It asset management_wp

Getting Started with IT
Asset Management

A Systems Alliance White Paper written by Ed Coram

Copyright © 2006 Systems Alliance, Inc. All rights reserved. Systems Alliance is a trademark of Systems Alliance, Inc.
All other trademarks and registered trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners.

ITAM_WP_11_16_06

IT Asset Management – Getting Started

Table of Contents

Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3

The Case for IT Asset Management ............................................................................................................. 3

Procurement .............................................................................................................................................. 3

Deployment & Utilization ........................................................................................................................... 3

Decommission and Disposal ..................................................................................................................... 4

IT Asset Capability Maturity Model ............................................................................................................... 4

IT Asset Management – More than an Inventory.......................................................................................... 5

Getting Started With IT Asset Management ................................................................................................. 6

IT Asset Management Effectiveness – A Self Assessment .......................................................................... 8

Additional Benefits ........................................................................................................................................ 9

About Systems Alliance ................................................................................................................................ 9

www.systemsalliance.com Page 2


Introduction
Five years ago, Meta Group reported U.S. corporations wasted $90 billion buying assets
already owned, buying the wrong technology, and making lease payments on equipment
already returned. Since then IT Asset Management has been increasingly identified as one of
the keys to an effective IT operation. A recent Gartner report noted that 75 percent of
companies are exposed to the risks of overspending on and sub-optimal use of IT assets and
projects, that those companies committing a minimum of three percent of their IT operating
budget to IT asset management programs and tools can expect a 25 percent reduction in the
total cost of ownership.

As the statistics above indicate, there is value to be gained through the effective management of
IT assets. All too often though, the fact that IT assets aren’t being managed effectively, surfaces
when a problem arises (e.g., a suspected impropriety creates the need for a reconciliation of
invoice data with the assets on hand). Is your company one of the few currently realizing the
benefits of effective IT asset management or are you waiting for a problem to spur you to
action? In this white paper we provide a quick assessment tool that will help you determine if
action is required and if so, how to get started.

The Case for IT Asset Management
Over the past 12 months Systems Alliance has helped multiple clients address issues that
highlighted the importance of effective IT asset management. In two
“All too often the fact unrelated instances the clients were concerned about the potential
that IT assets aren’t implications of employee improprieties they had discovered. In each
being managed case the client suspected they had been significantly overcharged
effectively, surfaces for many assets and had never actually received a substantial
when a problem number of the assets paid for. In both instances, the analyses
arises.” produced similar results – and highlighted critical problem areas an
asset management program would have addressed, including:

Procurement
1. The absence of full life-cycle asset management processes aided and abetted efforts by
client employees to engage in fraudulent activities.
2. The absence of reviews and controls around the procurement process enabled the
purchase of hardware, software and consumables from spurious entities.
3. The failure to institute periodic pricing reviews hid the fact that asset costs were not in line
with market pricing.
4. The failure to reconcile goods received against original purchase orders obscured the fact
that components ordered were being replaced by lower-end components.
5. The absence of vendor invoice reviews inhibited the discovery of inconsistencies that would
have raised flags months, if not years, sooner.

Deployment & Utilization
1. Inconsistencies in the capture and recording of asset data (e.g., make, model, configuration,
serial number, cost, purchase date, owner, warranty and license information) made it
especially difficult to reconcile asset records and invoice data with the assets on the ground.
2. The absence of an asset information repository obscured visibility into the wide variety of
operating system versions deployed, inhibited the effective distribution of software patches



and upgrades and increased the time and effort required to provide desktop support to end-
users.

Decommission and Disposal
1. The failure to collect and record asset information at time of purchase and to maintain
accurate information throughout the asset life-cycle inhibited accurate accounting for asset
depreciation and disposal.

