Your Go-To IT Preventive Maintenance Checklist

If your business is heavily tech-dependent, as many companies are, keeping IT assets working smoothly is a must. Otherwise, glitches or unplanned downtime can create a disruptive ripple effect that affects countless areas of operations. 

Below, you’ll find an exhaustive preventive maintenance checklist so that your maintenance team leaves no stone unturned. 

Comprehensive IT Preventive Maintenance Checklist by Category

Hardware

• Monitor the overall condition of equipment like desktops, laptops, mobile devices, and accessories while checking for damage
• Inspect cables, chords, and peripherals
• Check battery functioning
• Monitor heat levels and ensure there’s adequate airflow
• Clean dust that collects on keyboards, ports, vents, and other hardware components

Software

• Ensure software platforms are properly installed and configured
• Ensure software licenses are up-to-date
• Automate license updates
• Perform disk cleanup
• Periodically check for infrequently used software and consider eliminating those platforms

Cloud-Based Systems

• Keep track of how much storage you’re using and when you’re approaching the limit of your current plan
• Review system usage and identify platforms that could be either downsized or deleted for savings
• Monitor active accounts and delete employees who no longer require access to platforms
• Ensure you’re using audit logs and periodically review them during your maintenance check routine

Security 

• Set tight access controls and consistently review them to ensure employees have the bare minimum access
• Monitor employee accounts and permission levels
• Ensure security systems are up-to-date
• Perform routine penetration tests to proactively identify potential issues before cyber criminals can exploit them
• Ensure password policies are being followed

Data Backup

• Confirm that automated data backups are being routinely performed and are working correctly
• Have a well-defined data restoration plan in place
• Periodically review and test your data restoration plan
• Ensure there’s adequate storage to safely house your company’s data
• Confirm that robust data encryption is being used to protect sensitive information

Network Visibility

• Use IT asset lifecycle management to create a full inventory of all IT assets on your network
• Automatically sync new assets to your existing inventory
• Monitor the stage of every piece of equipment to ensure optimal performance and identify when aging assets need to be replaced or retired

Facilities Management

• Check air filters
• Check HVAC systems
• Monitor server room temperature
• Monitor humidity

What IT Preventive Maintenance Is and Why it Matters

For most businesses, there are a lot of moving parts involved with IT infrastructure.
From hardware to software to cloud-based systems to security and beyond, there are numerous assets that work interdependently. 

If there’s equipment failure or issues with digital platforms, it can create far-reaching problems. At best, this can negatively affect basic operational efficiency. At worst, it can lead to unexpected breakdowns, costly repairs, and prolonged downtime. 

And in some cases, it can result in reputational damage and even fines or penalties if compliance or security standards aren’t met.

That’s where preventive maintenance checks come in. They’re designed to proactively monitor all areas of your IT network through strategies like a planned maintenance schedule, hardware inspections, and audits to keep things running smoothly. 

Rather than being reactive, where you wait for problems to occur, a preventive maintenance checklist puts you in the driver’s seat, where your maintenance personnel stay on top of your IT network, identify risks, and resolve them to reduce the odds of major issues happening. 

Preventive maintenance matters because of how dependent many of today’s companies are on technology. With digital transformation often being the norm and businesses using IT assets for countless areas of operations, there’s an inherent risk that comes along with it. 

But by implementing regular maintenance and a PM checklist, you gain control of your IT network and can experience the following benefits:

• Better equipment performance
• Greater equipment reliability
• Less downtime
• A longer average equipment lifespan
• Increased security
• Increased compliance
• Better overall IT ROI

And it all starts with strategic preventive maintenance checklists. 

Essential Components of an IT Preventive Maintenance Checklist

Having success with preventive maintenance checklists requires more than simply creating a list of tasks. It needs to be highly structured and meet several key criteria. 

First, a preventive maintenance checklist needs to be standardized so that rules and procedures can be easily followed by different employees across different departments. 

For example, you’ll want to clearly define what IT assets require routine maintenance, which specific tasks are involved, what types of records should be kept, and so on. This should prevent confusion and help all departments collaborate more effectively. 

And when you make new hires, this should get them up-to-speed quickly. 

Next, there should be clear ownership with a preventive maintenance checklist. 

You should specifically state who’s responsible for what task and create a clear chain of command so there’s no guesswork, and you can ensure that each task is completed on time without exception. 

Third, there’s frequency, where you outline how often each task needs to be performed. For instance, you may state that laptop battery health should be checked every three to six months. 

Fourth, you should use consistent documentation, such as logging each maintenance activity and including who completed it, the date, and any notes. That way, there’s always a clear record, and you can reference a paper trail if issues arise. 

Note that you can save time with documentation by using preventive maintenance software to automate tasks. 

Fifth, be sure that your preventive maintenance checklist aligns with compliance and security standards. And if there are any discrepancies, take swift action to resolve them. 

The final part of IT asset management best practices is to define what success looks like with your ultimate preventive maintenance checklist and make ongoing refinements to optimize your maintenance strategy. 

Some examples of success metrics could be reducing your average amount of downtime, having fewer security incidents, and increasing the average equipment lifespan. 

Creating and Implementing Your IT Maintenance Schedule 

Once you’ve fine-tuned your preventive maintenance checklist and have established a frequency for each type of asset, it’s time to get your plan into motion. 

This typically starts with taking inventory of each IT asset in your network, including hardware equipment, software, cloud-based platforms, and anything else used in business operations. Also, don’t forget to include software licenses, as these will need to be routinely renewed. 

From there, we recommend breaking down different IT assets into categories in terms of maintenance frequency. A tiered system tends to work well, where you can prioritize different assets by the amount of attention they require. 

For instance, you may want to check critical data security systems quarterly, or even monthly if you’re in a high-risk industry. However, you may only need to check peripherals like printers and keyboards twice a year. 

Be sure that you assign clear ownership to each preventive maintenance task and create a work order that outlines the details for a maintenance technician. This serves as formal authorization and will assist in record-keeping. 

Automate what you can, with some examples including automatically syncing new equipment into your IT database and making automatic updates throughout the IT hardware lifecycle.

A great way to do this is by using a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS software), which drastically automates workflows.

Finally, create a centralized resource that outlines all of the information above and share it with everyone involved with the predictive maintenance process. And as changes are made over time, be sure to communicate them to key stakeholders to keep everyone in the loop. 

Streamlining the Logistical Complexities of Preventive Maintenance

As we’ve learned, there’s a lot that goes into preventive maintenance checklists. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or would like expert help with part of the process, consider allwhere as a solution. 

At allwhere, we offer a mix of IT asset management services and software and specialize in making IT lifecycle management hassle-free. Some of our core offerings include equipment procurement, deployment, management, storage, and retrieval. 

And with our user-friendly dashboard, you can keep a close eye on all of your assets from a single location. 

Get a full overview of how allwhere can help and get started today.