IT Asset Management Software

IT Asset Management - also known as IT Asset Lifecycle Management - is primarily a concept and framework for actively managing the valuable components of the IT infrastructure landscape throughout their entire lifecycle. Management of assets begins during the procurement phase and continues through production, use and maintenance to decommissioning at the end of the lifecycle.

It is important to distinguish ITAM from IT Operations Management (ITOM) and IT Configuration Management (CM). ITOM and CM focus on provision of services, management of relationships and dependencies between the components of the IT infrastructure, technical configuration and the optimization of performance during operation. ITAM, on the other hand, implements and automates all essential processes for managing complex asset inventories, from acquisition to disposal, and takes a more cost-oriented perspective. ITAM is an important component of IT infrastructure management that works in concert with ITOM/CM to fulfil all requirements.

Why IT Asset Management?

The sheer volume of IT assets requires a systematic way to manage them. While cloud computing means fewer elements of IT infrastructures are considered individual devices, the growth of IT in almost every industry cancels out the effect. Rather than less assets to manage, there are actually more because:

• new technologies are being adopted with new asset types
• IT devices are penetrating almost all workplace environments
• the perception is growing that wireless towers are assets
• IoT is driving a huge increase in connected devices in service
• “mission critical” private clouds are operated on an infrastructure of physical assets

All these factors contribute to higher asset counts and larger, more complex and diversified IT asset landscapes. They also make IT asset management a strategic success factor and necessary to minimize risk.

What is an IT asset?

Valuable IT assets can be both physical equipment (racks/EDP cabinets, servers, active and passive network devices, workplace terminals) and intangible components (software instances, software licenses, virtualized functions). A significant monetary value must be represented, and a concrete sequence of lifecycle phases must be relevant for an IT component to be managed as an asset. For example, a data center cooling double floor panel worth several thousand dollars with software-controlled actuators, fans and fully variable ventilation geometry, which is subject to regular maintenance intervals, is just as much an asset as an expensive server or a high-priced software license.

What lifecycle phases does ITAM cover and what functions does it fulfil?

IT asset management begins with demand planning and procurement. Here’s how it applies to each phase of the asset lifecycle:

• Demand and technology planning
  Checks asset types that are new and requested for the first time, new hardware models, or new software that has not been used before against predefined criteria to see if their use is target-oriented.
• Procurement
  Covers the selection of providers and suppliers, contract negotiation, and transfer of delivered assets to the inventory in a highly automated inventory process.
• Deployment and operation
  Preliminary planning of the asset’s deployment, equipping hardware assets with sub-modules, finding installation locations, controlling assembly and commissioning or close collaboration with the rollout procedures of software instances for the software assets, regularly updating operational status overviews and the documentation of the effects of changes, as well as updating the inventory management.
• Maintenance
  All physical maintenance work, software updates, repairs, and care and cleaning measures, including the optimized control of these processes and the workers involved.
• Shutdown/phase-out
  Timely warning of the end of manufacturer support (end-of-life) and the expiration of maintenance contracts, including controlling the dismantling.

What benefits does ITAM contribute to the management of IT infrastructures?

The main purpose of IT asset management is to consistently optimize the ROI of investments in IT infrastructure and to maximize the benefits of each asset.

Optimization and maximization occur from consistent reduction of the total cost of ownership (TCO).

Key contributors are:

• Better, more informed technology decisions
• Improved purchasing conditions
• Needs-based licensing (especially in software asset management)
• Optimization of maintenance with proactive and predictive upkeep to avoid and minimize downtimes
• Reduced lifecycle management process costs
• Optimized use of assets as resources
• Value recovery from the decommissioning of assets by reuse or sale
• Transparency also contributes to ROI optimization and benefits maximization by providing insight into asset details such as: location of each asset, responsibilities for each asset, operating conditions, and linking of accounting assets with real assets

ITAM means an individual asset never has to be searched for, and no research is required to determine its condition. Complex overall inventory processes can be reduced to the bare minimum or eliminated entirely.

Sustainability and future viability are also noteworthy benefits of ITAM. ITAM brings concrete and immediate cost benefits to phasing out IT assets at the end of their lifecycle. It can facilitate a second use for assets as reprocessed devices, expedite selling them, or optimize proper disposal. It also allows long-term sustainability goals from corporate governance to be supported effectively.

FNT IT Asset Management: Software accompanied by consulting expertise

Good consulting is essential for fast and sustainable success in IT asset management. FNT’s experts are happy to support you with guidance about asset management software or standardization options for both individual product portfolios and broader service management. Contact us to start the discussion!