In this era where we are entirely dependent on the IT infrastructure to perform most of our business operations and IT assets are the backbone of our organizations, managing the IT assets becomes a pain for all of us. Improper asset management results in a waste of resources, limited asset availability, financial losses, and lots more. To deal with this, organizations must manage and track their assets and whether they are being used correctly or not. Effectively controlling these assets is only possible with the help of a proper IT asset management system.
In this article, we will briefly overview the five major problems that could be avoided using an efficient IT Asset Management Solution. However, before discussing the system’s benefits for an organization, let us understand the definition of an IT asset management system.
Definition – IT Asset Management
IT asset management (ITAM) manages and keeps track of all IT assets, including hardware, software, and network devices. Using a proper IT asset management system can help the organization in reducing costs, minimizing the risks of system failures, analyzing the data, and keeping track of asset utilization.
In addition, it will help the organization design an efficient asset lifecycle, monitor all the IT assets from a single place, and ensure there is no wastage of resources.
The Benefits of an IT Asset Management System
Improved Compliance
Organizations must put in so much effort to ensure compliance with asset management. Still, with the help of an asset management system, it becomes straightforward to ensure compliance with the licensing agreements and regulatory requirements and keep track of the license consumption, along with that notify you if there is any breach so that you can save yourselves from any fines or legal actions that could be charged due to the violations. In addition, it would ensure an automated process so the organization can achieve 100% compliance.
Cost Saving
Deploying an IT asset management system in your organization will save money and reduce the wastage of resources by keeping track of the existing items in the inventory so that you don’t end up unnecessarily buying new assets. In addition, it will help you determine which assets are being used inappropriately and inefficiently.
It would allow organizations to ensure timely repair and maintenance of the assets to reduce the chances of costly downtime. In addition, by using it, organizations could reduce software licensing costs by identifying the users’ needs.
Better Risk Management
Organizations need to identify and mitigate risks associated with IT assets. But managing all the licenses used by various organization departments for multiple purposes becomes very tough and time-consuming, putting you at risk.
Here, the IT asset management system comes to your rescue with its software license management tool, which enables the organization to keep track of its licenses, contracts, and software usage and keeps the organization away from any risk. It also keeps you updated on any contract expirations and renewals to ensure the smooth working of the organization.
Improved Asset Tracking
Keeping track of all the assets being used in an organization is essential for various reasons, and the IT asset management system does that for you with zero effort. It keeps track of all your IT devices, checks the IT assets available in your inventory, and records which user is using what all purchases, how they are being used, and at what capacity.
In today’s remote working world, tracking assets used at various locations has become more challenging. ITAM system does that for you by maintaining a proper record of the purchases and reducing the risk of lost or stolen assets and the cost of replacing them.
Enable Faster Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR)
Mean time to resolve is the time taken to completely resolve a system breakdown which includes the time taken to detect the failure, diagnose the issue and then determine the problem to ensure that the system is working at its full functionality and making sure that the breakdown doesn’t take place in the future.
It also helps the organization if the customer faces some IT issue and raises a service ticket. In such cases, relevant IT assets could be associated with the request to ensure faster problem resolution. It also helps minimize downtime, allows the IT team to work efficiently, and enables the users to continue their tasks without wasting time and resources.
Wrapping up
With an IT Asset Management System, you can get numerous benefits to your organization, including improved governance, better visibility over IT assets, saved costs, faster mean time to resolution, proper management of the IT assets, financial accountability, lower risk, achieving compliance, etc.
In addition, by tracking IT assets, organizations can reduce the wastage of resources, get better control and visibility over their IT assets, and ensure that their assets are secure and compliant. It would result in improved overall efficiency and productivity of the organization.
With the increasing support of technology in organizations, adopting an IT Asset Management Solution is essential for organizations of all sizes to work at their total efficiency. It will minimize unnecessary expenses, allowing the organizations to manage their IT services better and ensure that the organization keeps growing, is competitive, and succeeds.
-by Nilay Nagori