IT Asset Management: Uncover the Facts
The IT asset management industry is constantly evolving and can be difficult to keep up with. The concept as a whole is a lot to digest, and many organizations wonder whether ITAM is really a necessary business practice. Here, we have gathered some recent facts about the industry to provide a clear understanding of why you might need it more than you think. Read on…
1. Why do firms need IT asset management? Organizations cite various reasons as to why they use ITAM, but the top three are vendor audits, governance and cost cutting. These sound like pretty good reasons that apply to firms in all industries. But the question remains: does it really cut costs? Continue below to find out…
2. So, can proper ITAM save you money? Many organizations are hesitant to invest in an IT asset management program, as it is quite an undertaking to launch a whole new business process. However, a recent report has shown that organizations save around 30% per asset in the first year implementing an ITAM program. Just in the first year! That’s a lot of savings if you think about the cost per asset.
3. Are organizations progressing in terms of their ITAM practices? Unfortunately, the answer to this one is negative. It seems that although a good number of firms have caught on to ITAM, they are still struggling with properly managing and measuring the process, which is a key aspect. Only 23% of organizations have identified measurable KPIs for asset management, and that number should be much higher. If ITAM is implemented, it must be tracked in a comprehensive and measurable way in order to be beneficial. Similarly, 33.6% of firms self-assessed their hardware asset management maturity as reactive. Reactive asset management almost defeats its purpose, as the process is meant to allow organizations to predict future trends and prevent issues before they happen. On a positive note, 51.8% report a proactive maturity, but this number should be still be much closer to 100%.
4. Can the IT asset management process integrate with others? Some organizations may be wary of having too many disconnected processes running at once, as this can create chaos and confusion. Luckily, ITAM is a process that can easily be integrated with Service Management or Help Desk programs. In fact, the Vizor system offers very simple integration of ITAM with both ServiceDesk and Software Management. This is good news, as 70% of organizations in a recent survey report a developing interest in ITAM & Service Desk integration. This makes life a lot easier and prevents process silos.
5. The final question is…what is stopping everyone? There are always justified reasons why organizations choose not to invest in new programs. In terms of IT asset management, the top four reasons why firms hesitate to incorporate it are higher priorities, not understanding ITAM, not understanding the opportunity and lack of data. Clearly, the solution to this has to do with educating firms on the benefits and cost savings of a good ITAM program – a goal that this post aims to fulfill!
To learn more about ITAM features like lifecycle tracking, reporting, notifications and ServiceDesk integration, check out Vizor below.
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