Make the Most of Your Technology with Lifecycle Management
When you’re preparing for a network deployment or data center upgrade, there are standards and guidelines you can turn to for advice on optimizing deployment. But what happens after that? How can you keep these systems running and make sure they’re successful not only on Day One but also for many years to come?
This topic is one that’s becoming more critical as technology grows in complexity to meet the demands of a digital world. And it’s obviously on the minds of ICT professionals, including a few who have reached out to Belden to discuss the topic. During our conversations, these professionals often wonder why there’s no place to turn for standardized guidance on managing the operational lifecycle of technology—whether that means a cabling system, a network or an entire data center.
So, where can you find comprehensive information about lifecycle management (LCM) and lifecycle planning (LCP)? Right now, the answer is “nowhere”—but that’s set to change. Here’s what you need to know.
The role of ICT lifecycle management
In 2019, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) explored ICT Lifecycle Management standards. The idea was born from a realization that standards do a good job of affirming technology compatibility and interoperability on Day One but don’t help operators manage technology on Day 2 and beyond. Its future is largely unmanaged.
LCM and LCP act as a foundation of best practices—a blueprint to help you better manage and standardize operations across sites. It not only provides common processes and procedures to follow but also recognizes that technology impacts more than IT and technology teams. It impacts everyone across the organization. As a result, the standard aims to take into consideration everyone’s requirements and how they fit into the organization’s technology management plan.
It can be divided into five process areas (planning, information management, design, implementation and operations) within six specific practice areas:
- Governance
- Human resources
- Logistics
- Procurement
- Security
- Technology
What is lifecycle management (LCM)?
Lifecycle management is essentially lifecycle planning: What do you want to happen in the future, and what steps do you need to take today to position your organization for success when that time comes? In other words, it’s about managing your technology so your technology doesn’t dictate your actions and decisions and potentially hold your organization back.
With lifecycle planning, the focus shifts from initial setup to how the system will be actively managed, maintained and adapted over time.
This requires thinking not only about what your technology is capable of from electron and photon perspectives but also what is practical, is possible and will help you meet your goals.
It starts by understanding your desired business outcomes. What can you accept as a business in terms of things like speed, security, interference, throughput and power to make these outcomes achievable?
Remember, technology isn’t what matters. It’s not deployed simply because it’s technology. It’s deployed because it addresses a business need or solves a problem. For example, a hospital doesn’t set out to use artificial intelligence or extended reality. It’s focused on improving patient outcomes and retaining clinicians. Technology is just one way to do these things.
Once you understand your desired business outcomes, LCM will provide guidance on how to plan for those outcomes.
Proper lifecycle management and planning can help you:
- Centralize technology management guided by a unified strategy that takes all teams into consideration
- Optimize use of assets and tools
- Improve uptime by minimizing technology problems that prevent updates or progress
- Determine clear processes and systems to maximize data collection and management
- Establish audit trails to help you manage change
- Implement common naming and management standards across sites
- Identify dependencies during moves, adds and changes
A real-life example of why lifecycle management Is important
Now you know what lifecycle management is, but what does lifecycle management look like in action? Here’s an example from a design perspective.
Let’s say you’re working with a telecommunications room that’s 10 feet by 12 feet. Today, your organization requires one rack, so that rack is placed on the floor in the middle of the room and designated as Rack No. 1—without much thought given to the naming convention or how the space might be used in the future.
Fast forward one year, and your organization needs a second rack. Rack No. 2 is placed to the right of Rack No. 1 in the middle of the room. Six months later comes Rack No. 3, which is deployed next to Rack No. 2.
Suddenly, there’s no space remaining to the right of Rack No. 1. What happens when you need to deploy a fourth rack? Do you continue sequential numbering on the other side (the left side) of Rack No. 1? Do you use negative numbers? Do you reconfigure and change to a row-based naming convention?
If lifecycle planning and management were taken into consideration from the start, you would’ve thought about things like:
- How many racks can be placed in that room while leaving space for ADA-compliant pathways
- How cable will be managed to prevent clutter and ensure easy identification of connections
- How the layout can be easily expanded in the future as new equipment is added
With this way of thinking, you might place the very first rack in the middle of the room but name it Rack No. 4 and then backfill with Racks No. 3, No. 2. and No. 1 as they are deployed. This will save you time, money and frustration as your organization’s needs grow.
Let’s start with the future in mind
It can be tough to change your way of thinking and prioritize infrastructure lifecycle planning. It means applying intelligence to your decision-making. It sometimes involves challenging assumptions you made just a few years ago. It can mean rethinking what’s possible. But Belden can help you begin with the end in mind.
When you begin with what’s possible, then everything that comes after is informed by those possibilities.
To create your complete connection solutions, we start with open conversations about your needs, challenges and goals because they’re what’s most important. Those elements are all unique to you. Shouldn’t your solution be, too?
Special thanks to Jerry Bowman, president of Kituwah, for sharing his insights with us for this blog.
Related links:
About the Author
With an emphasis on data center design, planning and building, Henry Franc acts as a trusted advisor for large or complex projects across all verticals assessing clients’ business needs and finding the best technology options to meet them. He was also elected by industry colleagues to serve as vice-chair of the TR42 Telecommunications Cabling Systems Engineering Committee.