The issues faced by these two clients surfaced as a result of
employee improprieties. However, a spot audit by either the
“Through 2008, 30 percent of BSA (Business Software Alliance) or SIIA (Software and
large enterprises will experience Information Industry Association) can lead to similar results; the
at least one on-site software
realization that your business incurs substantial risk simply
audit per year (0.7 probability),”
Gartner – Prepare for Continued because insufficient attention has been paid to the
Software Audits in the Short management of IT assets. The BSA collects fines of up to
Term, Jan 2006 $150,000 for every unregistered software program installed on
a company's computers and the inability to prove installed
software has been legitimately licensed can trigger those fines.

IT Asset Capability Maturity Model
The IT Asset Capability Maturity Model chart below provides another perspective on the
opportunities for and benefits of effective IT asset management. It shows how, as companies
become implement more effective asset management processes, they accrue greater savings.

IT Asset Management (ITAM) Capability Maturity Model
Level Characteristics Savings Company
Observed Distribution
Source: META Group Source: Gartner Group

High Value • Utilizing cross-organizational and cross-discipline 45%
Oriented techniques to maximize asset value and minimize costs
• Tracking and realizing concrete savings 5%
Service • Asset management integrated with back-end systems 35%
Oriented (e.g. HR, Finance, Help Desk)
• Leveraging cross-organizational information
Proactive • Formalized processes in place 15%
• Policies and procedures are linked 20%
• Asset discovery tool and centralized repository
Reactive • Fire fighting mode 5%
• Beginning to see policies defined and implemented
• Rudimentary process development
75%
Chaotic • No formalized process
• Disorganized approach to asset management
Low

Where is your organization on the maturity scale?



IT Asset Management – More than an Inventory
Often, when clients are asked for a definition or description of IT asset management, the
response typically starts and ends with the creation and maintenance of an asset inventory.
Effective IT asset management is much more than that.

Gartner defines IT asset management as the combination of tools, processes and
organizational interfaces that financially manage, optimize and dispose of IT assets.

“Increasingly, savvy organizations are realizing that a sound IT asset management program is
now a mandate for business success. But that new reality - ITAM as a disciplined business
practice — requires you to reexamine the old approaches and their ad hoc collection of tracking
devices and negotiation strategies. To move your ITAM program to the next level, and leverage
the significant strategic value it offers to the business side, demands new thinking - both
strategically and tactically.”1

IT Asset Management is about using accurate physical, financial and contractual asset
information to make business decisions that result in better risk management, cost management
and operational efficiencies.

When done properly, asset management has ties to all key IT planning and management
processes and systems, including procurement, HR, help desk, change and configuration
management, financials, and capacity management. As depicted in the diagram below, effective
IT asset management processes span the full asset life cycle.
Configuration Application
Procurement Management Development Financials

Change
Management Help Desk
Pull from Decom-
Request Deploy Manage Disposal
Inventory mission

Human Capacity
Resource Procure Receive Store
Management
Management

The failure to manage IT assets through their complete lifecycle ( i.e., from requisition to
retirement and disposal) increases the likelihood that a business is a) under utilizing and/or not
using software and hardware assets that have been purchased, b) poorly managing vendor
relationships and not maximizing organization-wide purchasing power, c) incurring unnecessary
and/or inappropriate support expenses, d) incurring inappropriate lease and maintenance
expenses, and/or e) using unlicensed software.

1
Gartner IT and Software Asset Management Summit, Overview, September 18 - 20, 2006.



Getting Started With IT Asset Management
The appropriate starting place for IT asset management varies from organization to
organization.

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requirements. B u ild a s s e t d a ta re p o sito ry
R e fin e p ro cu rem e n t p ro c e s s to in c l. d a ta c a p tu re
B e g in c o lle c tin g d a ta o n n ew p u rch a s e s
When working with clients, C o n d u ct c om p re h e ns ive a s s e t d is c o v e r y

Systems Alliance often begins
an IT asset management
initiative with a rapid assessment and strategy phase that is focused on validating
objectives, reviewing existing asset data and management processes, identifying shortfalls
and developing a strategy for filling IT asset management related gaps. Additional
byproducts of this stage are the development of a high-level process flow (if none exists)
and the definition of short-term action steps.

