Every modern business is driven by information technology. It plays a vital role not only in facilitating operations and delivering services but also enhancing business value. So, it is natural that organizations invest in a variety of IT assets from smartphones and laptops to network equipment and servers.
This burgeoning investment in IT necessitates dedicated IT asset management so that organizations can get the most out of their investments. The growing realization of this need to manage IT investments is evidenced by the rapid growth of the IT asset management market, which is expected to reach $ 2.09 billion by 2025.
The IT asset management market is expected to reach $ 2.09 billion by 2025.
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In this blog post, we will dive into the topic of IT inventory and asset management, its importance, how it works, different types of asset management systems, and how to inventory IT assets.
What Is IT Inventory Management?
IT inventory management refers to the process of tracking and handling information technology devices throughout their lifecycle from sellers to warehouses to end users. The goal of IT inventory management is to make the most efficient use of the investment in devices by ensuring that the right device is in the right place at the right time.
IT inventory management consists of the following basic steps:
Purchasing
This refers to the process of ordering devices, including requisition requests and purchase orders, to be delivered to the warehouse or directly to the end user.
Warehousing
This refers to the process of storing devices in a warehouse for the purpose of distribution and includes physical security and insurance.
Shipping and Receiving
This refers to the process of shipping devices to end-users when needed as well as receiving procured devices from the sellers or devices returned by the end users.
Why Is Inventory Management Important?
IT inventory is an important asset that needs to be optimally balanced. On one hand, a large inventory ties up capital and incurs storage and insurance costs. On the other hand, too little inventory can lead to unhappy employees and hiring delays resulting in hampered business growth.
Most organizations use a variety of devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, network switches, wireless access points, etc. Even within the devices, there are differences in specifications and configurations based on the usage requirements. For example, engineers usually need devices with higher specifications, while salespeople prefer portability and long battery life. The variety of devices makes managing IT inventory a challenge, especially when there is rapid growth or reduction in business size.
Additionally, the administrative side of inventory management including warehousing, shipping, and receiving become much more complex if the organization operates in a remote or hybrid environment. Remote and hybrid environments typically have devices and IT assets spread across different locations as well as at different stages of the supply chain. Due to these reasons, IT inventory management has become critical, especially for organizations that wish to take advantage of global employee mobility.
A robust inventory management system gives an accurate view of IT inventory no matter its location or lifecycle stage. It gives an organization clear visibility of its IT assets, their locations, and their condition. This visibility helps the organization make more informed decisions on procurement, storage, distribution, and utilization of existing inventory.
How Does Inventory Management Work?
In its most basic form, inventory management involves keeping track of how many devices you have in use and in storage. Slightly more advanced management also records the state of the devices including data about the device lifecycle stage, giving organizations a real-time picture of the inventory, which supports the business by facilitating the most efficient use of capital investment in devices and technology.
Inventory management can also analyze data, make recommendations, and inform procurement decisions. A good inventory management system supports human decision-making with accurate and real-time inventory information while leaving ample room for lead times, and supply chain inefficiencies.
What Are The Types Of Inventory Management?
IT inventory and asset management systems can be classified into three broad categories:
1. Manual Inventory Management
In manual inventory management, a physical count of the inventory is performed at specific intervals. This is done primarily for financial reporting purposes. It does not give a real-time picture of inventory and has very limited use from a technology management perspective.
2. Semi-Automated Inventory Management
In the semi-automated inventory management system, organizations use barcodes or radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to assign each device a unique serial number. This helps not only in tracking the device but also provides detailed product information.
While this management system does improve efficiency and increase inventory visibility, it is limited to warehousing and distribution. It does not cover the entire device lifecycle as the visibility and control are usually lost when the device enters into use.
3. Fully-Automated Inventory Management
In a fully automated inventory management system, manual counting, and tracking is replaced by advanced software that simplifies the process of procuring, storing, and shipping inventory. It provides end-to-end device lifecycle management from cradle to grave and requires very little human input. By bringing all the activities performed across IT, purchasing, HR, administration, and shipping and logistics teams into one centralized platform, it saves the organization time and money.
What Is An IT Asset Inventory Checklist?
An IT asset inventory checklist is a guide that helps keep an organization’s IT assets in order. It gives you visibility on your assets allowing you to better manage and utilize them. The checklist typically includes everything from hardware to software, and physical to virtual assets.
Here are the steps for creating your IT asset inventory checklist:
Identify all of your IT assets
Create a list of all items and include details of each asset such as its serial number, purchase date, location, user, current value, etc.
Keep the list up to date by adding new assets and removing old ones.
