IT teams regularly perform a set of tasks to keep computing equipment up to date and aligned with user and business requirements. These tasks, often referred to as Installs, Moves, Adds, and Changes (or IMAC), can range from small alterations, like upgrading a single network switch, to large and involved projects, such as decommissioning servers in one location and recommissioning and configuring them in another. IMAC is a general term for any routine or ongoing tasks performed on enterprise IT equipment – including computers, servers, switches, firewalls, wireless access points, gateways, and sometimes even software.
In organisations, MAC may be part of a larger IT asset lifecycle management initiative. In this context, the term is often expanded to IMACD (Installs, Moves, Adds, Changes, and Dispose) or even MAC (Moves, Adds, and Changes) to encompass the full spectrum of equipment handling.
(It’s important to note that in this context, IMAC should not be confused with Apple’s computer technology.)
This blog post will delve into IMAC services, explaining what they are, breaking down each component, highlighting their key benefits, and showing how they streamline your IT operations.
What is IMAC?
The acronym IMAC stands for Install, Move, Add, and Change. It refers to a framework of IT infrastructure management services designed to handle the ongoing physical and logical changes within an organisation’s IT environment. These services are crucial for maintaining an agile, efficient, and up-to-date IT landscape, addressing the constant evolution of hardware, software, and user needs.
Essentially, IMAC provides a standardised and often outsourced approach to managing the physical aspects of Asset Lifecycle Management, from their initial deployment to their eventual decommissioning. It ensures that these common, yet critical, tasks are performed efficiently, accurately, and with minimal disruption to business operations.
Breaking down the stages of IMACD
To truly understand the scope and value of IMAC services, let’s break down each component:
- Install: This refers to the deployment of new IT hardware and/or software. It involves the physical setup of new equipment, such as servers, workstations, network devices, or peripherals, and the installation and configuration of operating systems, applications, and drivers.For a large enterprise, this could mean deploying hundreds of new laptops to a new branch office, setting up a new server rack in a data center, or rolling out a new software suite across the organisation.
The “Install” phase ensures new assets are ready for use, integrated into the existing network, and configured according to organisational standards. - Move: This component deals with the relocation of IT assets from one physical location to another. This could be as simple as moving a workstation from one desk to another within the same office, or as complex as relocating an entire server rack between data centers, or moving an entire department to a new building.
The “Move” service ensures that equipment is safely de-cabled, transported, re-cabled, and re-connected at the new location, with minimal downtime and data integrity maintained. - Add: “Add” services involve integrating new components or functionalities into an existing IT setup. This might include adding more RAM to a server, installing a new hard drive, connecting a new peripheral device (like a printer or scanner) to a workstation, and permissions on a network. It’s about expanding or enhancing current IT infrastructure to meet evolving demands without disrupting existing operations.
- Change: This refers to modifications or upgrades made to existing IT hardware or software configurations. Examples include firmware updates, upgrading an operating system (like a Windows 11 migration for enterprises), patching software, replacing a network card, reconfiguring server settings, or updating security protocols. “Change” services ensure that modifications are executed precisely, consistently, and with proper documentation, minimising the risk of errors or compatibility issues.
- Dispose or De-Install (we prefer the term de-install): Often overlooked, the “De-Install” component is crucial for proper IT asset disposition. This involves the systematic removal of decommissioned equipment from its current location. Beyond removal, it frequently includes essential services like secure data destruction (e.g., hard drive wiping or shredding) to ensure sensitive information cannot be recovered.
For comprehensive and secure handling of retired IT assets, consider our IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) Service.
Benefits of IMAC
Outsourcing IMAC services offers significant advantages for System Integrators and their clients, allowing IT departments to operate more strategically and efficiently.
- Optimised Resource Allocation: By entrusting the logistical and technical demands of IMAC tasks to external experts, internal IT staff are freed from routine, time-consuming activities. This allows your highly skilled team to decrease their workloads related to hardware deployment and management, enabling them to focus on higher-value activities such as solution architecture, strategic planning, client engagement, and innovation.
- Cost Efficiency and Predictability: Outsourcing IMAC services lead to significant cost savings. You avoid the need to maintain large, specialised internal teams for fluctuating demands. Instead, you pay for services as needed, turning fixed costs into variable ones. This allows organisations to realise substantial savings compared to managing these tasks internally, with costs becoming more predictable and easier to control.
- Enhanced Project Speed and Minimal Disruption: IMAC service providers specialise in these operations, possessing the expertise, tools, and processes to execute tasks quickly and efficiently. This means projects happen rapidly, with minimal disruption to your day-to-day business activities. New hardware deployments, office moves, or system changes are completed within strict timelines, ensuring business continuity.
- Improved Accuracy and Compliance: Professional IMAC providers follow standardised procedures and best practices, ensuring that installations, moves, additions, changes, and de-installations are performed accurately and consistently. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures that all work adheres to industry standards and regulatory compliance requirements, especially for data destruction and recycling.
- Comprehensive Asset Tracking and Control: IMAC service providers implement robust procedures and systems to help you track all contracts, device SLAs, milestones, contract start and end dates, node names, IP addresses, and many other attributes. This meticulous record-keeping provides unparalleled visibility and control over your entire IT asset lifecycle, aiding in auditing and strategic planning.
- Scalability and Flexibility: The demand for IMAC services can fluctuate dramatically. Outsourcing provides the flexibility to scale resources up or down rapidly based on needs, without the overhead of hiring and training temporary staff. This ensures you always have the right number of skilled personnel available when and where you need them.
A practical example of IMAC services
Imagine a growing financial services firm that needs to open three new branch offices simultaneously across different cities.
Each office requires 50 new workstations, network equipment, and a local server, all pre-configured with specific software images and security settings. Additionally, they need to decommission legacy equipment from two existing, smaller offices and ensure all data is securely wiped.
Without IMAC services, the internal IT team would face a massive logistical challenge: procuring hundreds of devices, staging them, coordinating shipments, sending technicians to multiple remote sites for installation, and then managing the secure de-installation and disposal of legacy hardware. This would consume months of their time, divert resources from critical security updates or new application development, and likely incur significant travel costs and potential delays.
With outsourced IMAC services, a specialised provider steps in. They handle the procurement and staging of all new equipment, pre-loading software images. They coordinate the logistics for shipping to each new branch. On the scheduled day, their skilled service engineers are on-site at all three new locations for installation, and simultaneously at the two old locations for de-installation, including certified data destruction and environmentally friendly recycling.
The client’s internal IT team receives real-time updates and can focus on ensuring network connectivity and user training, knowing the physical deployment is expertly managed. This ensures the project happens quickly, with minimal disruption, and within a predictable budget.
Conclusion: From Install to De-Install
In an era where IT complexity continues to grow, efficient management of your infrastructure’s physical lifecycle is more important than ever. IMAC services provide a strategic solution for organisations looking to optimise their IT operations, reduce costs, and free up their internal teams for more impactful work. By entrusting the installation, movement, addition, changes, and de-installation of IT assets to specialised providers, businesses can ensure these critical processes are handled with precision, speed, and compliance.
Total IT Global offers comprehensive IMAC Services designed to assist you with every facet of your IT asset lifecycle. Our skilled service engineers and project managers are highly experienced in delivering the most effective methods for installing, moving, adding, changing, and de-installing a full range of IT equipment.
We ensure that your projects are delivered with minimal disruption to your day-to-day activities, and with costs under control and predictable. Partner with Total IT Global to streamline your IT infrastructure management and empower your IT team to focus on what truly drives your business forward.