Client Name & Logo Facility Management Tool
Survey
ITAM Tool RFI
2. Tool Evaluation and Selection: It would be a
mistake to think that simply implementing a tool will Delphi Evaluation Tool W eight
Evaluator:

Rating Score
Your Company Name: ____________________________________________ Requirements - Content Creation
I. Functional
enable a company to improve alignment of Prepared by: Date:
The system shall have the ability to handle the broad array of AOPA content
types, including: MS Office documents, Email, HTML documents, docum ents
created through the Adobe InDesign Suite, Quark docum ents, and
1.00 0 .00

business and IT strategy, control IT purchases, Corporate Headquarters Office
1.1 Im age files.
The system shall accom modate content created with AOPA client authoring
tools and support current and previous releases of these tools, including MS
M Field Office/Contact
ain Office applications such as W ord, Quark, the Adobe InDesign Suite, and HTML
1.00 0 .00

avoid noncompliance, improve technology ROI and
1.2 editors such as GoLive.
The system shall provide AOPA users with the ability to create, modify, and 1.00 0 .00
Name Name 1.3 delete content within the W CMS.
The user interface shall be intuitive and content creation and maintenance m ust 1.00 0 .00
Title Title be easy to facilitate use by non-technical content authors.

maximize operational efficiency. That said, Address Address 1.4
The system shall facilitate the creation of web pages with a consistent look and
1.5 feel via tem plates and style sheets.
The system supports cascading style sheets.
1.00

1.00
0 .00

0 .00

automated tools are increasingly a key component
1.6
Phone Phone The system shall support multi-user authoring to accom modate AOPA's 1.00 0 .00
1.7 collaborative authoring process.
Fax Fax The system shall support the creation and m aintenance of m etadata to 1.00 0 .00
E-mail: E-mail 1.8 maximize the search capabilities of AOPA users.

of effective IT asset management programs. As an http:
# Staff:
http
# Staff
The system shall enable the separation of content and presentation to facilitate
1.9 publishing of AOPA content to m ultiple form ats.
Objects such as im ages, docum ents, and links are easily incorporated into
1.10 content.
1.00

1.00
0 .00

0 .00

example, a CMDB (configuration management data
TOTAL C ATEGORY SC ORE: 10.00 N/A 0.00

Additional Key Locations II. Functional Requirements - Content M anagement

base) is a core component of the asset Name
Title
The system shall provide the following functionality to manage AOPA content:
Name Required Product Features and external content), Storage, Categorization, eight and
Im port (both internal
2.1 Archiving.
Title Evaluation Summary m ust integrate with Verity.
2.2 The search capability
WSearch, Rating
1.00 0 .00

1 thru 5 Data1.00 LiveState Net 0 .00

management process as defined by ITIL Address Address 2.3 The search capability m ust span all AOPA content types.

2.4
User Initiated Backup–the support for backupThe system mustfunctionality that,administer m eta tag standards 2 the E (M)
and restore provide the ability to if deemed
1.00

across 1.00
0 .00
The system must provide the capability to m anage content related metadata. Protector Recovery Backup
1.00 0 .00

M M.00
0

(Information Technology Infrastructure Library).
2.5 site.
Phone appropriate, could be initiated by a user, thereby minimizing administrator intervention ifthe user to sort search
Phone The system shall provide AOPA internal users with a ability 0.50 0 .00
Fax Fax results according to the following criteria: Relevance, Date, Author, and Content
needs to simply restore a single file. Type (e.g. e-newsletter, email, article, and press release).
E-mail E-mail 2.6
Incremental Backup–the ability to backup only filessearchhave changed since the lastgraphical view of the file
Im age that results shall generate and display a full 2 E (M)
1.00 M (N) M0 .00
(N)
http http (thumbnail) instead of just a file icon to decrease the tim e spent by AOPA users
# Staff backup, thereby reducing the amount of data to backup.
# Staff 2.7 to find a specific image.
Categorization capabilities shall include the ability to classify content by the 1.00 0 .00
Remote Backup–the ability to backup a user’sAOPA contentwhen it is not connected to the office
2.8 computer type. 2 M (E) M(N) M(N)
A number of commercially available tools have the (Repeat to list additional locations)
A structured approach to categorization is provided to ensure consistency (e.g.
LAN, such as when they are working fromhome.2 use of pull down menus).
2.9 the
1.00

