Using IT Asset Management to Help Control IT Costs
IT organizations seem to constantly be under pressure from company leaders to lower operational costs while at the same time meeting the business demands of new features and supporting strategic initiative like Digital Transformation. For some IT leaders, this mandate to “do more with less” seems like an impossible challenge – but the realities of modern business make successful IT cost management a necessity, not an option. Fortunately, IT leaders have a powerful tool at their disposal to assist them in this challenge – their IT Asset Management processes.
Evaluating asset efficiency to find opportunities
IT assets (like any assets) have a lifecycle that starts with their procurement and continues until the asset is retired and disposed. How well the asset is managed throughout that lifecycle plays a big part in determining both the cost of the asset to the organization and the value/benefits the asset is generating for the business. IT Asset Management is all about managing the portfolio of assets as they progress through their lifecycle to make sure the company has the right IT components available to fulfill the business needs in the most cost-effective way possible – asset efficiency.
Complete and accurate ITAM data along with a thoughtful set of processes and tools to turn that data into information that can guide decision making are the building blocks that you will need to understand what assets are efficient in meeting business needs and what assets need attention. It is the assets that aren’t performing as efficiently as they need to that represent opportunities for the organization to deliver more and/or cut costs.
How ITAM helps your IT organization make better decisions
- Informed Purchasing and Deployment Decisions: Consistently maintained and accurate IT asset management data can help an organization evaluate past purchasing and deployment decisions to guide future actions. This includes selecting the best vendors based on not only purchase price but also product/service quality and post-sale support along with avoiding over-purchase of resources that are not really needed.
- Total Cost of Ownership: The cost of an IT asset is a lot more than just the price that was paid to acquire it. For IT assets to create value, they must be operated, supported and maintained throughout their lifecycle. Managing TCO effectively helps eliminate costs from duplication of assets or not using them after they are purchased.
- Standardization: Non-standard IT equipment and software causes IT staff to be less productive because they lack expertise managing the non-standard assets so each issue results in a learning process. Applying standards to IT assets not only makes IT staff more productive, but users are also more productive when they interact with systems and data that they are familiar with.
Its about using information, not just having it
Your IT Asset Management processes generate a wealth of data about what makes up your IT environment, where you are spending money and how much benefit you are receiving from those investments. That information is nice to have but it doesn’t add any value until you put it to use. IT leaders are starving for information that can help them make better decisions and achieve the goals they’ve been chartered with to “do more with less” The most important part of your ITAM process is getting the information you have into the hands of the people who need to use it.
Discover how to unify your IT Service Delivery and Asset Management at the Freshworks Experience Roadshow; October 1st – 31st in 10 European cities. With talks and discussions on how to deliver modern IT services that match the scale of your business. Register for your tickets today.
Cover image by Srinivas Dhotre
