Information technology asset management (ITAM) is a practice supported by
processes and technologies to manage
the physical, contractual and financial
aspects of IT assets. A mature ITAM solution will provide data on what assets are
owned, where they are located, who is using
them and how much they cost.
“An ITAM solution is definitely not onesize-fits-all,” says Peter S. TenEyck, a principal IT asset management consultant for
Pomeroy IT Solutions. “It is based on very
specific needs uniquely identified for each
company, and it can take on many levels of
maturity.”
TenEyck adds that no matter what the
maturity level may be, it’s best to follow the
80-20 Rule — 80 percent process, 20 percent
tool.
Smart Business spoke with TenEyck
about ITAM and why it’s so vital in the current economy.
What role does ITAM play in today’s business
world?
A major objective of any corporation must
be to provide business value through implementation of strategies and by facilitating
new technologies. The eventual goal of
these investments will be to reduce IT costs
and maximize IT asset utilization. In this
economy, I believe ITAM will thrive.
A comprehensive, centralized ITAM program can make information available as
needed for software license compliance
and harvesting, budgeting, chargeback,
migration and upgrades. The life cycle data
can also assist the IT manager to understand the functional and operational status
of assets to effectively manage usage and
ownership.
ITAM is also critical to providing effective
IT service management. When an IT organization knows what infrastructure it has
and where it resides, it can provide service
continuity and service availability and can
properly manage the costs of IT services.
What problems or issues can arise from
ITAM?
There are a couple of different barriers —
a technology barrier and an organizational barrier. From the technology side, ITAM
solutions are quite different in their
approach. Some solutions have strengths in
managing the financial aspects, others have
greater strengths in managing the contractual relationships, and others are better at
integrating with external data sources. In
larger corporations, there will be different
groups with different needs, all trying to
solve a specific need with a single solution.
So, while there is a technology barrier, and
there is no single tool that can do this today,
many are still trying to get around this by
taking a couple of different technologies, a
couple of different tools, and ‘band-aiding’
those tools together to meet that technology need.
Of the two barriers, the organizational barrier tends to be the greatest. As stated, there
will be different silos with vested stakes in
an ITAM project. The help desk will want
something that will integrate with the help
desk software while the CFO wants tight
financial data as it may relate to lease contracts or maintenance contracts. These
groups need to work together to understand
the goals of the company and develop a centralized solution. An investment in ITAM
will typically fail if executives do not perform an in-depth look at what the needs and
goals are or if they don’t give sponsorship to
supporting the project.
What are the consequences a company faces
if it doesn’t monitor and/or contain this?
A very common phrase out there is: ‘You
can’t manage what you don’t measure.’
Many of the consequences (or benefits) are
not even realized until a complete assessment is performed and all silos are brought
in to the solution design.
The consequences are as follows:
of knowledge of the environment impedes
the long-term planning for expansions
and/or acquisitions. For publicly traded
companies this can lead to inaccurate
accounting as well as SOX issues.
mass upgrades for disparate systems can
cause interruptions in service. Knowing all
the types and brands of assets can avoid
problems.
Advantages to purchasing benefits may be
lost.
decrease in service levels if there is inaccurate or missing data.
Should a company outsource its ITAM
efforts?
There is less than a 25 percent success
rate for those companies that design and
implement an ITAM solution from within. It
is important to develop a strategic and tactical road map that will deliver an effective
and supportive solution. A professional
ITAM consulting group specializes in performing assessments to determine needs
and requirements and can assist in overcoming the technology and operational barriers. The ITAM partner can act as an impartial mediator to hear all input from all silos.
Once a design is established, the transition
is critical to successful implementation.
PETER S. TENEYCK is a principal IT asset management consultant for Pomeroy IT Solutions. Reach him at [email protected]
or (803) 327-5716.