The list of AOPA content types used for categorization can be added, deleted, 1.00
0 .00

0 .00
Outlook PST Backup–depending on the vendor’s implementation of the functionality, the
2.10 and m odified by authorized AOPA users. 2 E (M) M(N) M
ability to provide much of the data that would reside The system shall support the syndication of content, including the distribution of
ability to backup an Outlook PST file while it is in use, or to backup the file in an incremental
2.11 content with a hyperlink to the AOPA website.
The system shall provide a reporting capability
fashion. This functionality reduces the risk that the file will be restored incorrectly and minimizes
2.12
0.50

0.33
0 .00

0 .00

in a CMDB as described by ITIL. The key challenge the size of the backup data. 2.13 The system shall control the usage of licensed digital assets.
The system shall enable personalization of the information presented on the
2.14 hom e page based on the user’s profile.
Synchronization–defined as updating the backup imageATEGORY SCas changes are being
TOTAL C
for a client ORE: 2 M
0.50
0.33

11.16
M(N)
N/A
0 .00
0 .00
M
0.00
made to a data file.
companies face is the selection of a tool or tools III. Functional Requirements - Publishing
Shared File Exclusion–the ability to recognize the same file across multiple clients and only 5 M (E) N N (M)
save a single copy of a file, thereby reducing the amount of storage necessary and minimizing
redundant files.
Weight: 1 = most important, 5 = least important Rating: E = exceeds requirements, M = meets requirements, N = does not meet requirements;
Where 2 ratings are presented, the first rating was selected by the majority



that meet the specific needs defined and are a fit for the company from a technology and
operational perspective. A disciplined evaluation and selection process is critical to success.

The use of proven request for proposal and product evaluation templates can often
be used to expedite the process, facilitating the definition of detailed, client-specific
requirements, the actual evaluation process, and the collection and summarization of
vendor and tool evaluation results. Systems Alliance leverages a Delphi evaluation
tool to help clients define the relative priority of various product requirements and to
evaluate alternative products in consideration of those priorities.

3. Implementation Planning: It happens all the time. Companies do a rigorous job of tool
evaluation and selection, but end W k#1 W k#2 W k#3 W k#4 W k#5
C a le n d a r
W k#6 W k#7 W k#8 W k#9 W k#10 W k#11W k#12
D e p lo y m e n t ta s k s

up with an unsuccessful P r o je c t K ic k o f f
V a lid a t e p r o je c t c h a r t e r & p la n

implementation. More often than A s s e m b le p r o je c t t e a m

P r o c e s s D e f in it io n

not, the problem can be traced to
Id e n t if y k e y p r o c e s s c o m p o n e n t s

D e v e lo p d e t a ile d p r o c e s s flo w s /d e s c r ip t io n s

Id e n t if y c r it ic a l in te g r a tio n p o in ts

issues in the implementation D e f in in g s ta f f in g r e q u ir e m e n t s , R ’s a n d R ’s

D e f in e p e r f o r m a n c e m e t r ic s

planning process. The keys to H a r d w a r e /S o ftw a re A c q u is itio n
L ic e n s e IT A M to o l

V a lid a t e h a r d w a r e r e q u ir e m e n t s

successful implementation A c q u ir e r e q u ir e d h a r d w a r e

In s ta ll s o f t w a r e / h a r d w a r e

planning for IT asset management P ilo t Im p le m e n t a t io n & T e s t
P r o d u c t io n R o ll- o u t

are not unlike those for other
P r o je c t C o m p le t io n & S h u t - d o w n
P r o je c t M a n a g e m e n t C h e c k p o in t s

projects.

Clearly defined project objectives and deliverables help to focus the project
team and assure expectations are aligned.
Identification of the project sponsor and definition of the governance
structure increase the likelihood that critical decisions will be made on a timely
basis.
The definition of tool acquisition, integration and implementation tasks
provides those involved with a clear view of all tool specific activities and their
interrelationships.
Identifying and addressing related process changes helps assure operational
as well as technology issues are being considered.
The inclusion of communication and change management tasks in the plan
addresses an often overlooked component of most every implementation effort
(i.e. the people impacted).

