Organizations today utilize numerous IT assets which are not only expensive to purchase, safeguard, and maintain but also depreciate and require constant updating and reconfiguring. Therefore, to maximize their value, they need to be managed proactively across their entire lifecycle. This is where an IT Asset Management solution comes into play.
But before we dive deep into the benefits of using IT Asset Management solutions for this, let’s understand what it actually means.
What is IT Asset Management (ITAM)?
IT Asset Management is the process of ensuring that an organization’s IT assets are deployed, managed, upgraded, and disposed of in such a way that maximizes the value that the organization can generate from them. According to a Gartner report, organizations that utilize ITAM solutions “usually achieve 30% cost savings in the 1st year and at least 5% cost savings in each of the subsequent 5 years”.
Historically, IT departments were able to control their IT assets, which were mostly hardware, using spreadsheets and basic database systems. They utilized manual stamps and data entry to track their usage and performance. However, today, the rapid rise of digitalization has led to the deployment of new IT assets, such as mobile devices, cloud infrastructure, servers, etc. Therefore, governing and managing these advanced IT assets to ensure data security, operational efficiency, employee collaboration, and compliance requires more advanced approaches – all of which involve the use of an ITAM solution.
Benefits of IT Asset Management Solutions
Let us now understand why an IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution is critical for organizations, such as yours.
1. Improve utilization, reduce risk, and eliminate wastage
Tracking the utilization of IT assets is key to ensuring its optimal performance. For instance, you need to know if the IT assets are being utilized by the right personnel, when the subscription of an IT asset expires, or which supplier is offering you the best deal for that IT asset. However, tracking the various types of IT assets, across multiple locations, being used by remote teams, and in real-time is easier said than done.
ITAM solutions enable organizations to track the location and performance of IT assets and maintain a historical log of their usage. It provides a centralized inventory repository that tracks:
- Financial data, such as purchase prices, upgrade costs, and ROI, etc.,
- Contractual data, such as expiration dates, warranties, support agreements, and terms and conditions, etc., and
- Physical data, such as location, user, and assignment, etc.
of all IT assets within the organization, across all locations, and in real-time.
2. Data security
Organizations of all sizes run the risk of cyberattacks in the forms of malware, phishing, DDoS, etc. simply due to the sheer number of users that access their internal data. Unsurprisingly, according to CXOtoday, there has been a 64.3% increase in investments into cybersecurity solutions since the start of COVID-19 – only second to remote work at 81%. This highlights how critical cybersecurity is for the C-Suite.
Elaborating on the points mentioned above, the ITAM solution also enables organizations to ensure strict adherence to a centralized IT asset utilization protocol. Any IT asset that is involved in breaking a set protocol can be identified in real-time. This heightened control enforces compliance with all legal and cybersecurity rules, reducing risk and improving the success rates of IT assets.
In addition, ITAM solutions offer a wide range of cybersecurity features that can be customized as per the needs of the organization. For instance, IT Asset Management solutions can ensure admin approval for third-party access to the database. This minimizes risks associated with unauthorized access and data breaches. Moreover, ITAM solutions can segregate data accessibility as per specific departments, designations, or offices to further safeguard their data.
3. Increase scalability
According to Kelsey Miller, a contributor to Harvard Business School Online, organizations looking to scale in the coming years are often limited by their internal management systems. Since they operate using systems that have limited scope to fit only their current requirements, they have to shift systems on-route to effective scaling. This adds to the cost and limits the ROI of growth – not to mention the resources spent on employee training.
A key benefit of having a streamlined ITAM solution is that it is conducive to organizational growth. In other words, an effective ITAM solution – like LEIDIT’S MyAssets IT Asset Management – grows with you. It utilizes cloud technology to manage ITAM data and processes centrally, which means that as you acquire more IT assets, you don’t need to replace the previous ITAM processes entirely. Moreover, it enables customizable processes right from the very first stage as per the required types and functions. This means businesses only need to pay for the services and features that they require. This further showcases how adaptable the ServiceNow IT Asset Management solution actually is.
4. Reduce costs
Historically, IT asset management involved manual processes using spreadsheets. This meant that the IT staff had to spend almost half their workday on updating the asset inventory by manually inputting details such as serial numbers, addresses, device location, a device used, etc. Unsurprisingly, this led to errors in reporting and tracking, which not only impacted the organization’s productivity and cybersecurity but also its bottom line.
ITAM solutions eliminate such costly, manual, and time-consuming ITAM processes. They enable automatic scanning, alerting, and reporting features that prevent overspending on and overstocking of specific IT assets that would otherwise not only increase expenses but also take up storage space, both of which a vast majority of organizations cannot afford. Moreover, such tracking also prevents misuse and theft.
Conclusion
Every organization today needs a rock-solid IT Asset Management solution. Think of it as a basic requirement in the digital age. Without it, effectively managing new and varied types of IT assets that are scattered over different locations would be next to impossible. Furthermore, the addition of new IT assets and constant regulatory changes would mean more manual work, decreased employee productivity, and lower ROI on IT investments. Therefore, it is critical that you choose an ITAM solution that can best enable your organization-wide policies and practices.
LEIDIT’s MyAssets, built on ServiceNow ITAM solutions is an integrated solution for asset management. We – at LEIDIT – have developed a solid proven roadmap of ITAM implementation, built on the asset tracking application – My Assets on the ServiceNow platform to provide comprehensive ITAM solutions to your organization.
