IT assets are either hardware ( ie. work stations, printers, routers, external hard drives, etc) or software (ie. licenses, operating systems, or installations). IT asset management is a set of business practices that aims to integrate IT resources, including software licenses and hardware assets, into financial, stock, risk management, and contractual duties in order to make better business decisions. IT Asset Lifecycle Management is the sum total of all the asset management activities, from the acquiring to the retiring of assets, with the end goal of optimizing profits through increased efficiency and effectiveness of projects and asset management practices.
Asset Management
How IT functions in business depends on IT assets, including hardware, but having many assets can be challenging, costly, and risky to manage. Risk can be minimized and cost can be optimized by keeping track of how many hardware assets you have, where they’re located, who uses them, and how often, how they are configured, what value they bring, and what they cost. Efficiency can be improved by having visibility into the entire IT asset lifecycle. The consequences of not having IT Asset Management are inaccurate inventories, limited accountability, delays in service, and wasted resources which all cost your business money. InSource provides trained ServiceNow professionals who understand ServiceNow Asset Management capabilities. ServiceNow Asset Management can automate IT asset lifecycles by tracking the hardware inventory and the financial and contractual state of devices throughout their lifecycle. Once an asset is acquired, ServiceNow Asset Management adds it to the inventory and stores data about the asset in the data repository. You are able to track the lifecycle costs, how often an asset is used, contracts for the hardware, and maintenance activity.
Software Asset Management
Software Asset Management, or SAM, is the collection of practices necessary to protect, control, and optimize all of the software assets through ITAM lifecycle management. SAM streamlines the purchase, deployment, use, maintenance, and retirement of software within a business with the goal of reducing IT costs and limiting the risks related to software use. Specifically, SAM will prevent unlicensed use of software and help transition to new software or licensing models. Additionally, ITAM lifecycle management of software assets can help identify when software is not being used or infrequently, and when different software have overlapping capabilities in order to eliminate ones that are not worth company spending. In turn, the end-user will have greater productivity through limited downtime and increase responsiveness.
Configuration Management Database (CMDB)
Both hardware and software assets are necessary to integrate into your ITAM lifecycle management. ServiceNow Asset Management provides a Configuration Management Database, or CMDB, to track configuration item details. The ServiceNow Configuration Management is on the same platform as the ServiceNow Asset Management which means it’s easier for businesses to integrate, normalize, and reconcile data. As businesses acquire assets, a configuration item record is created in the CMDB. By keeping an accurate record of configuration data, businesses can better understand their service impact, asset management, and compliance. The CMDB helps businesses gain full visibility of the lifecycle and infrastructure of assets.
InSource can help you manage your ITAM Lifecycle
With ServiceNow’s ITAM you can simplify the tracking of your organization’s hardware and software assets with intuitive workflows. As a result, you can automate work, optimize costs, and increase efficiency with a native CMDB. Contact InSource today to find a qualified ServiceNow professional.