Hardware warranty checks are very simple since vendors typically offer a way to recognize the device and verify it on their website automatically – that is, if you only have one warranty to review. If, let’s say, you need to run an IBM warranty lookup for a bunch of laptops, the process becomes complex and time-consuming.
You’d have to turn on each computer, browse the vendor’s website, and then copy that information to add it manually to your IT inventory. Or, to avoid this, you could manually enter all serial numbers from one device and repeat the rest of the process.
But what if we told you there’s a way to automate this so that the information appears in your inventory right when you add the asset?
Keep reading to find out!
How to do an IBM warranty check online?
If you opt to do this manually, you can check the IBM warranty of any given device on their website by following these steps:
- Visit the warranty section of the IBM Support page (you’ll need to be logged in to access).
- Enter the machine type and serial number (these details are usually found on a label on the device itself or in the system settings).
- Submit the information and review the warranty information.
As you can see, the steps are pretty straightforward. However, this might not be the most efficient option for IT asset managers overseeing multiple IBM devices.
How to automate IBM warranty lookup
To provide your organization with a robust Warranty Management plan, you’ll need to figure out how to automate warranty lookups.
Typing serial numbers and expiration dates by hand is inefficient, time-consuming, and prone to human error. A simple input mistake can mean thousands of dollars lost in fixes that the vendor should have performed rather than your company.
Now, you don’t need to overcomplicate this. Your IT Asset Management software should be able to solve this in the blink of an eye. And that’s precisely what InvGate Asset Management does.
You already have your unified IT inventory there, and by enabling a simple configuration, you can automatically populate the “Acquisition date” and “Warranty expiration” fields on your Lenovo IBM CIs’ profiles.
To enable this, just go to Settings >> Integrations >> Warranty APIs, click the icon to allow a new integration, and accept the confirmation message. After that, you need to insert the API key provided by the vendor and complete the rest of the requested fields.
Once you finish, save the configuration, and you’re all set!
Why do you need Warranty Management?
Caring about Warranty Management is essential to expanding your hardware return on investment (ROI) and keeping it fully operational.
Typically, IT support teams add the step of checking hardware warranties during the IT procurement process. This way, they can use this information later on during the different stages of the entire asset lifecycle.
Having the contract information as soon as you add an asset to your InvGate Asset Management inventory allows you to:
- Know that an asset is under warranty as soon as you receive a ticket informing of a malfunction so that you can contact the vendor to fix it and avoid spending your IT budget on that.
- Automate contract expiration alerts to receive notifications when warranties are about to end so you can decide whether to extend them.
- Create customizable dashboards and reports to monitor the contract due dates per month and the number of devices under warranty that have open tickets.
The ABC of Warranty Management
Key takeaways
Automating warranty checks is not only wise but necessary for IT asset managers since it gives them the ability to perform more comprehensive work. Plus, it can have a major impact on how you use your annual IT budget, because it saves you some bucks on fixes and lets you plan your investments on extended warranties.
And in the case of IBM (as well as Dell and Lenovo), you can do it in just a few seconds with InvGate Asset Management. With a simple API call, the tool automatically completes all your devices' acquisition and warranty expiration dates.
Want to give it a go? Request our 30-day free trial and see it for yourself!
