SERVICE INFORMATION

Smartdesc Lifecycle Services

Smartdesc Lifecycle Services provides the complete lifecycle management for all your hardware devices… and everything in between.

Smartdesc is proud to part of the Academia Technology Group.

why choose us

What is Smartdesc Lifecycle Services?

In a world where we rely so much on technology to get our work done, having our productivity hampered by a faulty device is the last thing we need.

This is where Smartdesc Lifecycle Services comes to your rescue.

Smartdesc Lifecycle Services covers everything you could ever need to provide you with an end-to-end service with the maximum uptime and support for your device. From the initial procurement, through to the device reaching end of life, we offer secure, responsible disposal and everything in between.

Managing and sustaining a proper lifecycle solution for your devices isn’t the easiest of tasks.

With devices of different ages, types, general health and potentially spread over multiple locations, it’s no surprise!

This is where Smartdesc’s Device Lifecycle services can help you gain visibility and clarity across your organisation’s hardware. Along with supporting services for procuring new devices, hardware repairs, and their secure disposal once the device reaches its time, we can truly help you get the best from your devices, whilst taking the stress and frustrations away from you.

BENEFITS

What do I get with Smartdesc Lifecycle Services?

An aligned Account Manager and Online Procurement Portal through which you can sign on to our Lifecycle Services scheme or add new devices to your existing plan.

Access to an Smartdesc-hosted IT Asset Management solution that integrates to our back-end lifecycle management tools, providing you with full visibility of your device estate.

The ability to log device faults with our Lifecycle Management team, whether it be via our online web support portal, via email or over the phone.

Access to our online web support portal which provides useful links, knowledge base articles and problem reporting options. Designated admins from your side can view all open tickets across your organisation.

The option to procure additional stock to keep within our secure warehouses or at your location, to quickly swap out faulty units to avoid disruption to your staff.

A UK-based technical team to provide you with first-line hardware diagnostics and recommendations to get your device back up and running. Should these suggestions not work, we’ll enact our collect, repair and replace process.

Automatic registration and enrolment with your MDM platform for Zero-Touch Deployment (ZTD), the application of custom images or builds or custom BIOS/ UEFI configuration

Digital or physical asset tagging, pick and pack services, affixing, fitting and attaching of additional peripherals or protective casing.

Secure data destruction and responsible disposal or repurposing of your old devices.

Peace of mind that your device lifecycle and overall fleet is in good health and good hands!

Overview of Smartdesc Lifecycle Services

The initial ordering, management and commissioning process.

01

We set up an IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution and integrate it with our back-end IT Asset Disposal (ITAD) solution. You will have access to the ITAM solution and it can be integrated with your organisation’s Entra ID platform (formerly Azure AD).

02

When you purchase devices and accessories through us, we will place the order and have them shipped to our warehouse.

03

When your units land in our warehouse, we will gather all items together, unbox them, apply any custom configuration (ie, digital or physical asset tags, BIOS/UEFI settings), fit any required cases or screen protectors and registering any warranties.

04

If you have requested that the device be registered with your Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution (ie. Jamf or InTune), we will do so in order to have the device automatically enrolled into the platform and ready for your staff to use.

05

We then add the device’s asset record(s) into your ITAM solution, which in turn places it within our ITAD system for on-going repair, recycling and disposal tasks (for when those occasions arise).

06

Next, we dispatch the device(s) to the location specified during the ordering process. If you requested a “Deploy to Desk” service from us, we will arrange for an engineer to attend site shortly after their arrival. If not, your device will arrive as usual to your site and passed over to the user.

07

When we receive the Proof of Delivery (PoD), we will update the ITAM system to say that the device has arrived with you. From your side, simply log into the ITAM solution and update the location and assigned user in line with who and where the device has ended up.

08

Your device(s) are now fully deployed and ready to go!

Handling issues within the device’s production life.

09

Should you experience an issue with a device, or you have a collection of devices exhibiting a fault, simply log into the ITAM system and select “Requires Repair” alongside the device’s asset record. Alternatively, log a support case with us on our web portal or over the phone.

10

Once we have received the notification that you are experiencing issues with a device, or a batch of devices, we will take the appropriate action to kick off their repair or replacement.

11

If you opted to keep a stock of devices within our warehouse, we will dispatch a stock device to you prior to collection of the faulty unit. If you do not have a stock of spare devices, we will simply arrange for a collection of the faulty unit.

12

Once we have received your faulty device, we will commence the repair process, keeping you updated on its progress along the way.

13

Once the repair is complete, and depending on how a temporary device was provided to the user(s) whose device is experiencing the problem, we will either ship the unit back to you or put it back into the stock of spare devices ready to re-deploy when required.

14

During this entire process, we will keep you and the ITAM system up-to-date so you will always have visibility and knowledge of the devices across your estate.

Refreshing your fleet with new devices.

