YSU Computers: Exceptions to Computer Replacement

What exceptions exist for computer replacement at YSU and how are those situations handled?

This article is designed to communicate how exceptions to the YSU ITS Computer Refresh program are handled. There are a number of situations that exist where a computer may need to be in testing or production environments past its expected replacement or end of life date. The following is a list of known situations with the procedure for securing them. 

Computer Replacement - Old Computer Time Extension

When a computer has past the expected replacement date (5 years on Windows computers, 6 years on Apple computers) and is being replaced with a new computer, there are times the employee may need some additional time having the old and new computer at the same time to make sure software is working as intended or to transfer data in a specific way. 

When this occurs:

1. IT Customer Services technicians will work with the employee through a Service Request and mark the old asset as "Needs Returned" in our database.
2. IT Customer Services technicians will communicate with the employee and set a reasonable time frame that the computer will be picked up and returned.
3. Once the testing or data transfers have been completed, the employee will work through the Service Request and IT Customer Services will pick up the old computer and process it for decommission and eventual disposal. 
4. NOTE: While there is no hard date for removal, it is important for the employee to work with IT Customer Services and make continual progress for the eventual removal. If the time goes above and beyond set expectations with little to no communication, escalation may occur through the department and device removal will be expedited. In addition, if the Operating System is no longer patchable and the computer is connected to the campus network, it will be blocked from network access. 

Computer In Use - Past Support

When a computer is still required to be in testing or production environments and the expected replacement date has passed, an exception needs to be made and agreed upon with ITS. 

When this occurs: 

1. IT Customer Services managers and the computer owner need to review the reasons for keeping the computer in production.
   • The review should be a written set of requirements which can be reviewed by the manager and ITCS Engineers.
   • If there are reasonable ways to use a new computer to replace the old computer, those options should be discussed for feasibility as newer hardware is generally easier to maintain and support from both a YSU IT perspective and a vendor perspective. 
2. If the above step reveals there is currently not a way to replace the computer without losing critical services it provides, an exception will be made to keep the old computer in production. 
3. The computer owner and ITS will work together with IT Security to identify how the Past Support computer will be maintained and by who, how repairs will be handled (if required), and long term plans for eventual replacement. 
   • Maintenance on older computers may require YSU ITS, 3rd party companies or the computer owner to do work in order to keep the computer working. This will need agreed upon by YSU ITS and the computer owner's department chair or manager. 
   • If there are required repairs, who and how they are paid for should be decided and agreed upon by ITS and the department financial manager. 
   • Long term feasibility plans need created by the computer owner and ITS for the eventual removal of the computer, even if they are many years away. These plans are required to assist in making fiscally responsible decisions for the future.