What is IT Asset Management? How ITAM can help IT Managers streamline asset lifecycle processes.

While Fredmund is delighted with the organization's success, the responsibility for meeting the additional demands of operational growth and expansion will exceed the capacity of his IT resources. He knows that unfettered growth is dangerous. Asset expansion means he needs tighter controls around procurement, onboarding, and management for all those assets.

Fredmund's current asset management "process" is to rely on Angela, the only one on his team with a solid grip on asset management. But she is retiring next month, and 25 years' worth of her critical knowledge will be gone. Angela has relied heavily on spreadsheets, just like 43% of enterprises, and there is a living catalog of licensing expiration dates and support contract coverage in her head. And yet somehow, she manages it all.

Does your company have a Fredmund? Or an Angela? Either way, you need to face the challenge of asset management long before an event prioritizes the investment for you. 

Are you looking for someone as capable as Angela to manage your company's assets? Maybe, like Fredmund, you have been looking through a stack of résumés . . . only to find that nobody is qualified.

What kind of hit will the organization take when a license lapses and impacts customer access to your online shopping or payment portal? Fredmund hates to be cynical, but his team knows as well as he does that with Angela gone, a company laptop or two may conveniently "disappear" – along with the company's proprietary designs. There are also security risks associated with forgotten assets that could invite vulnerabilities into his network.

Fredmund understands that managing a growing number of IT assets, with the constant flux of onboarding and offboarding, is nearly impossible with limited resources. He remembers his frustration when the software on his laptop failed. Tech support explained that his coverage expired, and he was forced to sign an expensive service contract to restore functionality. He shudders to think about the time and cost of that mistake repeated on a corporate scale.

Fredmund needs an IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution, or more specifically, an integrated ITAM that can serve as a comprehensive record system for the organization.

An integrated solution can track asset distribution, procurement orders, warranties, licensing, ownership, entitlements, support contracts, and end-of-life decommissioning. ITAM can make the organization more resilient against loss, unpredictable IT spending, and service interruptions by controlling and monitoring the entire asset life cycle.

Why is IT Asset Management essential for business?

Integrated IT Asset management is far more comprehensive than simply tracking assets; it is a holistic organizational accountability and resource strategy approach. If implemented and maintained correctly, ITAM offers high-level IT risk management that includes implementing processes around compliance policies, insurance coverage, detailed inventories, maintenance records, software licensing, and equipment conditions.

IT asset management is proactive and strategic; it can streamline processes and offer protection against redundant spending, long incident and resolution times, and wasted resources. Deploying assets within a single system-of-record, with integrated workflow for procurement, contracts, and lifecycle, makes good business sense. Knowing when support contracts and licensing agreements expire will protect against service disruptions, customer frustration, and downtime.

Now is the time to account for your IT spending and frantic asset distribution prompted by the pandemic. Take control. Verify what you have, where you have it, who is responsible for it, and then tether it to your network to maintain functionality. Navigate the mess by initiating a comprehensive asset inventory and creating a long-term strategy to maximize operational efficiencies and resources.

ITAM is not a one-time project. Make it part of your everyday business processes to maintain your functionality and protect your revenue streams.

How IT Asset Management Solutions help IT Teams

• Reduce cybersecurity risks
• Delineate asset responsibility and ownership
• Avoid service disruptions
• Save person-hours hunting for lost inventory
• Repurpose existing assets
• Knowledge around asset lifecycle

How IT Asset Management Solutions help Executives

• Predictable IT spend forecasting
• Avoid audit penalties
• Drive efficiency
• Visibility into inventory and security exposure
• Enforce compliance policies
• Better negotiating power with vendors
• Understand how assets impact business performance

Why TBC?

TBConsulting is a Managed Service Provider headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ. TBC is devoted to helping clients solve their technical and business pain points with IT and service delivery solutions. TBC's Integrated Asset Management solution offers comprehensive coverage and tracking for your entire suite of assets. Our team of experienced ServiceNow-certified engineers and architects developed this integrated solution with ServiceNow workflows, forms, and tables to manage the whole asset lifecycle from procurement to end-of-life.

TBC understands that properly run systems need the people and processes to drive the workflows and maintain peak performance. Our teams of business analysts and software developers provide best practice guidance on asset management and procurement management. Don't let lost devices, lapsed licenses, expired support contracts, and hidden inventory impact your productivity. Instead of reacting to issues caused by scattered and vulnerable resources, you can actively protect, budget, and deliver audit-worthy IT asset controls with TBC's Integrated Asset Management solution. Call us today to get a jump start on ITAM.