The definition of key resource requirements (e.g. staff, budget) assures the required
commitment and level of investment are understood before the project is initiated.

The chances for successful implementation of an IT Asset Management solution
increase dramatically when the implementation plan meets each of the requirements
listed above.



4. Deployment: While the implementation plan provides the roadmap for deployment,
successful execution of the plan will
result in the deployment of the asset Request
Pull from
Inventory
Deploy Manage
Decom-
mission
Disposal

management solution and the delivery of Upgrade

a roadmap for ongoing asset Procure Receive Store
management in the form of process and
tool documentation and training. Requestor Requestor System

(Illustrative)
Web Spreadsheet/Web Web & E-Mail
Uploads line Acknowledges
Enters in
The documentation should provide detail request data
itemdata into
request (optional)
receipt, returns
request ID

for each process step including the role System Approver(s) System
Legend
ITRole
Asset
involved, the activity performed, the tool E-Mail
Sends approval
Web

Enters in Approval
E-Mail
Acknowledges
Interface
Information
Repository
Activity
or interface used and the result request to
approver(s) with link
Confirmation
Approval/Denial
to all parties

produced.
Figure 6
As noted in figure 6, an asset
information repository is required to house asset specific information and facilitate asset
related reporting.

IT Asset Management Effectiveness – A Self Assessment
How well are your IT assets being managed? Not sure? Here is a short questionnaire you can
use to gauge the effectiveness of your asset management program.

# Quick Assessment Yes No

1. Do you have an accurate inventory of IT assets (hardware and software)?

2. Do you know where your IT assets are located?

3. Do you monitor IT asset utilization levels?

4. Do you know how much your IT assets cost and the specific business functions they support?

5. Are you leveraging your purchasing power?

6. Are the appropriate license and maintenance agreements in place?

7. Are you getting the support you need?

8. Are you paying only for the support you need?

9. Are you accurately depreciating and amortizing your IT assets ?

10. Are assets decommissioned and disposed of on a timely basis?

One or more no (or I don’t know) answers could be an indication that you have some
work to do.



Additional Benefits
If inhibiting fraudulent activity and reducing the potential downside of a BSA or SIIA audit are not
benefit enough, implementing an IT asset management program can provide value in other
ways. An effective IT asset management program can also:

Facilitate the location of information about assets that enables the organization to secure
those assets from threats and remediate vulnerabilities.

Keep track of assets that must be turned in and properly disposed of so issues related to
security, intellectual property rights, licensing compliance, regulatory concerns and
environmental risks do not arise.

Facilitate the provision of asset ownership, utilization and lifecycle maintenance information
for use during contract negotiation and renewal discussions.

Enable the identification of redundant and/or underutilized assets, helping to reduce overall
IT costs.

Enable the collection of asset usage information for use during budgeting, planning and
cost-allocation processes.

Facilitate the development of effective exit strategies for obsolete technologies.

To find out more about how your organization could benefit from IT Asset Management, contact
ITAM@systemsalliance.com

About Systems Alliance
Systems Alliance, Inc. is a regional systems integrator, technology consultancy and software
development firm. Our approach focuses the sophisticated project management methods of
global systems integrators on discrete and well-defined engagements. As a result, we
continually please clients by delivering high-value solutions to their most complex challenges.
Headquartered in Sparks, Maryland with a regional office in Raleigh, North Carolina, Systems
Alliance serves Fortune 1000, state and local government, higher education and healthcare
clients throughout the mid Atlantic and Southeastern United States. To learn more, please visit
http://www.systemsalliance.com.

About the Author
Ed Coram is the director of the Systems Alliance Process and Performance Improvement practice. He
has 25+ years experience in large-scale IT environments and has successfully managed performance
improvement and cost savings programs for Fortune 1000 companies across a wide range of industries.


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