The retirement of an IT asset is the final stage of the hardware asset lifecycle, where the asset is removed from service and disposed of in a secure and compliant manner1.
The retirement of an IT asset should be done according to the company-defined policies and procedures, which may vary depending on the type, condition, and value of the asset, as well as the business needs and regulatory requirements1.
The company-defined policies and procedures should specify the criteria, process, and documentation for retiring an IT asset, such as the following1:
The trigger events or conditions that indicate the need for retirement, such as end-of-life, end-of-service, end-of-warranty, obsolescence, damage, theft, or loss
The approval workflow and roles involved in the retirement decision, such as the asset manager, the asset owner, the finance department, and the security department
The disposal methods and vendors available for the retirement, such as recycling, reselling, donating, or destroying
The certificate of destruction or disposal that verifies the secure and compliant disposal of the asset by the vendor
The update of the asset record and the configuration management database (CMDB) to reflect the retirement status and date of the asset
Therefore, the answer that reflects the company-defined policies and procedures is B. At any point that it is recommended by your company-defined policies and procedures.
The other options are not the correct answer because they are either too vague or too specific:
A. At any point it is recommended by the HAM-defined asset policy: This is too vague, as the HAM-defined asset policy may not cover all the aspects and scenarios of the retirement process. The HAM-defined asset policy is a general guideline that defines the objectives, scope, roles, and responsibilities of hardware asset management2. It does not necessarily provide the detailed criteria, process, and documentation for retiring an IT asset.
C. At any point it is recommended by the HAM-defined asset disposal procedure: This is too specific, as the HAM-defined asset disposal procedure is only one part of the retirement process. The HAM-defined asset disposal procedure is a step-by-step instruction that describes how to dispose of an IT asset through a vendor3. It does not necessarily cover the trigger events, approval workflow, and record update for retiring an IT asset.
D. When the Hardware Content Service Lifecycle data reports the asset is nearing end-of-service: This is too specific, as the Hardware Content Service Lifecycle data is only one possible source of information for the retirement decision. The Hardware Content Service Lifecycle data is a subscription-based service that provides the end-of-life, end-of-service, and end-of-support dates for hardware models4. It does not necessarily reflect the actual condition, value, and usage of the individual IT asset.
E. When the Hardware Content Service Lifecycle data reports the asset is nearing end-of-life: This is also too specific, for the same reasons as option D. References:
1: Hardware Asset Retirement
2: Hardware Asset Policy
3: Hardware Asset Disposal
4: Hardware Content Service Lifecycle
