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Computerworld - Managing IT assets shows up on most CIOs' priority lists. Less clear, even to many of those same executives, is what managing one's IT assets means. It's cited as a solution when a company faces a crisis such as Y2k or offensive materials in the workplace, or when software license compliance audits are at issue. But it disappears once the immediate crisis is averted.
IT asset management centrally controls a company's IT assets across their entire life cycle, from budgeting and planning to end of life. There are two pieces to IT asset management software: autodiscovery, which provides detailed physical information about installed hardware and software, and the repository, which adds financial and contractual details. The two components can be purchased separately or together. In combination, you can have a holistic view of every asset in the enterprise. In addition, you need well-designed business processes across the life cycle, including purchasing and day-to-day operations.
There are many IT asset management products on the market, from low-cost point tools that focus on a narrow subset of data to complete products that provide comprehensive, fully unified data; support for processes throughout the life cycle; and business-reporting functionality. An organization can pay anywhere from $5 to more than $100 per seat. Which product you choose will depend on what you hope to accomplish, but there are several considerations:

• The sum is greater than the parts: A partial picture of your enterprise is often no better than none. Strive to be comprehensive by including all platforms such as Macintosh, Unix and Linux.


• Get the real deal: Organizations are often tempted to use asset data from existing systems management tools, but they don't have the actionable information required by business users. If business users' needs aren't met, this will become another unfulfilled IT initiative.


• Ensure that the data is truly unified for a single view of the physical, contractual and financial attributes of the asset.

When done well, IT asset management provides the following:

• Significant improvement in the return on technology investment.


• Maximum operational efficiency and end-user productivity.


• A tight link between technology and the corporate strategy.

Benefits include greater accountability/control (very important in the era of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), enhanced network security and improved morale. Because technology is an integral part of every business unit, IT asset management adds value to the entire organization, for initiatives ranging from human resources "provisioning" (making sure an employee has the right IT tools for his job) to protection of sensitive corporate data, such as financial data or customer lists. As such, the mosteffective asset management programs involve every department in the company.
Finally, look for a vendor that has deep, proven technology, can provide help with best practices, can fully support you after the sale and can tailor a solution to your specific needs.
Ron Nabors is senior vice president and and chief marketing officer at Tangram Enterprise Solutions Inc. Tangram is a provider of automated IT asset management software and services for large and midsize organizations.

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