IT asset management (ITAM) is a key process in managing and tracking all assets on hand to keep operations in a company running smoothly. In addition, properly maintaining assets for longevity and selling old assets for the most value possible helps reduce costs in the long run.
With all the benefits of ITAM, you’re probably wondering what principles IT professionals can put in place to achieve success in these processes. This article will outline what you should know about the principles of asset management. Keep reading to get all the details.
What Are the 4 Principles of Asset Management?
There are four key principles of running a successful asset management system. Those principles are:
- Getting the most value from IT assets and hardware purchases
- Creating streamlined systems for tracking assets on hand
- Developing accurate long-term funding strategies
- Bridging connections for communication across a company
There’s a lot to cover with each of these core principles. The following sections will provide all the information you need about each one.
Getting the Most Value from IT Assets
At its core, ITAM is all about getting the most value out of a company’s computer equipment. That is typically achieved in a few different ways, which are:
- Optimizing maintenance to ensure long-term performance
- Extending asset life
- Buying and selling equipment for the best price
The first part of ensuring assets provide value to a company is keeping each one performing well. Even one piece of computer equipment having issues can affect the entire company. That means routine maintenance should be done and assets replaced on a regular cadence. If problems do occur, systems should be in place to fix the issue as quickly as possible.
Knowing when to replace a piece of equipment is just as important as knowing what to do if it is broken. By putting regular maintenance protocols in place, you can keep your assets working well for longer. This helps alleviate the financial burden of time lost or having to purchase assets that are not in the budget when something breaks.
The last piece of the puzzle is buying and selling equipment for the best price. ITAM teams can help you buy the highest quality equipment that fits within your budget. IT professionals know which equipment will last the longest and provide the best value for your team based on your needs. Asset management teams can also negotiate with vendors to sell old equipment for the best price, keeping those computers out of landfill and saving you money in the long run.
Creating Streamlined Systems for Tracking Assets
To help with the entire asset management process, there needs to be a reliable inventory system in place. ITAM professionals can help with this by assisting in asset discovery throughout a business to record what equipment you own, set up a successful documentation system, and update that system regularly.
Part of the inventory process also involves scheduling routine maintenance and audits to stay up to date on the health of equipment. Having accurate information on each asset helps with the previous principle of getting the most value from assets.
Developing Accurate Long-Term Funding Strategies
Buying computer equipment is an investment in your business. Like any other investment, you must ensure it is well-planned for success. Part of ITAM is working with financial teams and business leaders to create an accurate financial plan to achieve your technology goals.
IT professionals can use an inventory system to estimate asset lifecycles and determine how often equipment will need to be replaced. In addition, planning can be done for any upcoming business expansions that will require investment in new IT equipment. It all comes back to spending your money in a way that gets the most value from assets.
Bridging Connections for Communication
Part of ITAM is ensuring everyone communicates and is on the same page throughout the company. When maintenance needs to be done or changes to the current equipment in use are going to be made, everyone should be notified to prevent disruption of business activities.
When planning an ITAM system, make sure everyone on your IT team knows their role. You don’t want to have any confusion over who is managing what and who will be responsible for communicating and notifying other employees in different departments of a company when you will be making changes.
A company that communicates and works well together will be happier and more successful. So having the right processes in place is essential.
Asset Management Process PDF
While that covers the general principles and goals of asset management, there are more detailed processes that contribute to making the whole system successful. To learn more about the process, you can download this free PDF.
How Multiply Can Help
As you read this article, one of the key things that stands out is how much time and effort has to go into managing a company’s IT assets. If this seems like a daunting process, it doesn’t have to be. Multiply can help get your business on track by creating a streamlined system for success with ITAM.
Multiply is a team of IT consultants and senior service technicians. We partner with businesses to help with all the principles outlined in this article and much more. From getting the most out of your assets to how you get rid of them at the end of the hardware’s life cycle, we’ll make things much easier for you to keep your operations running smoothly.
To learn more about how Multiply can help, contact us today!
