Maximizing the Value of Your AV, IT, and Power Infrastructure: A Complete Lifecycle Management Guide

🎯 Why Lifecycle Management Matters

End to end lifecycle planning—from planning through disposal—prevents surprises, ensures systems remain supported, and maximizes return on infrastructure investments across AV, IT, and Power domains. Here's the truth: outdated AV, IT, and power infrastructure will fail—often without warning—and the cost of downtime can far outweigh the cost of prevention. Organizations with lifecycle-aware strategies experience significantly less downtime and better budget predictability.

🔁 The Five Phases of Infrastructure Lifecycle Management

 Click on any of the phases for more information.

1. Assessment & Planning

Start with a comprehensive audit: identify aging systems, map warranty and firmware lifespans, and prepare for future needs.

Independent audits—especially across multidisciplinary systems—can enhance insights and guide smarter, holistic planning.

📊 Pro tip: Visualizing these lifespans on a unified timeline (IT, AV, power) helps prevent surprises and supports budgeting.

2. Procurement & Deployment

Coordinated infrastructure acquisition streamlines the install phase and improves ongoing supportability.

Procurement with integration in mind—considering AV, power, and networking together—helps avoid future compatibility issues.

💡 Stat: Centralized procurement can reduce total cost of ownership by up to 15% through streamlined support and consolidated vendor relationships (HP Workforce Experience).

3. Maintenance & Monitoring

Move from reactive fixes to preventive and predictive maintenance. Routine health checks extend lifespan and reliability.

Maintenance plans paired with remote monitoring or regular site visits can significantly defuse infrastructure risks early.

📈 Fact: Predictive maintenance reduces unplanned downtime by up to 40% and yields an average ROI between 5:1 to 10:1 (UpKeep, OX Maint).

4. Upgrades & Refresh

After 3–5 years, AV and IT systems start losing efficiency. Support drops off, patches become costly, and performance wanes.

Rolling refresh strategies—phased by building, system type, or function—can smooth expenditure and reduce disruption, especially with integrator guidance.

📉 Insight: Legacy systems (over 8 years old) contribute to emerging costs and inefficiencies—sometimes costing organizations billions in avoidable spend (HP Workforce Experience).

5. Decommissioning & Disposal

End-of-life hardware needs secure data sanitization and eco-conscious disposal.

 Asset disposition services, complete with compliance documentation and chain-of-custody tracking, take the guesswork out of disposal.

♻️ Note: Many AV and power system components contain recoverable materials; eco-friendly recycling may even yield rebates or tax benefits.

🧩 Real-Life Lifecycle Execution

⚡ Southern Union Conference – UPS System Replacement

Facing an aging UPS with no easy bypass, the Southern Union Conference in Peachtree Corners turned to Switch Global. We engineered and installed a Schneider Electric Galaxy VS-208 UPS system—including improved rack design—to ensure seamless maintenance and long-term reliability. The project delivered power security without added costs or complexity, earning praise for transparent planning and execution.

👉 Read the Case Study

🖼️ National Humanities Center – Lobby Display Refresh

At the National Humanities Center in Durham, NC, sun-damaged lobby displays were replaced with a synchronized video wall of four 65″ Planar LED screens. Not only were these deployed during a tight renovation window, but the switch also improved aesthetics and user experience—delivered in just three weeks.

👉 Read the Case Study

✅ Final Takeaways

Lifecycle planning ensures your infrastructure stays up-to-date, cost-effective, and reliable. By focusing on these stages, organizations can stretch budgets, simplify upgrades, and reduce risks—even across systems as diverse as AV displays, UPS units, and IT gear.

Ready to streamline your infrastructure lifecycle with peace of mind?

Partnering with a premier solutions provider like Switch Global means you don’t have to manage it all alone. From assessment through disposal, our experts help you build a strategy that keeps your AV, IT, and power systems running smoothly—today and for years to come.

👉 Contact Us Today to start your lifecycle planning journey.

When planning cross-system investments—from LED walls to power backups—it helps to work with partners experienced in cohesive lifecycle thinking.