Asset Refresh - Useful Life

[Vartika Srivas2]

Hi Experts,

I would like to understand what should be the ideal way to get Useful Life updated in Models. Since the Asset refresh uses the "Eligible for refresh" and "Useful life" field values, I want expert comments on the usage of this particular field - "Useful Life". Also, in case the customer cant provide this value, what should be the best way forward?

[Community Alums]

What do you mean by ideal way to get Useful Life updated ? Generally customer decide/provide useful life for Models. I have seen most customers blindly saying 3 years for all End User Devices model. Some customers provide Model specific Useful Life.  Anyway this has to be updated on each Model. We can either manually update it or run  a Fix script to update this field.

[Ashok Sasidhara]

If you are using HAM pro, the 'hardware model lifecycles' related list will be populated by the content service with end of life information for most of the models. The field details are explained in following URL:

https://docs.servicenow.com/en-US/bundle/vancouver-it-asset-management/page/product/hardware-asset-m...

You can make use of the value in 'Phase start date' for lifecycle phase=end of life to automatically calculate & populate the remaining useful life in months by configuring some business rule. But make the field editable for model managers and/or asset managers so that they can change the value for certain models if required. 

[Amarjeet Pal]

Hello @Vartika Srivas2 ,

The "Useful Life" field in ServiceNow models typically refers to the expected lifespan of an asset, or the period of time during which it is expected to be useful. This value can be used in conjunction with other data points such as maintenance costs, depreciation, and refresh eligibility to help organizations manage their assets more effectively.

In terms of updating the "Useful Life" field for models, there are a few potential approaches. One approach could be to work with the customer to gather information about their assets and determine what a reasonable estimate for useful life might be based on factors such as industry standards, asset type, and historical performance. Another approach could be to leverage external sources of data such as manufacturers' specifications or third-party research to determine average useful life estimates for specific types of assets.

If no specific value can be determined for the "Useful Life" field, it may still be possible to use other data points (such as refresh eligibility) to manage assets effectively. However, having accurate information about an asset's expected lifespan can help organizations plan for maintenance schedules, refresh cycles, and overall asset management more effectively.

Hope you got all the information needed.

Thanks,

Amarjeet Pal