Device Refresh Program for Organizations: Guide

Why a Device Refresh Program Matters

The straightforward answer is to stay updated.

If we look at it organizationally, outdated technology hinders business continuity and productivity, makes work inefficient, and invites cybersecurity attacks.

Here’s why you need to have a device refresh program:

• To update legacy infrastructure

• To elevate work performance

• To protect against security violence

• To minimize the total cost burden

Let’s break down each advantage and its effect on the organization.

Addressing Hardware Obsolescence

Post-COVID-19, remote work has become the new normal. This transition demanded a scaled-up work environment, technology, and new devices/hardware.

Most companies will continue with hybrid work in 2024.

Planning for hybrid work with a distributed workforce means prioritizing device refresh to ensure compatibility, enable cloud infrastructure, integrate collaboration tools, and keep devices up-to-date.

Ensure your employee’s device is not too old, as these older devices refuse to release security patches. A small investment in a hardware refresh cycle is much better than paying hefty security breach costs.

Enhancing Employee Productivity

Employee productivity is mainly rooted in two factors: work setup and work environment. If both are provided, they do their jobs efficiently and comfortably.

It’s simple: if your vehicle keeps breaking down, you’ll drag it and walk, leading to frustration and constant delays in reaching your destination. The same goes for employee productivity. Employees with the right tools can perform their jobs successfully and hit their KPIs.

If your organization depends on technology for work, it’s important to provide employees with devices that have powerful features and capabilities to support their work. A study shows that organization spending on high-performance devices is 20% more likely to improve employee retention.

Therefore, create a work culture in which your employees are happy with the IT infrastructure and motivated to wake up every day and come to work.

Maintaining Security Compliance

Forbes article plainly stated that “outdated software and legacy systems are some of the most significant factors that leave crucial data and information susceptible to destructive security attacks." To prevent such potential risks, IT systems must update their software and detect, prioritize, and solve any vulnerabilities as soon as possible.

Organizations spend $1.4 million annually on vulnerability management and patching. This is a considerable cost, and once a patch is released, it takes 43 days to detect a cyberattack. Shifting to automation tools is a smart idea.

However, suppose your employees' devices are not updated. In that case, this is completely far-fetched thinking, as they may be unable to access these advanced authentication and biometric features, such as geolocation tracking, voice recognition, and SSO, to protect sensitive data.

Hence, the best way to minimize security risks and improve user experience is to update your devices to the latest models with security features.

 Reducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Buying new peripheral devices for every new hire is recklessly expensive and unfair for everyone. A device refresh strategy enables you to procure each employee's specific computing needs while not overarching your budget, and the maintenance cost is an add-on. Over three years, devices drive up total ownership costs due to rising maintenance needs and lower productivity. Your PC will stop receiving security patches and will be prone to malfunctions. Everything comes in a circle; older devices lead to more downtime. This downtime cuts into employee productivity, which has a direct impact on revenue. In banking, finance, and government industries, downtime costs can soar, with reports showing losses of up to $5 million per hour.

Too often, upgrades degrade device performance and overload the network, but doing nothing can become even more costly. A timely device refresh strategy helps you maintain balance and avoid excessive upgrades and the high costs of inaction.

Maintaining a fleet where employees use devices with the three-year mark suggested by Intel to avoid overspending on new devices and planning for refreshes on older devices when needed.

Key Considerations for Building a Device Refresh Strategy

. Here are four considerations for having up-to-date technology and devices for your organization:

Assessing Current Device Inventory

Maintaining inventory is the foundational level of the refresh strategy. “

Knowing what you have, where it is located, who is using it, and how it is being used," says Mara Zeldin. 

Inventory management takes the water down toward effective planning, budgeting, compliance, and risk management, which is essential for your device refresh strategy.

Linking data to each asset provides detailed visibility into each item's maintenance, warranty, lease, support, and license agreements, helping to track costs more precisely.

At the operational level, it allows for better control of IT expenses through proactive strategies like reusing or repurposing assets and managing inventory. This approach leads to a practical device refresh strategy with benefits like:

1. Lowering IT costs by reusing equipment and managing purchases smartly,

2. Optimizing buying strategies to prevent unnecessary spending and

3. Setting up Software Compliance Management, helping to avoid fines or licensing issues

 Evaluating Employee Needs

It applies everywhere that one size never fits all. Each employee has a unique need for devices. For example, engineers need robust laptops with extra performance, while the HR team might not need powerful mainstream devices as they perform relatively less demanding tasks. To evaluate your employee needs, follow these steps:

• Segment your employees (categorize them) based on their work demands

• Install telemetry tools to collect data on how PCs are used,

• Track which applications are used most frequently,

• Identify specific usage patterns (via real-time data) to determine employee needs,

• Now, do the matchmaking and select the appropriate PC specifications for each employee category.

Determining Refresh Cycles: 3-year vs. 5-year models

Undoubtedly, there are benefits to an accelerated refresh program for your devices;, in a survey, “66% of respondents said their organization experienced reduced overall risk from adopting a two-year refresh cycle.”

