What is IT Asset Management?
More companies are implementing technologies to succeed, regardless of their industry. Multiple devices and services, such as computers, mobiles, and IoT—related software, are used daily, making it challenging for the IT personnel to keep track. Most companies don’t have a system that tracks and manages their IT assets.
But with the ever-changing technological landscape, especially in large—scale companies, determining which software and tools are worth the investment can be tricky. Additionally, information concerning the owned assets and their usage are questions that only IT asset management can answer.
IT asset management involves taking stock of the assets in the company’s hardware, software, and information form. Then, with a complete understanding of the resources, you can formulate strategies to fulfill your preset business goals. Implementing software asset management with Zluri is to bolster a company’s growth and reduce foreseen and unforeseen risks.
Five reasons why IT asset management is needed
There are multiple benefits that a company can enjoy when they have an IT asset management system in place. Some of the reasons why IT asset management should be given importance are:
1- Cybersecurity vulnerabilities that can arise due to improperly managed assets
If you cannot track the hardware and software assets in your network, then that implies that you are unaware of what’s happening within your network. In addition, managing multiple devices at once can be overburdening for the IT department and will undoubtedly impact their efficiency. An IT asset management system can keep everything running smoothly and avoid data breaches and other threats to the company.
2- Obsolete assets can negatively impact workflows
If your employees do not know what assets are available, they will react negatively. Furthermore, obsolete equipment can cause breakdowns in essential applications and hamper customer experience. Tracking asset lifecycles and figuring out which ones need upgrades or replacement can improve productivity within the company.
3- IT asset management reduces waste and provides an honest overview
An effective IT asset management system can provide information about the assets in use and their use cases. Doing this will help companies save money by avoiding unnecessary purchases and limiting licensing and support only those costs that add value to the company.
As the data and assets increase, they can be tracked easily by different people in different places. Asset management can calm the chaos and provide IT leaders with the insights they need to change the company.
4- IT asset management can be crucial for regulatory compliance
You will find it challenging to comply with industry regulations if you don’t have a comprehensive IT asset management process. If you don’t have a clear picture of the assets within your company, it can be assumed that you have sufficient data stored about people. If you don’t conduct IT audits frequently, you could face a compliance violation attached with a hefty fee.
5- Being unaware of your points of failure
You may have a reliable and stable network where customers and employees can access the resources they need from your IT assets. But without a proper map of your network infrastructure, you may not know the areas where the system is failing and the method to fix them to keep the business running normally.
What are the best practices for IT asset management?
The methods of managing IT assets keep changing as per the requirement. But, some standard practices that you can follow for the same are:
1- Create an IT assets inventory
Assessing your IT assets is the first step toward having a robust IT asset management process. Analyze and records your assets and create a well—organized inventory. Take all IT aspects into consideration, such as cloud assets, data centers, computers, etc., to properly understand your resources. You can use IT asset management software to track your inventory and record new entrants and related information.
2- Prioritize your inventory
After creating an inventory, you need to consider the level of importance it requires. For example, different IT equipment or information pieces may not be the topmost priority within the company. But you need to be aware of those aspects that generate revenue for your company and reduce risks. You can also find those IT assets that no longer serve their purpose and eliminate them from the system. Your priority could be software, hardware, or information, but you need to set priorities for each item in your inventory moving forward.
3- Track the right metrics continually
IT asset management should be a valuable part of your IT department. It is not a one—time thing. You should constantly monitor the IT assets of the company to boost efficiency in operations. Then, depending on your goals and objectives, you can put those metrics into work that will fulfill them and continuously track them so your business operations don’t steer off the course.
4- Implement necessary solutions
Getting a broad view of the IT assets can help you highlight those areas within the company suited for automation or outsourcing. Also, you need to update processes, ensure that the data of your customers are protected, and save yourself from violation fees. If done manually, there are more chances of errors. So it is best to outsource the process and provide existing employees with other functions at the core of the business.
5- Change is the only constant
As technological changes and amendments are made quickly in today’s digital age, you should prepare your business on how to act. IT asset management is a proactive solution to address asset changes and appropriately track needed metrics.
In conclusion to IT asset management
IT asset management is a must-have process for all companies, big or small, for their development. But unfortunately, few companies still rely on the old forms of asset tracking or don’t feel the need to use one. For those embracing this new technology, you can be assured of many benefits, such as improved workplace efficiency. But before you start scanning for an IT asset management software, you need to evaluate why you need to improve your approach to IT asset management.
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