An IT inventory checklist helps the organization avoid wasteful purchases of duplicate or unnecessary items such as unused licenses, and software subscriptions. An accurate inventory of all IT assets also helps organizations plan for replacements of end-of-life devices, preventing service disruptions. It also facilitates better decision-making with respect to the utilization of existing assets as well as investment in new assets.
IT inventory checklists are typically a part of most modern inventory or device lifecycle management systems. So, you don’t have to perform this as a stand-alone task as the checklist can be generated from the inventory management software.
What Are The Key Features Of Effective Inventory Management?
An effective inventory management system must have the following features:
Purchasing for creating and managing purchase orders.
Order Management for customizing, saving, and tracking orders.
Inventory Tracking for knowing where the asset is located.
Shipping capabilities to ensure the delivery of the right device at the right time.
Warehousing capabilities to ensure secure storage of inventory ready for distribution.
Reporting and Analytics capabilities to issue alerts about end-of-lifecycle devices and identify patterns to assist in forecasting future demand.
How Do You Inventory Your IT Assets?
You can use the following steps for inventorying your IT assets:
1. Identify The Scope And The Goals
Before starting to create a list of your IT assets, it is important to define the goal of the whole activity. The inventory process is not a one-person job and it is important to make sure that everyone involved understands what is to be done and why it is needed. So, clearly and explicitly define the end goal as well as the process necessary to achieve that goal. For example, what data needs to be captured and in what format?
At this point, you’d also need to define the scope of the project. What exactly will be inventoried - assets, licenses, contracts? Should maintenance and disposal also be tracked? This is essential for laying out the process of data collection.
2. Choose An Asset And Inventory Management System
The process of identifying, tracking, and managing the lifecycle of all IT assets within an organization is daunting. Without a robust asset and inventory management system, it is next to impossible to effectively manage an organization’s IT inventory. So, research and choose an asset and inventory management tool that helps you meet all of the goals defined in the previous step.
If your organization has a remote or hybrid work environment, make sure that the inventory management tool is location-agnostic and supports the assets throughout their lifecycle.
3. Document Your Process
Documenting the process ensures that there is consistency in implementation. It also serves as a guide for anyone who has questions or concerns about the process. At this point, you must also consider training your staff on how to conduct the inventory process. This ensures that there are no discrepancies in the data collection and inventory management.
4. Optimize The Asset Management System For Your Business
Once you have an asset and inventory management system in place, you can take steps to make the best use of your inventory management software. Here are steps you can take to optimize your inventory management system:
Streamline Asset Management
Manage your entire IT asset lifecycle, from procurement to retirement on a single platform and ensure that devices across various locations are tracked. Also, you can carry out audits to ensure that the assets are being correctly tracked. This also helps improve transparency and is useful for achieving compliance.
Integrate Your Asset And Inventory Management With Your Operations
Combine the asset and inventory management system with operations to ensure that data collection happens in real-time and seamlessly.
Centralize Your Inventory Management
Many organizations use different platforms to service the different stages of the device lifecycle, namely, order management, warehousing, shipping, etc. This means that data is fragmented, which results in a lack of visibility of IT assets. The complication is further escalated if the assets are distributed across different locations.
To combat this, use an IT asset management solution that provides not only a comprehensive view of your assets but also allows managing each stage of the device lifecycle on a single platform.
Make Proactive, Data-Driven Decisions
Imagine that you paid for twenty SaaS subscriptions but five of them are never used. While this is easy to track in such small numbers, things get complicated when you deploy a few hundred different software and applications on hundreds of different devices across the globe.
Tracking licenses, versions, updates, and unused software is made easy by an effective IT inventory management system. It can monitor and collect data on device health and software usage to help you make proactive, data-driven decisions.
Conclusion
Keeping track of your IT assets should be an integral part of your IT strategy since it helps your business use its investments in technology in the most efficient and effective way. Using a centralized platform to manage your IT assets brings many benefits including savings in time and administrative efforts, better utilization of capital, seamless onboarding and offboarding, and easier achievement of regulatory compliance, among many others.
If you are still tracking your assets manually, you are exposing your business to a number of risks ranging from hindered collaboration and downtime to security breaches and regulatory fines.
Is your organization in need of accurate tracking of its IT assets? Reach out to us by clicking the button below and learn how we can help you leverage a centralized IT asset management system to meet your business goals and objectives.
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About The Author
Hari SubediMarketing Manager at Jones IT
Hari is an online marketing professional with a focus on content marketing. He writes on topics related to IT, Security, Small Business, and Mindfulness. He is also the founder and managing director of Girivar Kft., a business services company located in Budapest, Hungary.