It's easy to get caught up in the latest software trends and forget about the physical components that make it all possible. Hardware—the tangible parts of our devices—forms the foundation of all computing systems. Without it, our favorite apps and programs would have nowhere to run. But what exactly is hardware? Do we have a definitive hardware definition? And how important is it?

No piece of hardware lasts forever. On the contrary, all hardware eventually deteriorates. That’s why it’s crucial to understand and manage each stage an asset goes through, from procurement to disposal. This journey is called the hardware lifecycle, and its management is known as Hardware Lifecycle Management (HLM).

Achieve better application performance with full-stack observability, gaining real-time insights to troubleshoot, optimize, and enhance user experience.

Learn how to use the Grok Debugger effectively for log parsing, with practical tips, debugging techniques, and pattern optimization.

Asset disposition, also known as asset disposal, is the process of removing or discarding assets that are no longer of use to an organization. This process is an essential component of the asset management lifecycle, as it helps organizations free up space, reduce maintenance costs, and avoid the risks associated with holding onto obsolete or underperforming assets. Proper asset disposition ensures that an organization can maximize the value of its assets while minimizing potential liabilities.

An asset criticality assessment is an essential part of optimizing asset management strategies. By identifying which assets have the most significant impact on business operations, companies can allocate resources more efficiently, minimize downtime, and reduce costs. With tools like Asset Infinity, this process becomes streamlined, allowing businesses to conduct effective assessments that provide actionable insights into the health and importance of their assets.

Azure offers diverse cloud resources that empower businesses, but managing costs can be challenging without a clear view of expenses per resource. For organizations, understanding Azure costs per resource is essential to optimize spending, predict expenses, and make data-driven decisions. This blog will guide you through calculating and monitoring costs for individual Azure resources, using native tools like Azure Cost Management, and providing tips on reducing unnecessary expenses.

In September we introduced Authd, a new authentication daemon for Ubuntu that allows direct integration with cloud-based identity providers for both Ubuntu Desktop and Server. At launch, Authd supports Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), making it a useful tool to centralize authentication for both the application and the infrastructure layer. In large enterprises system administrators often need to deploy and manage applications and their configuration at scale.

While ITOps and CloudOps teams manage distinct environments, they can both struggle to achieve the deep visibility required to maintain system performance. Let’s examine the barriers to visibility and how a unified observability solution can provide the insight teams need to keep operations running smoothly.

When your software powers productivity for millions of users, trust becomes your ultimate currency. Trust is earned through transparency, clear communication, and unwavering reliability—especially when disruptions occur. Microsoft learned this lesson recently during a significant outage that took down two of its flagship services: Outlook and Teams.