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Asset Management
Best Practice
Revision:
1.3
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Table
of Contents
FCSL Asset
Management Best Practice
Financial
Value
of Asset Base
Lease
Management
Audit
Enterprise
management
Security
Software
Licencing
Support
Revisits
Shadow
Support
Proactive
Reduces User Downtime
Contract
Take-on costs
Across
Whole Base?
Moves
and Changes
Proactive
Management
Summary
Despite reducing costs of PC capital purchase, a significant amount of investment is made in the lifetime of each asset. The creation of suitable processes to track, manage and support the asset base can deliver significant reductions in ongoing overhead expenditure. There have been many companies, true and apocryphal which have believed that they fully understand the size of their installed base, only to discover that they have over/under-estimated by up to 10%.
Without a suitable
asset management system, companies face at least an annual ritual of visiting
each asset, and auditing all relevant details. Unfortunately, almost by
definition, this information is out of date as soon as it is recorded. With a
suitable asset management system, it is not only the case that the information
is live and current at any time, but also the information can be used for many
different purposes, from upgrade to asset valuation.
It is clear that
there are many potential savings from implementing suitable asset management
best practices. Industry practice suggests that these potential savings will be
in the range:
|
Hardware and
Software |
0-8% |
|
Operations |
1-16% |
|
Administration |
0-7% |
|
End-User |
0-3% |
Source: GartnerGroup
The correct choice of
software asset management packages, combined with the implementation of best
practices allows better control and management of the installed base.
The following
information describes some areas where FCSL Asset Management Consultants have
established business benefits, and areas where improvement effort should be
focused.
The Financial Division of any
client or business unit requires an accurate assessment of current asset value
to assess the effect of depreciation on business and balance sheet value. As IT
Directors will recognise, the current book value can be substantially different
from the current market value for an installed base. If the asset is written
down over three years, after one year, an asset may have a book value of
two-thirds of purchase, but a market value of one tenth.
Being able to access a live,
current database of asset information, accurate information can be established
to assess the value of the asset base. Peripherals which have been added to an
asset may depreciate at a different rate than the asset itself, and if they
exist in a significant number, can skew the value of assets.
More and more organisations are
leasing their installed base, to mitigate the effects of shortened product life
cycles and technology refresh. The ability to value the asset base as above
allows a suitable initial lease contract to be written, or the assets brokered
off at market value.
On an ongoing basis, it is
important to know the makeup of the assets, so that lease values can be agreed
and contracted. Without this information, it is possible that excess lease
values are being paid, with no value added.
The traditional approach to auditing has been to mobilise a cast of thousands, on an annual basis, and document the information relating to each asset. Unfortunately, this is prone to user error, either in recording or logging the information.
On top of this, users
have an infuriating habit of re-configuring hardware, installing software and
relocating assets. Indeed, for mobile users with laptops, in national or global
organisations, it would be impractical to expect assets to remain static during
the period of an audit.
A suitable asset
management package will allow real-time audits to happen across the whole asset
base within minutes, rather than weeks.
One of the issues of asset management is that a large number of asset management packages exist, sponsored by different hardware and software vendors, each supplying a different combination of functionality and benefits. This leads to multiple licence costs and training requirements. In the field of asset management, it is a case of “the nice thing about standards, is that there are so many to choose from…..”
Thankfully, there are
a number of enterprise management packages able to extract the information from
the asset management packages, and present it in a standard way. The choice of
Enterprise Management solution can be costly, and obtaining the correct level of
consulting advice can avoid expensive mistakes and potential embarrassment.
The security of assets has become of greater and greater importance, as PCs are used for ever more business critical applications. Data security has taken on a new meaning, as information falling in to the hands of competitors can commercially hurt or even destroy an otherwise healthy business.
Furthermore, the cost
of replacing assets or peripherals is typically funded from the bottom line, as
it is generally not cost-effective to claim on insurance, other than for the
theft of a large number of assets.
During the time of
memory constraints, shortly after the explosion in the chip manufacturing
facility in Taiwan, there were numerous reports of break-ins where the PCs were
left behind, but memory and other valuable peripherals were removed.
The choice of
hardware with cover sensors triggered by cover removal, combined with asset
management software to alert if hardware configuration has changed allows the IT
department to monitor the asset base for signs of unauthorised activity.
Of course, there are
also many reports of whole systems being removed from premises, either by
unauthorised intruders or even by staff. In the case of non-managed equipment,
it can be days or even weeks before removal is discovered, by which time it is
too late to recover the goods.
There are a number of
good reasons to manage software assets, including:
Reputation loss if unauthorised licences are discovered
Ensuring that licences are not overpaid
Assessing the impact of software update or upgrade
Monitoring the addition of any non-authorised software, either legal or
illegal
A common unauthorised
practice is where a legitimate software package is ghosted onto another system.