15

When your device, or batch of devices, is approaching the end of their life (based on the term you’ve taken out with us), we will get in touch to discuss options to refresh and replace your devices.

16

Regardless of the option you choose (ie, whether you wish to drop the device out of the lifecycle management scheme and continue to use it in production to “sweat the asset” further, or whether you wish to keep the device on the scheme), we’ll help shape the future of your devices’ lifecycle.

17

In the event that you wish to keep on track with the lifecycle scheme, we will discuss and decide on your new device fleet and then place the relevant orders to arrive in time to swap out the devices which have reached the end of their lives.

18

At this time, we recommend that you send round communications to your staff encouraging them to backup any data that resides locally on their device. For example, if you are using OneDrive Known Folder Move or Folder Redirection, any data outside of the scope of these technologies will need to be backed up.

19

Following on from the ordering of the new equipment, we will repeat steps 1-8 for your new device.

20

When the new devices arrive, Smartdesc can provide the required resources to help you swap out your old for new devices or you can carry this task out in-house.

Recycling your old devices

21

When the device refresh phase is complete and your offices are kitted out with your new shiny equipment, we will arrange for our team to come and collect all of the old devices.

22

We will collect the devices, and any associated accessories or peripherals that were part of the original order and take them back to our secure warehouse.

23

Once the devices arrive back in our warehouse, we update their location and Status within the ITAM solution to remove them from your standard ITAM view.

24

Next, we’ll grade them, clean them and securely destroy all data on the devices’ hard drives to ensure that there is no way that anyone can access any data that once resided on them.

25

Once the secure data erasure phase has been completed, we will provide you with a certificate of data destruction for your records so you can show your relevant compliance officer, team or auditors.

26

Finally, we will take your old units and do either one of three things with it; Responsible disposal of the units following WEEE regulations, upcycling them for a good cause (ie, donating them to the education sector or a charity) or placing them on a store for your staff to purchase the equipment for themselves.

Who looks after the actual Device Management?

Device Management and Lifecycle Management are two distinctly separate things. However, how they work together is key to providing you with a great experience all round!

When we talk about Lifecycle Management, we’re talking about the journey that your physical device takes from the minute it is procured, to the minute it is responsibly and securely recycled at the end of its life.

Device Management on the other hand, is the means of managing how your users interact with, and how your IT Admins can support these devices throughout their lifecycle. Step 4 of the Lifecycle Management is where we can slipstream your devices into your Device Management
solution to enable all of the great features below.

Some key features of Device Management are:

Seamless deployment of profiles to provide a consistent configuration baseline across your entire fleet.
Deploy core business applications to your devices that are required across the board to keep your devices secure and your staff fully productive.
Allow users to install pre-approved applications from a self-service portal - without needing to be an admin.
Enable additional security features on your devices, such as disk encryption and patch management.
Carry out actions such as remote lock, remote reset and remote device wipes.
Gain visibility of your hardware, software and patching inventory across all devices.
The ability to implement all of the above without any IT Admin or User involvement with Zero-Touch Deployment mechanisms.

how we help you

How Smartdesc can help with Device Management

Whether you’ve got an in-house IT Team or not, Smartdesc have support models that will help your organisation get the best from your Device Management solutions and in turn, the best from your devices. If you don’t currently have a modern Device Management solution, we can help you here too!

It all starts with a conversation…

As part of our initial discussions surrounding Lifecycle Management, we will inevitably ask you how you intend on managing these devices (this is key to working out how we approach step 4!).

In some organisations, you may still be joining your devices to on-premise servers and leveraging technologies such as Active Directory and Group Policy.

Whilst these solutions still have their place within organisations, more modern, powerful, extensible and flexible solutions are now available that will make the management of your devices significantly easier, regardless of whether your staff are in the office or working from home.

Alternatively, you may already have a foot in the door with modern Device Management, but you may need some guidance refining and expanding on your existing setup to get the best from the tools at your disposal.

In these instances, we tend to find that some modern device management solutions have been set up to fulfil a particular purpose or situation (which was a very common knee jerk reaction to managing devices during COVID), but a lack of planning, strategy and IT Admin training have been undertaken.

Finally, we see some organisations not leveraging any device management solutions at all and looking after devices on an ad-hoc basis; applying some initial out of-the-box configuration and then having to manually interact with these devices to make any future changes or amendments.

This is where Smartdesc can help

Smartdesc provide three options when it comes to shaping your Device Management solutions:

Professional Services

Smartdesc deploy the solution to your requirement and you handle the end-to-end support. There is no underlying support agreement or ongoing involvement from Smartdesc.

Supported MDM

Smartdesc deploy or bring your MDM up to speed. We train your IT team to handle first and second-line queries, whilst we’re around to provide escalation support where needed.

Fully Managed MDM

Smartdesc support everything in relation to your MDM – you and your IT team can focus your attention on other aspects.