A Wipro study says that a four-year-old PC has 53% more security incidents than a PC in its first year.

If your organization has more significant goals, like reducing power consumption and hardware waste, a three-year refresh cycle model is for you.

Firms with large PC fleets can reduce power consumption costs by $214,000 annually once they optimize on a three-year refresh cycle.

But the question is: Are frequent device refreshes worth the investment?

The answer is YES.

• You can access the newest, most secure versions of your desired technology.

• You get improved productivity plus excellent employee experience

• Your organization pivots towards more sustainability as you cascade devices through several users

However, suppose you are in a cost-conscious environment, a small-scale development where the performance demand of your devices is relatively low. For example, suppose you work in a creative area, and your device dependency is not as high in the IT development sector. Also, considering your business nature, a five-year refresh cycle could be suitable if you do not face the same urgency to update hardware frequently.

This would allow you to extend the lifecycle of your devices without significantly compromising security.

This is until and unless you don’t have constant pressure from internal stakeholders to increase security measures and boost productivity.

Budget Planning and Cost Forecasting

If you plan your budget and forecast your upcoming expenses, you’ll know that only delaying device refresh is not the only option. It’s better to focus on your investment decisions to optimize your expenditure cost.

For example, plan your budget not on how many devices to buy but on how frequently you should buy them. This will help you analyze the lifespans of devices purchased over various periods.

Go for the equivalent annual cost (EAC) instead of direct net present value (NPV) calculations.

EAC measures the yearly cost of owning and operating a PC throughout its lifespan. In contrast, NPV focuses on the total value of future cash flows discounted back to the present.

This approach lets you easily compare refresh cycle options, helping you make more informed decisions about your device investments.

4 Implementation Steps of Device Refresh Strategy

Now that you have a strategy applying it to your technology infrastructure is an important step. Below, I’ve summarized it in 4 quick steps for you to implement. Here follows:

Building a Rollout Plan

Logistics are time-consuming. Build a blueprint of how you want to approach your refresh strategy. Start with these pilot steps:

• Define Target Devices. Focus on laptops, mobile devices, desktops, and workstations—especially those directly impacting employee productivity. Differentiate between robust, high-performance laptops and devices with lower specifications for smooth onboarding later.

• Set a Refresh Cycle. Establish a 3-5-year refresh cycle organization-wide or just for specific departments. Match it to existing depreciation schedules, with shorter cycles for heavily used or critical devices. Plan a tech surge, either bulk upgrade or based on individual needs.

• Document Current inventory. Assess all devices to identify those nearing end-of-life that can be repurposed for interns, spares, or other roles. Ensure the manufacturer's warranty covers accidental damage for at least three years.

• Engage Local MSPs. Rely on local Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in areas without vendor presence to maintain consistent device management and provide on-site troubleshooting.

Employee Onboarding and Device Setup

All onboarding starts with HR.

To set up employees, HR sends the IT manager the essentials: names, phone numbers, shipping information (or handover plans), and personal email addresses.

TA (talent acquisition) often helps by compiling a form for candidates to fill out, which gets things moving smoothly.

Usually, two or three people on the IT team handle the technical side, logistics, refreshes, and other oddities. They set up new hire equipment, ship it out, and keep track of IT training and device refresh schedules.

Apple DEP or Autopilot for Windows makes setup a breeze, allowing employees to get going immediately without IT intervention. Having a few spare laptops in stock for quick replacements is handy. Keep a small stock or use direct vendor shipping for bulk requirements depending on your company size.

Secure Data Migration and Backup

Organizations migrate data to fresh hardware every 3-5 years to remain of the highest quality. This migration period is data-sensitive, and IT managers play a significant role. To avoid disrupting the services while you move your data, plan your migration across several weekends in spring/summer.

Keep your customer or internal employee informed throughout the process and update them when the migration is completed. Also, run a thorough backup of all critical data.

Research shows that companies spend over $5 billion yearly on data migration, and the failure rate is 60%. This translates to a higher risk probability; consider shifting your migration strategy towards cloud-based solutions.

Cloud migration accelerates the process and offers a cost-effective solution that is an alternative to traditional methods.

 Managing Device Disposal and E-Waste Compliance

When your organization transitions to new devices, managing the disposal of old hardware becomes crucial.

Start by evaluating options for repurposing or recycling. You can partner with niche expert hardware asset management companies like Workwize, specializing in IT disposal. They ensure proper handling of e-waste and compliance with environmental regulations while finding new homes for usable devices.

If you have laptops that no longer serve a purpose in your office, consider donating them to local schools or nonprofits. This not only helps your community but also promotes sustainable sourcing.

Organizations often appreciate functional devices, and this gesture can enhance your company's reputation.

In addition to disposal, maintain a record of all disposed devices for compliance. Track serial numbers and disposal methods to demonstrate adherence to e-waste regulations.

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