The IT Asset Life Cycle Is Broken – Here’s How to Fix It

21 Nov, 2025

The IT Asset Life Cycle Is Broken – Here’s How to Fix It

Most companies purchase electronic devices, deploy them, and then, after a year or two, discard the products or send them to recyclers with little consideration for what happens next. This lack of IT asset life cycle management is not only harmful to the environment, but it is also wasteful. 

Instead, you will be better served by treating IT asset disposition (ITAD) as a designed phase from day one. This article explains how to handle your IT asset life cycle so that disposition, refurbishment, and reuse are planned from the outset.

Where the Traditional IT Asset Life Cycle Fails

A staggering 30% of IT assets are lost because they never get entered into a proper system of record. You buy, deploy, use, refresh, and then hope someone handles the pile of retired IT assets without much trouble to you. A hands-off approach to the IT asset life cycle is reflected in three areas:

1. Devices Sitting Idle and Losing Value

One of the most evident signs of problematic IT life cycle management is retired electronics sitting in storage. Laptops and servers undergo a device refresh cycle, are stacked in cages, and then wait for months for someone to decide what to do with them, which negatively impacts the value.

2. Premature Disposal and Unnecessary Spend

Many companies remove IT assets from use as soon as they fall off a standard support list or exhibit a minor fault, then treat them as end-of-life IT hardware with no second chance. But in many cases, much of this hardware can handle lighter workloads. For example, a laptop that no longer suits a graphics designer could still work well for a call center.

3. Fragmented Disposal and Data Risk

Different locations use different local recyclers or haulers. Some offer good, secure data destruction and clear reports, while some offer a simple pickup and a vague certificate. It can be challenging to distinguish between them. That scattered approach puts IT, security, and finance into real risk.

Practical Steps to Repair Your IT Asset Life Cycle

It is possible to optimize your IT asset life cycle within the next year, provided you have a clear understanding of your current assets, a new perspective on end-of-life management, and a strong ITAD partner. Here is how to go about it:

1. Audit What You Already Have

The fastest way to see the gap in your IT asset life cycle is to count what is currently stored. List retired IT assets by model, age, condition, and site. And note who currently picks them up, who claims to wipe them, and what proof they provide that they actually did that. The answers provide a snapshot of your current IT asset life cycle management while also highlighting potential next steps.

2. Redesign End of Life as a Recovery Stage

When you are done with the audit, rewrite the last stage of your IT asset life cycle as recovery, not disposal, by redefining what happens when a device is no longer in use. Depending on the current capability of the used products, you can redeploy them into lighter roles, send them for testing, repair, and resale, or send them to a certified recycling agent, such as Close the Loop, with clear material recovery expertise.

3. Choose an End-to-End ITAD Partner

Your ITAD partner must be one that can handle the entire reverse logistics process for IT assets. This includes collection, secure data destruction, auditing, grading, refurbishment, remarketing, and recycling, all of which should result in zero landfill outcomes.

4. Run a Pilot and Scale Across the IT Asset Life Cycle

Finally, pilot the new life cycle with one region or one business unit. In the process, track the units collected and processed, the amount of the IT assets that are refurbished, reused, or recycled, ROI, and the e-waste avoided. Use those results to justify rolling out across your entire IT asset life cycle. 

If these steps are leveraged properly, over time your company will stop burning value at the end of each refresh cycle and start treating retired IT assets as planned resources.

How Close the Loop Helps Fix the IT Assets Life Cycle

Close the Loop transforms chaotic end-of-life IT handling into a planned life cycle stage by collecting devices, wiping data, refurbishing, and reselling where possible, and then recycling the rest with zero landfill and full reporting. This process enables your company to recover cash, reduce risk, and demonstrate responsible management of retired hardware at scale across its sites. Connect with us today to know how you can make a difference.