The first thing to do is to use your projector remote to access the menu of the projector. You can find the 'menu' button on the remote. Press it, and scroll down with the down arrow on the remote to the screen called 'Info'. This screen will list the total number of hours that the lamp has on it. The IT Department will want to know how many hours are on your lamp to figure out whether a lamp replacement is really necessary.
Just because your projector has the lamp indicator blinking on the front of the projector, or the screen message that pops up on your screen that says it is time for a replacement, these things don't mean that a replacement is necessary. Providing the IT Department with the number of hours on the lamp will make it easier for them to determine whether or not a lamp replacement is an immediate priority, or something to be planning for in the future.
In general, we are going to wait on bulbs that have fewer than 5000 hours on them.