There’s Profit Hiding In Cloud’s Shade

With so much focus on cloud computing, solution providers may overlook other related and rewarding opportunities that sit just adjacent to cloud. For example, driven by today’s displacement of end-of-life hardware by cloud, and the proliferation of mobile devices brimming with business-critical data, IT asset life cycle management offers a prime opportunity to solution providers — one that fits seamlessly into a services portfolio.

The value proposition of IT asset life cycle management hits home with nearly every type and size of customer. Not only does providing asset life cycle management services allow solutions providers to manage the inventory and disposal of assets, the service addresses the “green” agenda of many businesses, protecting the environment from the unseen pollutants found in many of today’s IT components.

Overall, asset disposal allows resellers to address the future needs of customers from protection of data on end-of-life devices to liability due to environmental and privacy regulations. And, in a world where IT devices from multifunction peripherals to smart phones can hold private, confidential data, a trusted asset life cycle management plan is necessary since failure can result in penalties from regulatory agencies enforcing rules ranging from those of the Environmental Protection Agency to the privacy regulations of the HiTech Act.

Beyond the liability of mishandled data and disposing of potentially toxic devices correctly, most businesses — from enterprise down to the SMB — lack the resources to stay abreast of current disposal regulations and the manpower to manage that process. Solution providers can partner with an established asset life cycle management vendor — Ingram Micro offers services from U.S. Micro — to offer full management of the assets from the customer’s doorstep to final destruction.

A reputable asset life cycle management vendor will be certified as compliant with National Industrial Security Program (NISP) and meet the criteria of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). That vendor will also be designated as Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2, Type II by American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and will provide services that include inventory audits at the pick-up site; shipping to central, secure processing sites; device data wipes (multiple swipes at a Department of Defense-compliant level); and environmentally responsible disposal or recycling of the devices.

For solution providers working with cloud, and especially those focused in verticals under tight compliance regulations, such as healthcare, government, education, retail and financial services, asset life cycle management offerings can provide a fruitful, ongoing services opportunities with strong margins that also reinforces your status as a trusted advisor by offering future-looking solutions that protect customers from costly and embarrassing liabilities.

For more information about Ingram Micro’s IT Asset Disposition Services contact (800) 235-4128 or IMSNServices@IngramMicro.com.

Renee Bergeron is VP of managed services and cloud computing at Ingram Micro, overseeing such efforts as Ingram Micro Cloud. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of MSPmentor’s annual sponsorship program. Read all of Bergeron’s guest blogs here.