One of the major functions of the IT department is to improve processes within the enterprise. At times the IT department can be overwhelmed with the “improving business processes” work leaving itself vulnerable to being left behind in the technology stakes. In addition, in their effort to improve processes the IT department can itself lose track of what purchases have been made and management can have difficulty measuring the value to the company of IT asset purchases.
In effect the IT department can become bogged down focusing on the needs of today and have no space to plan for tomorrow. Because of this software manufacturers have developed sophisticated software tools to assist IT departments to better manage their assets. For the IT asset management team to function at its peak it is imperative that the IT department be well equipped with quality equipment suitable to the purpose along with relevant policies and procedures to ensure control and maximum utilization of IT assets.
IT asset management gives the entity a much clearer view of the value or worth of an asset. It will for example give management a much clearer indication of how IT assets affect business processes and of course how they affect the bottom line. IT asset management encompasses all IT assets throughout their lifecycle, from production to end of life. It gives a much greater degree of control over costs, compliance obligations and overall performance of the business entity. By effectively managing IT assets entities gain the best return & therefore return on their investment as well as improved output from staff and IT equipment, reduced costs and improved security. In addition it allows the business to better align systems and procedures to company goals, it helps increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the IT department, it simplifies compliance with government, industry and legal requirements, it can be used as a predictive tool to monitor environmental changes and how they will affect business, it helps reduce system maintenance, administration and inventory management costs. In effect a well governed, well utilized and supported IT team with quality up to date equipment can improve efficiencies in an entity to such an extent that the initial (depreciable) capital outlay can be returned in as little as 12 months.
Challenges: IT assets can be out of date or underfunded; they can be located in disparate zones of a large (or even not so large) business entity with little or no integration between them. These issues can result in the loss or reduction of many of the above benefits to an entity therefore affecting both the Return on Investment negatively and most importantly the bottom line. To maximize ROI and the bottom line a company needs clear visibility of all the IT assets. IT assets purchased need to be integrated with the entities other IT assets or if purchasing complete new IT systems the assets should be standardized. Deployment should only be made to those who can use them to their best advantage. It is also important to keep the new technology up to date.
IT asset management covers a wide variety of functions, for example it covers purchasing, inventory, financial management and of course IT. In the management of IT assets the following needs to be considered; the best asset (s) for the entity should be evaluated and the most advantageous asset (s) should be selected, the how, who and where needs to be ascertained over the assets life, likewise maintenance and administration needs to be established.
It is important to know what you will need – what products, services and/or features will be required, what aspects of the new technology will need to be integrated, what the cost is and where the funds are coming from, whether to operate the assets in house or out sourced and whether the company is truly ready for an ITAM solution because they can be invasive – intruding on in most cases all departments.
SPICEWORKS
A community of IT pros, educational content, product reviews and free apps like Help Desk, Inventory & Network Monitoring.
- Inventory all your hardware
- Get your license to… track
- Rein in your cloud services
- Report on everything
SNIPEITAPP
Snipe-IT is a free, open source IT asset management system written in PHP.
- Mobile-friendly for asset updates on the go
- Runs on any Linux, Windows or Mac web server
- Web-based software so it works on any device
- Slack notification integration for checkin/checkout
- Tons of security features to keep your data safe
- Includes a robust JSON REST API
- Translated into several languages for easy localization
- Per-user language support for distributed teams
- One-click (or cron) backups
- LDAP login/user sync
SYSAID
SysAid is an IT service management solution that offers all the ITIL essentials. It’s everything you need for easy and efficient ITSM in a single tool.
- Hardware & Software Inventory Management
- Help Desk Integration
- Patch Management
- Monitoring
- CMDB
- Including remote control
- license management
- MDM
ASSETSONAR
AssetSonar is an IT asset management software that helps you track hardware and software assets, licenses, maintenance, audits, and more.
- Apps and Integrations
- Hardware Asset Management
- Software Asset Management
- Configuration Management
- Purchase Orders
- Inventory Management
IVANTI
Ivanti provides solutions for IT asset management, IT service management, endpoint security, supply chain management & more.
- lifecycle tracking
- Asset repository
- Product Catalog
- Cost and contract visibility
- Barcode Scanning
- Powerful asset data importing capabilities
- Vendor management
- Integrate with service management
- Cloud-based
LANSWEEPER
At Lansweeper we develop and support our software which builds and leverages an IT asset management system of record in any environment.
- Increase Visibility
- Boost Productivity
- Improve Security
- Cut Costs
MICROFOCUS
Micro Focus transforms your digital business with enterprise application software across DevOps, Hybrid IT Management, Security, Risk & Governance & Predictive Analytics.
- Hardware and software asset management
- Easy cloud chargeback
- Asset portfolio management
- Asset Manager browser
- Centralized contract management
- Financial view of each asset
CHERWELL
Cherwell IT Asset Management Software tracks and manages assets through a complete lifecycle supplying information that supports multiple ITSM processes.
- Service Integration and Management (SIAM)
- Multiple Inventory Sources
- Non-IT Asset Management
VALUEMATION
Valuemation is the software for company-wide IT and enterprise service management.
- Administer your IT assets over their entire lifecycle
- Procure new IT assets efficiently
- Ensure compliance at your company
- Administer your contracts professionally
- Manage your supplier relationships actively
TOPDESK
Register and track all your supporting departments needs with TOPdesk IT Asset Management software.
- Manage your assets with flexibility and control
- Pinpoint problems with ease
- See relationships between assets in one overview
CA
Transform digital business with CA Technologies, software and expertise to create a Modern Software Factory built on agility, automation, insights and security.
- Deliver business value. Reduce risks and costs.
- Maximize the value of your IT assets
- Streamline efficiency and responsiveness