Why Your IT Departments An Old Banger!

IT departments the world over are running like badly maintained cars. They have running costs that are disproportionate to the original outlay and without regular servicing will not be running as efficiently as possible. The IT world is set to change as its out with old and in with the new. Welcome to the world of IT Asset Management (ITAM).

That car you see chugging around the block every morning with smoke bellowing out of its exhaust, oil dripping everywhere and brakes screeching makes you think why doesnt the driver get that old banger serviced and maintained?!"

The driver seems blissfully ignorant about his car problems. You continue your walk to the office, sit at your desk and admire your beautifully built network with all its wonderful cutting-edge IT equipment gleaming in the morning sunshine, thats now pouring in through the window.

Unbeknown to you, as you sit there beaming with pride, in walks a stranger who looks around at your beloved empire and thinks to himself why doesnt that network manager get this inefficient IT department serviced and maintained!?" Inefficient!?!? Can this be true! How dare he think such a thing!

Just like the owner of the old banger, you are blissfully unaware that your IT network is not at its most optimum with its running costs much higher then they need be.

Like all professionals we like to believe that we continuously perform at our best, work hard for our company and strive to cut costs without cutting the quality of our services. This is true for IT managers who are now considered to be key personnel in driving cost-savings (and in a lot of cases actually being a profitable cost centre) whilst maintaining and growing an extremely reliable and cutting-edge IT function for their company. Not an easy task.

Most IT managers will tell you that they run a department/division like clockwork with very few problems. However, upon closer inspection we can clearly see visible hairline cracks that lead to vast gaping holes. These holes let money escape down them. A lot of money. The holes have appeared over the years and could have been avoided if a regular maintenance program was in place. Luckily its not irreparable damage and the holes can be permanently closed up.

IT Asset Management (ITAM) sounds like a frightfully boring (and expensive) matter almost guaranteed not to be given much attention by IT managers and directors. However ITAM is not just another pointless acronym, it is in fact the best maintenance program for IT networks and one that is being championed by all the large software vendors including Microsoft (see what they're saying http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sam/benefits.mspx).

ITAM maintains your hardware and software (Software Asset Management is commonly known as SAM, while HAM appears to be a type of meat at the time of writing and thankfully not another IT acronym).

Its about getting back to basics and on one level is fairly simplistic. ITAM is merely understanding the exact numbers of hardware/software you own, where its all located, who uses it and how often.

Wouldnt one assume that this is common knowledge for an IT department?!"

One might assume the answer to be a resounding Yes" but the fact of the matter is that answer is usually No"; 70% of all companies underestimate the number of their IT assets by a staggering 30%.

How can one accurately measure, plan or strategise the next IT project when there is no known precise data on what IT assets the company owns? Its impossible. It becomes clear why so many IT projects fail to deliver their promised Utopian visions and why most projects that actually do complete do so over budget and past agreed deadlines.

The power of knowing such basic information is stunning with benefits ranging from improved Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), financial and project planning, software licence management to software compliance, reduction in network security issues and support call time.

Cost-savings will be made in many of these areas. Greater efficiencies will be realised. Like our friend driving the clapped out old banger it pays to take care and maintain equipment properly as it will result in cost-savings in the long run.

It's time to spend IT budgets wiser. Stop wasting money and time. Buy smarter. Become as efficient as possible.

Start making cost-savings today and stop managing your old bangers at work!