Component Matrix for all Vector Solution Groups
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These discussion points may help position Asset Discovery and Mapping to your boardroom colleagues.
- Few organizations have the luxury of totally standardized platforms of desktop and network connectivity devices. Most experience continuous growth resulting in a heterogeneous environment.
- Managing such an environment efficiently needs a foundation of accurate, detailed and continuously updated information that describes the organization’s assets.
- The more accurate the information, the more comprehensive, successful and productive will be the program of asset management activities that can be undertaken.
- Conversely, every reduction from the maximum of asset data accuracy progressively undermines the asset management role.
- It is preferable to generate and maintain accurate asset data for as many significant classes of asset as possible, using one integrated tool.
- A key business driver for the Vector Network Discovery component is that organizations are seeking to reduce the number of tools needed to manage their IT. The Visio-compatible Network Topology maps are a ‘cross-silo’ resource that can be shared between teams charged with maintaining the PCs and managing the network.
- From service management, change management and help desk perspectives, such as those defined in ITIL, knowing where a PC is connected on the network can also be very valuable information.
- The network location data also contributes to the richness of any implementation of a federated CMDB.
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- IT Asset Management
- Asset Discovery and Mapping
Creating the foundation for successful IT asset management
Vector’s PC and IT Asset Discovery, Inventory and Mapping solution is designed to generate a foundation of IT hardware and software asset information as a first stage of an ITAM implementation. All SNMP-enabled devices are discovered in addition to PCs and Servers, and maps can be exported in MS Visio format. The open and extendable SQL Server database supports integration with other tools such as help desks and license management, including Vector’s License Manager Pro.
Solution Deliverables
This solution is a sub-set of Asset Manager Pro, focused on creating a foundation of IT asset information to support all your IT management goals. It delivers -
- A comprehensive database of your PC and network assets, shareable by asset management, PC and network management, service management and change management teams.
- Mapping of your network, including inventory of SNMP-enabled network components.
- Accurate software inventory, providing visibility and clarity of software licensing status, and ensuring consistency in application versions. This includes the detailed licensing and Serial Number information of the Microsoft Audit set of reports.
- Web-accessible, drill down reporting, providing decision support for asset management projects such as desktop asset valuation, application maintenance cost analysis and upgrade budgeting.
Solution Highlights
- Automated, schedulable PC discovery.
- Automated, schedulable network device discovery and mapping, including association of individual PCs with specific physical network ports, navigable maps and export in Visio format.
- Detailed hardware inventory and configuration details including a PC-PC compare function for diagnosis of configuration anomalies.
- Software inventory with unique ‘Triple Pass’ technology, using file-based identification rules, VersionInfo header information and Add/Remove Programs registry information.
- Database extension. We already provide some 30+ default additional asset types, such as scanners, printers, monitors, but you can easily define your own asset types to extend the Vector IT Asset Database even further.
- Drill-down, web-based reports, organized in sets around your business needs, and exploiting both current asset status and change history. The reports provide operational and strategic decision support information, and answer a wide range of practical and commercial software inventory and system configuration- related questions. Examples –
- Do we have sufficient licenses for all our Microsoft/Oracle/Adobe/etc software?
- Are all my installed copies of Application X of precisely the same version?
- When was Application X last updated on the PCs in a particular department?
- Which PCs and laptops can I upgrade to Windows 7 without additional memory?
- Which of our Dell systems have had replacement hard drives in the last two years?
- Supports LAN-connected and remote Web-connected PCs.
- One-shot audit mode.
Solution Components in Vector Asset Discovery and Mapping
Follow these links to discover more about the power of Vector’s IT Asset Management solutions.
- Administrator Console
- Asset Reporting Portal
- PC Discovery
- Network Device Discovery and Mapping
- PC Hardware Inventory
- PC Software Inventory
Complementary Solutions
The most commonly requested complementary solution is the Software License Compliance and Optimization solution. This solution shares the PC discovery and software inventory functions, but adds software usage monitoring to support license harvesting and reallocation, and the Application Package Policy Manager to support policy-based license requirement planning. Compliance and Optimization is tightly integrated with Asset Discovery and Mapping in Vector's flagship Asset Manager Pro solution. Integration with License Manager Pro will ease the burden of software license management and make it easier to achieve compliance without over-licensing. If efficient (re)deployment of applications and application updates is a separate problem, then we invite you to evaluate the combination of conventional software distribution and advanced application streaming in Vector's Software Provisioning Pro solution.
Further Information and Resources
- Request an evaluation of Asset Discovery and Mapping
- Download a brochure of "What's New" in Vector Asset Manager Pro v6.0 (PDF) 8.5"x11" (Americas) or A4 size (EMEA).
- On-line screenshot gallery of the Administrator Console.
- On-line screenshot gallery of the Asset Reporting Portal.
- Download a Tech Note on integrating License Manager Pro with the Asset Manager Pro database - US LTR format (Americas) or A4 (EMEA)
- White paper on software identification methodology.
- For a no-obligation review of your business needs and Vector's solutions family, call now on +1 770-622-2850.