some confusion. Just remember that the best ITAM companies have three things to offer: security, efficiency, and sustaWhat do you do when dealing with technology assets for a hundred employees? How about a thousand? When is it worth moving the management of those assets to a third party? And what are the concerns with doing that? Let’s take a look at this concept in depth.

The right time is Now

To begin with, anything that is not the core of what you’re in business for should be given a serious consideration for outsourcing. You probably hire in another company to dump your trash and wipe down the floors, right? The same goes for IT Asset Management (ITAM)—well, unless you’re in the business of tracking and maintaining laptops, that is.

Why? Because it's not your job to manage that. Your business is something else entirely and managing technology is just something you've had to do since you started it. But that doesn't mean you have to keep managing it.

Since these concerns don’t start out Day One on your business’s journey toward success, many of us don’t consider working with an ITAM company until we’re in a situation we can’t get out of alone. That’s why Now is the time; not when you’ve just upgraded your 50-person team with all new computers and aren’t sure what to do with the old ones.  

Even small companies have lots of technology they need to manage—and that’s not their main business.

When considering, look at ALL the benefits inability. Each one carries with it a lot of meaning for your company, but all three will bring significant returns on your decision to use them:

• SECURITY: your IT assets carry customer information, special documents, and a portion of your company history on them—including employees' smartphones. Having a solid security protocol, as well as a top-notch quarantine, or legal hold station can ensure your sensitive data doesn’t get lost or misused.

• EFFICIENCY: the last thing you need when outsourcing your IT asset management is to be stuck waiting for that management company to find your devices or to have misplaced something with sensitive data on it. Use an ITAM company that tracks every device with its own serial number, stages and stores your devices in a convenient location, and can move quickly to redeploy or disposition devices as needed.

• SUSTAINABILITY: believe it or not, having a company who thinks about the environment with regards to one of the worlds’ worst kinds of waste is a great way to increase the return on your investment in their services. By having a sustainable mindset, the right ITAM company will handle your devices with far more attention than those companies without. The reason? Extended life.

By extending the life of end-of-use devices that your company might be retiring, the sustainable IT company can resell, or even donate, those devices for a greater return than what the devices would be worth shredded or trashed. Just make sure they use an NIST 800-88 data-erasure software for 100% media sanitization (see the first bullet point).

Even if the management company of your choice is not "sustainable," at least make sure they adhere to the e-Stewards guidelines for dispositioning your devices. Otherwise, you could be unwittingly sending e-waste to foreign countries. Only e-Steward certified recyclers are monitored by a third-party review process that aligns with the Basel Convention of hazardous waste. And that ensures your devices don't take an unsanctioned trip to foreign shores.

Other things to consider with your ITAM/ITAD partner

The big-three of safety, efficiency, and sustainability cover a lot of the issues that often come with using another company to handle something so closely connected to your business. However, there are some things that fall out of scope for many of even the better ITAM/ITAD companies that would be prudent to keep all with one service.

The overall purpose of a service like this is to take something off your hands that either needs to be handled, or that is no longer of use to your business and needs to be disposed of. Either way, convenience is the name of the game. So, along those lines, added conveniences like a solid Employee Purchase Program (EPP) or refurbishment plan can make the cost of these services a lot more reasonable.

Having an online platform to sell the used devices is another way to add value to the IT Asset Management company of your choice. And reselling is a great way to capture back some of the revenue that was first spent on the devices. Be sure your ITAM/ITAD partner has a revenue-share option if you are looking into this value-add.

Multiple locations would be another concern for enterprise customers who might have offices across the country, each with multiple devices to attend to. Having your management company close to these satellites makes easy work of bagging and tagging these devices in a timely, or efficient manner. Not to mention the security that comes with a solid logistics protocol.

Whatever you choose to do with your IT assets, we hope you choose a sustainable and conscientious management of those assets. Only then, will you see the value that comes with being a good steward of end-of-life equipment can do for your business’s bottom line. To learn more about how Sage covers all these bases, click here or contact our team to get a quote.