Getting a Handle on IT Assets

By Tom Schmidt

As any IT professional knows, the more knowledge an organization has about its IT assets, the more control it has over associated costs, purchases, helpdesk support, and overall client management. Increasingly, that control requires the deployment of an asset management solution to identify and track an organization's array of hardware and software. This article looks at how such a solution can help organizations keep their IT infrastructures secure, available, and compliant with corporate and industry standards.

An essential enterprise task

Do you think that keeping track of computing assets is just bean-counter busywork? Don't make that mistake. Today asset management is an essential enterprise task that facilitates software license compliance, regulatory compliance, and security.

• Software license compliance  A proper grasp of software license compliance requires an accurate audit of all software applications installed on client computers across the network. An asset management solution can audit this information quickly and then help an organization to separate primary applications from operating system and shareware software. It can also identify installations of products no longer in use as well as redundant software, which can result in significant cost savings. Further, industry experts note that the frequent mergers and acquisitions (on the part of the customer as well as the vendor) in today's business climate make this an imperative.
• Regulatory compliance  Changing regulatory requirements are forcing IT managers to track their network assets more closely. To help meet regulatory requirements such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, companies must make sure that the financial information on their software and servers is adequately safeguarded and that they have an adequate disaster recovery plan in place for each site.
• Security  Client computers may contain software downloaded from the Internet, which can threaten the security and integrity of the network. Identifying such software is increasingly important as the number of Trojan viruses increases. An asset management solution keeps machines secure and available by scanning and identifying malicious applications and file-types that are suspect. Scheduled and on-demand auditing provides the ability to keep track of ongoing changes throughout an IT infrastructure and helps ensure devices stay compliant with corporate standards.

Effective control of hardware and software assets starts with a thorough inventory that includes information about each computer or other network device, a list of all installed software, and the physical location of each device. To maintain control of network assets, it is also necessary to perform ongoing audits and generate reports to understand the state of the infrastructure at any given time.

Taking command

Just how important have asset management initiatives become? The following high-profile case provides some insight. Computerworld reported recently that the U.S. Navy has launched its first enterprise-wide IT asset management initiative, which is expected to help it make more effective decisions on the thousands of disparate systems it has deployed worldwide.

The mammoth effort has enabled the Navy to identify and locate more than 250,000 systems installed in some 200 locations, and has already helped it identify some obsolete operating systems that will now be eliminated.

"We have every operating system that's been developed over the past 15 years, some of which I've never even heard of," a Navy official told Computerworld. "What we intend to do once we have our arms around everything out there is to look at what we have and make business decisions [about its use]."

In the coming months, Computerworld reports, the Navy expects to extend the centralized network-scanning program worldwide to pinpoint at least 250,000 more systems deployed on bases and ships.

The changing face of asset management

The Navy's project coincides with a recent report from researcher Gartner Inc., which concluded that the dynamic changes in today's business climate are mandating changes in the way organizations approach asset management.

"Not long ago, IT asset management primarily involved acquiring hardware and software; little attention was paid to managing assets through their life cycle. Today, IT asset managers can count on two certainties when looking to the future: increased configurational complexity and expanded management responsibilities. The costs to maintain IT assets in operational mode (including hardware, software, and support services) represent 40 percent to 60 percent of the overall IT operations budget. In the face of mounting marketplace pressures, organizations expect IT asset managers to seek opportunities that create competitive advantage and make positive contributions to the business' bottom line. Numerous factors compound this challenge, including evolving licensing models; changes in workforce structures and how individuals use technology; and changes in the supplier landscape."

Gartner went on to say that "never before have there been so many opportunities for IT asset managers to have a demonstrable and quantifiable impact on their organizations' success."

Gartner's bottom line: the complexity and cost of IT systems today, and the implications these systems have on other parts of an organization, have made asset management a strategic cornerstone for many organizations.

It's all about control

Only with an effective asset management solution can an IT organization fully understand where devices are located and how they're configured, as well as track a complete history of when any changes have taken place. Such a solution can also locate every IP-addressable device on the network, thereby providing an accurate audit.

But that's not all. An asset management solution can also be used as an integral piece of many IT-related projects, including managing an OS upgrade or rollout, enforcing software licensing compliance, negotiating license renewals or equipment contracts, benchmarking existing equipment prior to a hardware refresh, investigating unauthorized application use, and reporting on IT assets for mergers and acquisitions.

Ultimately, an asset management solution enables organizations to gain control of their client devices, maintain legal license compliance, adhere to corporate standards, and obtain greater security of company assets.

Tom Schmidt writes frequently about information security topics. He has more than 15 years' experience as a writer and editor in high-tech publishing.