ITAM - IT Asset Management
A wide range of different technology is in use in today’s modern business.
However, most companies don’t have a central record of their assets, often relying on the information logged within their finance system.
[Pro Tip – this is not an acceptable policy or method. It isn’t fool-proof as assets get written down and removed, even though the devices may still be in use.]
Imagine the scenario if you had suffered a break-in, flood or fire at your office?
- Can you identify everything your company owns and uses?
- Could you detail the items that may have been stolen or damaged for an insurance claim?
- Did you remember that piece of graphics software on that one device that cost a few thousand pounds?
- If asked, could you substantiate your claim with evidence that you owned the items you claim?
In another scenario, which following the COVID-19 Pandemic has become a reality for most companies, is that a wide range of company-owned IT equipment is now at people’s homes.
Again the same style of questions apply?
- Do you know who exactly has what?
- If you, as many companies did, shipped equipment direct to the staff member’s home, are you able to identify everything?
- When you have someone leave the company, do you know what they are due to return?
With the popular Windows 7 being replaced by Windows 10, many companies found that they needed to replace legacy devices with units that can support Windows 10. With the right asset management toolset and process, the ability to quickly identify hardware that needs replacing becomes easy!
IT asset management (ITAM) comprises practices and strategies for overseeing, managing and optimizing company-owned IT systems, hardware, processes and data.
Can you start to see that IT Asset Management isn’t just a nice-to-have but in today’s ever-changing technological workplace, crucial?
As you read this, we expect you are asking yourself questions like “where do I begin?”, “how can I get this process going” or “won’t this become an erroneous exercise that nobody wants to take ownership of?”
At GKS Consultants, we can help you define, organise, initiate and run your IT Asset Management process. With the use of established practices and strategies around IT Asset Management (ITAM), we can:
- optimise company-owned IT systems, hardware, software and processes
- assist with the implementation of methods to help track and maintain your IT assets
- assess whether IT assets require optimisation, upgrading or replacing (i.e. end of life)
What are the benefits of having a defined and robust IT Asset Management process?
- By capturing asset data you can maximise investment returns, minimise risk and drive increased business value
- Remove unnecessary asset purchases and give back control on IT stock management
- Make the best use of your current software resources by cutting the cost on software licensing and support costs
- Eliminate physical and financial waste
- Increase a company-wide understanding of the business value of their IT department
- Improve communications between IT and the rest of your business
- Enforce compliance with cybersecurity policies and regulatory requirements
- Administer compliance with licensing requirements while reducing spend on surplus licences
- Enhance productivity through proactive technical support
- Limit cost overheads of managing the IT environment, who are often seen as a cost-centre
- The ITAM system offers support to other ITIL processes by providing accurate information about the assets affected by an incident, problem or change
- Make organisations more agile by allowing for quicker and more accurate migrations, upgrades and company-wide changes
- Stolen or replaced hardware and software components instantly identifiable
- IT asset and configuration data can be critical in the aftermath of natural disasters and other unexpected events