From chaos to control: How CIOs can optimize and manage IT asset lifecycles

What is the secret to success for CIOs and CTOs? It’s not large budgets, huge teams or a big office; rather, it’s all about working smartly with the resources at their disposal — and that means mastering the art of IT asset lifecycle management.

In a recent webinar, I interviewed Jacqueline Guichelaar, Senior Vice President and General Manager: Customer Experience, Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China at Cisco, who has extensive experience in IT services and CIO roles at various global organizations, including major banks.

IT asset lifecycle management is about ensuring the optimal use of assets through the process of managing the cost, performance and value of an organization’s technology assets from acquisition to retirement.

Our conversation centered on the importance of this process, the challenges faced by CIOs and the role of partnerships in providing expert support.

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CIOs’ jobs are more complex than ever before

CIOs are in a tough spot. They juggle competing demands relating to the cost, performance and value of IT assets in their organizations, all while the IT landscape around them seems to change every minute.

“In this environment, no CIO or CTO can be successful unless they’ve mastered IT lifecycle management or lifecycle services,” says Jacqueline.

According to NTT DATA’s 2024 Infrastructure Lifecycle Management Report, CIOs and CTOs cite digitalization and greater adoption of innovation and new technologies as one of their top business objectives — second only to their environmental, social and governance goals.

In 2023 already, NTT DATA asset-purchase data showed a 62% year-on-year increase in shipments of hardware and perpetual software. We also observed a 133% increase in year-on-year spending on software as a service and a 115% increase in spending on term and content (T&C) software subscriptions.

Adding to the complexity of the CIO’s role, 69% of currently active hardware is expected to reach end of support by 2027.

Our statistics illustrate the relentless pressure CIOs and CTOs face in managing their technology assets. They are no longer just responsible for maintaining SLAs — they also have to streamline the use of their assets to control costs (in the form of utilization-level agreements) and align with strategic business goals (as set out in value-level agreements). And their ever more complex IT environments must also predefined performance standards.

Partners’ expertise makes a difference

To survive in this demanding business environment, CIOs need a deep understanding of the broader IT landscape as well as the latest technologies. But, as Jacqueline points out, “You can’t scale on your own.”

“I’ve relied on partners heavily in my 30-plus-year career,” she says. “In most of my CIO roles, sometimes up to 70% of my workforce was through partners. The Cisco–NTT DATA partnership has been instrumental in delivering scalable, cost-effective IT solutions and value to our mutual clients for more than three decades.”

NTT DATA’s Software-defined Infrastructure Services, built using Cisco’s state-of-the-art telemetry, provide a holistic view of our clients’ IT assets and help CIOs move beyond traditional SLAs to focus on two critical additional areas:

• Utilization-level agreements (ULAs) give CIOs a view of usage levels and risks or vulnerabilities across their software estates.
• Value-level agreements (VLAs) align with business goals such as cost savings.

By integrating SLAs, ULAs and VLAs, CIOs and CTOs gain a comprehensive, three-pronged perspective of their estates, allowing them to maximize the value of their technology environments.

To support these outcomes, NTT DATA and Cisco now have a collaborative offer that addresses clients’ business goals.

For example, one of our retail clients reduced their store setup time from 21 days to 7 days by centralizing the management of Cisco software licenses. This improved operational efficiency and had an immediate impact on the bottom line.

• ALSO READ → Software-defined infrastructure: why NTTDATA and Cisco are better together

5 steps to lifecycle management success

Drawing on the work NTT DATA has done with CIOs across industries, we’ve come up with a five-step process to kick-start effective IT asset lifecycle management:

1. Understand what you have

A complete inventory of hardware and software assets, including shadow IT, is the first step in helping CIOs and CTOs to identify areas for optimization and cost savings.

2. Minimize software and hardware incompatibilities

In a multivendor environment, software and hardware incompatibilities can lead to inefficiencies and higher costs. A lack of interoperability with legacy technology systems is also cited in our infrastructure lifecycle report as a factor holding back investment in digital technology. NTT DATA and Cisco work together to eliminate these issues and ensure seamless integration and operation.

3. Control costs

Consolidating multiple software contracts into a single Enterprise Agreement can significantly reduce costs. A financial services client saved nearly $2 million annually by consolidating 236 software contracts into one Enterprise Agreement.

4. Embed sustainability

CIOs and CTOs are increasingly required to focus on sustainability in their IT strategies. We help them do this by providing insights and solutions that align with their corporate sustainability goals.

5. Regularly refresh infrastructure

The constant need to refresh infrastructure is an ongoing challenge. With our help, CIOs can put the right procurement and governance processes in place to control spending and stay on top of technological advances.

Add in the power of AI

Beyond the nuts and bolts of licenses and contracts, AI is now playing a major role in addressing the complexity and scale of security threats. It keeps organizations’ critical infrastructure secure by identifying and mitigating threats more effectively.

At NTT DATA, we already use AI across our own business, from back-end finance operations to service delivery and customer experience. AI sentiment agents now monitor client interactions, allowing for early intervention, fast resolution and a much-improved customer experience. We also apply AIOps to manage our clients’ networks.

Cisco uses AI to manage about two-thirds of the millions of customer tickets they receive, providing predictive, proactive and automated support for security and network operations.

However, while AI is a game changer, human oversight and input remain crucial. The best defenses are combining the power of AI with human insights, expertise and inventiveness.

Jacqueline emphasized the importance of human oversight alongside AI, stating: “AI can be amazing, but we humans are needed because we have to be the ones driving those strategies.”

Take the first step

For CIOs and CTOs who want to take their IT asset lifecycle management to the next level, the first step is to request a free basic Infrastructure and Software Lifecycle Assessment by NTT DATA.

This assessment gives them a clear understanding of the current IT environment and identifies areas for improvement. We then guide them through our five-step process so they can gain a holistic view of their assets, control costs and refresh their infrastructure, safely and efficiently.

As the IT landscape continues to evolve, the strategic alliance between NTT DATA and Cisco will be a vital resource for organizations that need to stay ahead of the curve.