Device lifecycle management: what it means for IAM teams

TL;DR: Device lifecycle management is presented as the way enterprises plan, provision, maintain, and retire diverse endpoints across mobile and IoT estates, but the article also exposes how device history, access control, and decommissioning now intersect with broader identity governance, according to Zluri. The real issue is that lifecycle discipline only works when ownership, entitlement, and disposal are treated as one control plane, not separate IT chores.

NHIMG editorial — based on content published by Zluri: Lifecycle Management Device Lifecycle Management - A Guide for 2026

By the numbers:

• NHIs outnumber human identities by 25x to 50x in modern enterprises.
• Only 20% have formal processes for offboarding and revoking API keys, and even fewer have procedures for rotating them.
• Only 5.7% of organisations have full visibility into their service accounts.

Questions worth separating out

Q: What breaks when device lifecycle management is not tied to identity governance?

A: When device lifecycle management is isolated from identity governance, organisations lose the ability to prove who used the device, what access it carried, and whether retirement actually removed trust.

Q: Why do device retirement and identity offboarding need to happen together?

A: They need to happen together because a retired device can still hold data, tokens, or local access paths that remain usable after IT thinks the asset is gone.

Q: How do organisations know whether device provisioning is actually enforcing least privilege?

A: They know it is working when the device image, installed applications, local privileges, and assigned access match the user’s role and are reviewed as part of governance.

Practitioner guidance

• Link device records to access records Connect asset inventory, user assignment, and entitlement data so provisioning and retirement are visible in the same governance workflow.
• Make decommissioning a controlled exit gate Require evidence of data wiping, account removal, and trust revocation before a device is marked retired or reassigned.
• Audit IoT devices separately from laptops and phones Classify IoT assets as a distinct lifecycle population because their firmware, connectivity, and retirement risks do not match standard endpoint handling.

What's in the full article

Zluri's full article covers the operational detail this post intentionally leaves for the source:

• The five-stage device lifecycle model with practical examples for planning, procurement, provisioning, maintenance, and decommissioning.
• The mobile device lifecycle section covering remote work, mobility constraints, and security controls for smartphones and tablets.
• The IoT lifecycle discussion showing how connected devices create different monitoring and firmware risks than standard endpoints.
• The Jamf integration walkthrough and setup steps for organisations using Zluri in device operations.

👉 Read Zluri's guide to device lifecycle management for 2026 →

Device lifecycle management: what it means for IAM teams?

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