This can be with the innocent intent of ‘trying-before-buying”, but
contravenes software licensing agreements, and places the organisation in a
precarious position.
Monitoring the
installed software base highlights non-conformances, and also discourages users
from the ghost software practice, in the knowledge that their asset is being
monitored.
Most software
manufacturers are members of the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST). This
organisation exists to discourage the use of illegal or pirated software. Most
software manufacturers will take a pragmatic view to any organisation admitting
‘over-use’ of licences and buying suitable
replacement licences. If, however, a high-profile client is found using
illegal licences, FAST and the software manufacturer may well choose to make an
example of that customer.
Clearly, this can
have a very negative impact on a client’s reputation, affecting areas
including share price, credit worthiness and quality as an employer.
As has been stated, suitable asset
management practices can lead to significant potential savings. These can be
attributed to a number of areas, some of which have been highlighted below.
When a hardware problem is
reported in a non-managed environment, a hardware engineer is despatched to
diagnose the fault, a replacement part is ordered, and the hardware engineer
returns to replace the item. This adds substantial cost, in the region of at
least £30 for each additional visit.
Asset Management software can be
used to assess the failed item, and despatch the replacement item and engineer
to allow the fault to be rectified in one visit.
Shadow support is the support
provided by non-IT resource within the user base. The net effect is that there
can be a number of virtual full time support heads providing asset and ongoing
support to the installed base. Asset Management software can be used to reduce
the burden on the IT staff, reducing the need for shadow support, bringing back
support under central control, ensuring consistent, high-quality support to the
user base. This is an area which is often omitted from Total Cost of Ownership
studies, although potential savings can be significant.
The ability to proactively manage
the asset base allows more controlled decisions to be made regarding ongoing
support and occasional upgrade. At the very least, the ability to automatically
collect asset information, and, where possible, status, means that the number of
desk-side visits is reduced by at least one. Proactive management can even
remove the need to visit the desk, can allow appropriate scheduling if a visit
is necessary, and consequently minimises user inconvenience and downtime.
This has a tangible effect on
cost-of-ownership, and can have a positive, if subjective, effect on the Public
Relations of the IT Department.
Professional services
organisations will always insist on a period of due diligence following contract
engagement of support or consulting services. This is not intended to display
mistrust, but often reflects the uncertainty of the quantity or nature of the
installed base. Furthermore, if a services organisation is unsure of the product
nature or mix, the temptation is to price defensively, assuming that the picture
of the installed base is worse than has been painted.
By providing an accurate asset
management register, the contract take-on costs should be reduced, and the
partnership should also be initiated in an atmosphere of trust and mutual
understanding of the installed base.
There are many customers with a mix of new and old systems, some capable of providing full asset management information, while others are only able to provide basic information. A key early decision is whether to practice asset management only on new systems, or across the whole asset base. Most clients install across the whole base, allowing a lowest common denominator degree of information across all systems, and more in-depth on the more recent systems.
As the older
equipment is refreshed, the replacement systems will be able to provide more
complete information, providing a complete asset manageable installed base at a
planned point.
Asset Management allows more control of moves and changes. Any unauthorised system changes or movements can be detected automatically, and any authorised moves and changes can be planned and executed with minimal user interaction.
Armed with the number
and type of assets in each department, moves can be planned taking account of
the number of systems, locations, and the space required for each user (e.g. a
desktop will need a dedicated desk, but a laptop user may hot-desk).
Proactive management of the asset base allows the number and use of support staff to be reviewed. This approach allows the IT department to add more user-value in the form of remedies and changes prior to failure or requirement, and also decreases the amount of reactive support required. This reduction in support allows the freed resource to look at other ways to provide support and strategy to the user community, changing the role of IT support from reactive fixers to proactive advisors.
The asset information
can be used to provide a rolling or phased upgrade programme, recognising that
software upgrade and maintenance can lead to a different set of requirements of
the hardware. An informed decision can then be taken to upgrade memory/disk, for
example, at mid product lifecycle, or replace the whole asset at end of product
lifecycle. Furthermore, the appropriate type of memory or disk can be scheduled
to arrive at desk-side at the same time as an installation engineer, further
reducing user downtime, and improving IT response.
The correct choice of
Asset Management software and processes can add significant value to the IT
Department and user community. The ability to create these processes, choose
appropriate software and enterprise management packages, and implement the total
solution is an advanced consulting skill, which FCSL can provide.
The benefits which
can be gained from the correct asset management approach include:
Financial
Security
Software Licence Control
Support
Proactive Management
No attempt has been made to discuss specific software packages in this document. They are many and varied, have a multitude of features and benefits, and have different levels of support for different types of asset. Different clients have different requirements from asset management software, and consequently it would be inappropriate to recommend any package until all the parameters and requirement are assessed and discussed.
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Fintray Consulting Services Limited