Asset lifecycle, sourcing and disposal
Domain 2: Asset lifecycle, sourcing and disposal
This domain tests lifecycle stages and the sourcing and disposal decisions that move an asset from an identified need to secure retirement.
Lifecycle stages
ITIL 4 ITAM describes a lifecycle that typically includes plan, acquire, deploy, manage, retire and dispose. Plan links asset demand to strategy and budget; acquire covers sourcing, procurement and receipt; deploy covers configuration, tagging and handover; manage covers maintenance, moves, changes and compliance; retire covers decommissioning; dispose covers reuse, remarketing, recycling or destruction. Software and cloud assets follow the same logic, though deployment and retirement may be contractual rather than physical.
Sourcing
Options include buy, build, lease, rent, subscription, cloud consumption (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), outsourcing and BYOD. Evaluate total cost of ownership, value, risk, lock-in, compliance and sustainability, not just purchase price.
Disposal
Disposal must protect data and meet environmental and legal duties. Use approved data sanitization or physical destruction, obtain certificates of destruction, update the asset register, and consider reuse or remarketing before recycling.
Worked example
A three-year laptop lease ends. The organization checks return conditions, migrates data, performs a certified wipe, removes the device from the asset register and CMDB, and returns it. Finance compares any residual or buy-out cost with replacement cost. If the device is retained, the same sanitization evidence and record update are still required.
Traps
- Applying lifecycle thinking only to hardware.
- Choosing the lowest sticker price instead of total cost and risk.
- Disposing without data sanitization and a certificate.
- Failing to update asset records at retirement.
Key points
- Lifecycle: plan, acquire, deploy, manage, retire, dispose.
- Sourcing options include buy, build, lease, subscription, cloud, outsourcing and BYOD.
- Evaluate total cost of ownership, risk, compliance and sustainability.
- Disposal requires data sanitization, certification and record updates.
- Reuse and remarketing should be considered before recycling.