The Benefits of Network Asset Planning

 

Many would agree that to fail to plan is to plan to fail. It is inevitable that equipment will age, fail at an increasing rate and – at some point – become unsupportable by the manufacturer. Over time, installed network equipment will also lost its ability to keep up with features and functions required to support business enabling and cost saving applications.

 

Proper network asset planning can realise significant cost savings, reduce risk and improve strategic agility. Organisations need to have a definitive knowledge of all of their assets and the probable lifecycle of each. This enables an organisation to ensure continued maintenance coverage or proactively mitigate the risk of going without manufacturer support as well as avoid last minute, reactive purchasing decisions that are often required when, at contract renewal time, it is found that equipment is beyond end-of-support.

 

Dimension Data’s Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) approach focuses on helping organisations to plan their network infrastructures over multi-year periods, allowing them to optimise their return on assets.

 

Understanding the TLM Approach

 

Dimension Data publishes a range of thought leadership pieces on core networking and TLM trends, technologies and solutions and how best to ensure that your business is deriving the maximum benefits from them.

 

Recent thinking includes:

• Business Agility with Network Asset Planning

• Optimise Costs with Network Asset Planning

• Manage Risk with Network Asset Planning

• The Straw that Broke the Network’s Back

• Dimension Data Network Barometer Report

• The “Networked Life” issue of Précis: Thoughts on IT in Business

 

Dimension Data has engaged with clients around the world to help them with their Technology Lifecycle Management. To read more, please see our case studies online.

 

 

Know your Business Assets

 

Underpinning Dimension Data’s Technology Lifecycle Management approach is our Technology Lifecycle Management Assessment. This assessment generates an asset list and identifies lifecycle milestones, security vulnerabilities and configuration issues for devices on the network. From this crucial starting point, a technology roadmap is created and remedial actions are proposed.

 

The Technology Lifecycle Management Assessment is a three phase approach:

 

Discovery

• Business interview

• Technical interview

• Onsite discovery of assets

 

Analysis

• Equipment lifecycle

• O/S vulnerabilities

• Configuration best practice

• Maintenance coverage

 

Recommendations

• Full written report

• Prioritised recommendations

• Onsite presentation of findings

 

Dimension Data offers a range of services that support the Technology Lifecycle Management Approach, including IT Supply Chain Services, the Network Architecture and Design, our support service, Uptime, and Managed Network Services