Introduction

As more IoT devices are used in business operations, the ability to monitor and manage these connected devices has become increasingly important. The term device lifecycle management has become an increasingly popular way of describing the work technical teams undertake to remotely maintain and support these smart hardware systems. Device lifecycle management is defined as a structured flow of processes for planning, implementing, and controlling modifications to a fleet of smart devices, from initial purchasing to the eventual end-of-life retirement.

The core objective of device lifecycle management is to ensure the connected devices work for as long as possible before needing to be repaired onsite or replaced. This post explores the ways Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) software tools can help technical teams streamline common device lifecycle management tasks to ensure their fleet of smart hardware devices stay up and running with as few downtime errors as possible. The top five areas remote management and monitoring software can impact device lifecycle management are: 

1. Device Onboarding and Provisioning
2. Inventory and Asset Management
3. Remote Monitoring and Issue Resolution
4. Software Updates and Configuration Management
5. Performance Reporting and Analysis 

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Let’s take a detailed look through each of these five areas to learn how Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) software helps teams supporting smart hardware systems speed up and simplify their work. 

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1. Device Onboarding

• When a new device comes online or checks in, use RMM automation capabilities to run faster and less error-prone onboarding and provisioning processes. 
• Remote management solutions can recognize a new device type and immediately enroll it in an onboarding workflow that deploys the right software updates, makes needed configuration changes, and can assign core attributes to the device like location or account data. 

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2. Inventory and Asset Management

• Once devices are deployed in the wild, use remote management tools for efficient inventory management to know what exactly is deployed and where it is located.
• Integrate remote management and monitoring solutions with your CRM or Incident Management software to maintain an updated programmatic inventory of assets.
• RMM software should serve as your single system of record on device status, key attributes, and update history for all hardware and software components.

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3. Remote Monitoring and Issue Resolution

• Leverage an RMM’s real-time monitoring capabilities to spot downtime-causing issues promptly before a customer notices.
• Use remote actions and self-healing automations to resolve issues remotely and prevent onsite technician visits or lengthy mean time to resolution (MTTR). 
• Only get relevant alerts and avoid overwhelming your support team with false positives. 

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4. Software Updates and Configuration Management 

• Use RMM software to execute remote management actions such as running scripts, software updates, sending/pulling files, or starting a remote desktop session.  
• Store the ideal device configuration inside your RMM and constantly check your fleet of connected devices against that ideal state to automatically process configuration updates and software changes. 
• Utilize RMM tool logs to document changes, creating transparency for issue resolution and compliance audits.

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5. Performance Reporting and Analysis

• Use analytics capabilities to assist your Product, Engineering, or Support teams with uptime performance reviews.
• Leverage regular reports to ensure performance success, identify improvements, and maintain compliance with SLA policies or regulations. 
• Identify necessary changes and assess their impact on the device environment.

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Conclusion

Leveraging RMM software to streamline device lifecycle management is crucial, especially when overseeing a large deployment of smart devices. RMM software makes the five core areas of device management discussed above faster, easier, and less error-prone. This gives your technical team more time back in their day to work on strategic initiatives and future roadmap items vs. constantly being reactive or firefighting issues as your deployed technology constantly changes.

If you are thinking about ways to enhance your device lifecycle management processes, we’d love to hear from you and see if Canopy’s RMM platform may be able to help. Our team has decades of remote device management experience and works with customers like you every day to help maintain best-in-class uptime and availability for large deployments of smart hardware systems. Reach out to us at info@goCanopy.com to learn more about the Canopy experience and how we pave the path to success together!

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