This May the 4th, we decided to seize the opportunity to depart from a typical discussion on the challenges of IT asset management and take you somewhere a little more fantastic.
In this blog, we’ll explore how IT Asset Managers (ITAMS) can reflect on the concepts and themes of Star Wars to better understand the importance of their role, refine their processes, and in some ways, save the world. So, grab your lightsaber, and let’s embark on this journey together.
“To be a Jedi is to be strong. To have power. To use that power for the greater good.” – Padmé Amidala
You might be thinking a comparison of IT professionals to Jedi Knights is a stretch.
Maybe, more often, they’re drawn to the work less by thoughts of heroism and more by the latest technology trends, or the job security of an increasingly online world, but you can’t deny that no matter their motivation, those in the field have an impact on global connectivity at its broadest and yet most basic levels, as well as influence over how we use some of the earth’s most precious materials, through the management of technology.
Because of how ITAMs operate, they’re required to understand and facilitate the hardware needs of entire organizations, not just departments. This requires foresight, agility, perception, and commitment to operating with transparency and fearlessness, even and especially when things go wrong, always acting in the best interests of the collective.
It is this commitment that stands out among heroes, no matter the story.
Still not convinced this is all related to that galaxy far, far away? Consider, the Force.
“The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi
Used by Jedis to perform incredible feats, the Force allows them to move objects with their minds, jump great distances and heights, sense the emotions of others, and even see into the future.
The instruments available to IT asset managers are varied, admittedly with fewer features than those mentioned above, but there is clear opportunity when aligned with the right tools. With these, teams can elevate individual capabilities, solve complex problems, and affect positive outcomes at scale.
And they can move assets with a mouse. Onepak’s ReturnCenter, which provides high-visibility circular economy hardware asset management and carbon-neutral transport, is just one example of an available resource that not only supercharges an ITAM’s capabilities, but also addresses the primary concern of technology management today.
That concern is that by 2050, the amount of electronic waste created globally per year is expected to reach 120 million metric tons, equivalent to the weight of 20 million elephants, the size of 18,000 soccer fields or if stacked in a single pile, taller than Mount Everest. Generated every 12 months.1
That brings us to the Dark Side.
“Beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny” – Obi-Wan Kenobi
This is the Dark Side and the reality of the mismanagement of technology resources, not only lacking in circularity, creating those literal mountains of e-waste, but also contributing to countless human rights violations and concerns mounting daily.
ITAMs themselves are not often associated with susceptibility to dark forces, outside of security risks, but it’s important to acknowledge the potential for any of us to give in to a different kind of dark side, one of fear, apathy, or a refusal to acknowledge the potential for positive change. Without the steady hand and wise judgment of an ITAM, how many assets would be lost to the dark (e-waste) side?
“Hope is like the sun. If you only believe it when you see it, you’ll never make it through the night.” – Leia Organa
To avoid dangerous complacency, we all must seek continuous improvement, embrace new ideas, and welcome all perspectives. Only then can we be assured we are moving in the right direction, towards hope.
By understanding their own immense power and the capabilities of the tools available, IT asset managers can not only transform how their teams find success but also shape organizational approaches to sustainability, circularity, and social justice.
In this way, they can become the Jedi of the technology world, using their skills and expertise to save the galaxy we share. May the fourth be with you.
