Asset Management

Small to medium sized business have a lot of IT assets that are not recorded or logged. This results in disruptions when older assets start to fail due to lack or maintenance, and inefficiencies in how IT assets are assigned to users. Ultimately, attempting to manage your IT assets on an adhoc basis leads to an additional administrative overhead, reduced security, and more frequent disruptions to your business. This is why you need to implement IT asset management. IT asset management is the process of efficiently managing IT equipment throughout its lifecycle or period of ownership to maximize its value to the business.

Also known as “IT asset lifecycle management,” or just “asset lifecycle management,” ITAM is a framework for proactively and strategically managing the acquisition, usage, maintenance, and retirement of IT assets.

Smallworld IT helps you to implement IT asset management with simple tools and processes. Whether you want involvement in the process or you want to step back and let us handle everything, our solution is flexible and works around you. We place tamper-proof asset tags on your IT assets so that they can be more easily tracked and managed. Your IT assets will be added to a digital database which gives you greater visibility and control over them.

What are the stages of IT asset management?

• While many think that ITAM starts when an asset hits inventory, it actually begins from the moment the need for a new IT asset arises. Here are the five phases of ITAM and the requirements for each:
• Requisition: The requisition process begins when someone within a business submits a request to acquire new IT equipment. ITAM best practices include having a standardized, automated way for requests to be submitted and a pre-defined set of criteria against which requests will be evaluated and approved or rejected.
• Procurement: This phase is where the acquisition of IT assets takes place. Vendor selection, contract negotiation, financing procedures, and successfully bringing purchased assets into inventory are key aspects of IT asset management that come into play during this phase.
• Deployment: At this stage, IT equipment makes its way into use, whether that be in a data center, on a factory floor, or at an individual’s workstation. ITAM best practices involve using inventory management tools, equipment assignments, and specific “owners” and locations.
• Maintenance: Asset maintenance encompasses routine physical upkeep, software updates, and any needed repairs. Automated processes, supported by management tools, are the hallmarks of mature IT asset management systems for maintenance.
• Retirement: All IT assets eventually reach the end of their life and need to be taken out of use. Occasionally, equipment breaks down, but with good IT asset management practices in place, the cost of keeping aging assets is carefully weighed against the performance benefits of replacing them with more current technology.

What are the benefits of IT asset management?

• IT asset management brings several benefits:
• It helps organizations optimize resource allocation and make better technology investments, ensuring budget efficiency and avoiding unnecessary expenses.
• Secure and responsible decommissioning of IT assets ensures compliance with data and environmental regulations, protecting the organization’s reputation and financial well-being.
• Effective management enables organizations to maximize infrastructure potential, leading to better performance and cost-effectiveness.
• Through proactive planning, IT asset management streamlines workflows enhances productivity, and minimizes downtime, improving overall efficiency.