Asset management on its own is already important enough, but throw IT in there and suddenly it’s important and culturally relevant!
Why Worry about IT Asset Management?
Basically the important things to know right away are:
- the IT department has several sectors, including financial, contractual, and inventory functions
- there is actually a way to cut costs and monitor all of these functions.
What is ITAM?
Information Technology Asset Management is a way to keep track of all of the functions within the IT department. A company has to deal with hardware and software, and managing the former tends to be a bit more involved.
With software, all a company has to do to keep track of licenses, versions, and installed endpoints. Sounds easy enough – for the IT department at least!
Managing hardware, however, is more difficult. Unlike software, hardware is not stationary. That is, unlike its fluffier component, it moves from place to place within the company. As a result it tends to be harder to keep tabs on it.
That’s where ITAM come into the picture. ITAM tracks the hardware components from beginning to end. It is obvious why an asset management system, which tracks a company’s assets thoroughly, would be an important function of the program. By keeping track of both hardware and software from the time of the company’s acquiring of it, the ITAM could cut out expensive and time-consuming tracking procedures later from the equation.
Who is Affected by IT Asset Management?
ITAM is a fairly “invasive” process. For starters, there is the obvious training needed for people who use technology within the company. Since that list includes everyone – including the custodian using the company Wi-Fi – then it is an important level of training.
The other obvious “infiltration” is at the IT level – which honestly seems like less of an invasive procedure and more of an obvious step. Yes, the IT department should be aware of the company’s Information Technology Asset Management program.
The budget analyst is among the list of “people who will be affected by ITAM.” So companies should let their budget analyst know for the purposes of redeployment.
Finally, finance managers need to provide their invoices for ITAM. By keeping all IT invoices filed together, the company can better analyze costs in this area.
Why Is It Helpful?
ITAM helps a company in a variety of ways. It can help with cost-cutting measures by seeing where a company can save money either by eliminating unnecessary purchases or enhancing already owned assets to save money and time in the long run.
Most importantly, however, ITAM gives a company the resources to track the efficiency of their IT department by analyzing risk/reward payoff with their hardware and software as well as developing and upholding policy for the department itself.
All told, it seems that ITAM provides a solution to an oft-overlooked problem within company management. Most companies don’t recognize the value of IT Asset Management until after it has been implemented. Are you ready to give it a try? Could your company benefit from ITAM? Let’s start a conversation in the comment section below!
Judith Collins specializes in IT Asset Management issues. She often advises small to medium business on how to better track their technology hardware and software. In fact, she regularly makes recommendations about ITAM software on this blog. While she hasn’t personally investigated all the ITAM software options out there, Judith does have an extensive network of fellow ITAM enthusiasts.
