Businesses are relying more and more on digital assets as we continue to live in a technology-driven world. There are two primary categories of assets that companies typically rely on: hardware assets and cloud assets. Understanding the difference between the two can help your team manage data more efficiently for your company. The two require different management processes which can get confusing, but we’re here to explain what exactly those differences are.
Hardware assets are defined as physical, tangible components of an IT infrastructure. Some examples of hardware assets include servers, computers, networking equipment, and storage devices. The main characteristics that define a hardware asset are tangibility, limited scalability, cost, and flexibility. We will dive deeper into each of these, starting with how tangibility is defined as assets that can be touched, seen, and physically manipulated. Due to their tangibility, hardware assets will need regular maintenance and updates that can pose potential physical challenges. Limited scalability means that these assets face challenges due to cost, space, and time constraints. Dealing with limited scalability as a company can cause an abundance of issues such as the inability to handle company growth. Cost is another characteristic of hardware assets since there is an initial investment and ongoing costs associated with purchasing and maintaining hardware. Finally, the lack of flexibility that hardware assets possess make it difficult to adapt to changing business needs and technology advancements.
Sounds overwhelming right? Well, issues regarding hardware assets can be easily taken care of when you partner with Multiply! You won’t have to worry about space and time as we scale and store your equipment as part of our service. Not only that, but having an ITAM partner like Multiply will ensure your assets are managed and updated so that your costs do not increase due to poor asset performance. Our service process handles flexibility issues with a nimble team that is equipped to handle major changes quickly. We pride ourselves in our ability to both help and handle any challenges hardware assets may bring to a company’s IT infrastructure.
Moving onto cloud assets, this type of asset is a virtual resource accessed over the internet. Some examples of cloud assets include virtual machines, storage, databases, and applications. Cloud assets are typically characterized by their accessibility, scalability, and maintenance. Accessibility relates to how cloud assets are available from anywhere with an internet connection. Cloud assets are also easily scalable, whether it be up or down depending on the company and the demand. In terms of maintenance, there are cloud service providers that handle maintenance and updates which relieves users of these responsibilities. Now that you know the difference between hardware and cloud assets, we will go through how to manage each efficiently.
Considering the state of your assets and the size of your team, you may be wondering who should be managing them. An internal team has the ability to manage most aspects of both hardware and cloud management, but it can be time consuming. Your team might be focused on setting up new employees with computers as your company scales up. Or they might be dealing with a growing population of current employees having issues with their hardware. Regardless of the current state of your IT team, working with Multiply ensures that we will relieve your internal team time, save you money on assets in the future, and you will be able to scale without bumps in the road. Partner with us today to manage all your asset types effectively and efficiently.
Overall, there are key characteristics that make hardware assets and cloud assets different. Hardware assets are tangible, have limited scalability, cost money, and lack of flexibility. Cloud assets on the other hand are accessible, have scalability, and require maintenance. More than likely, your company has both and it is important to understand the differences between them to make an informed decision for your business and technology strategies. At the end of the day, your company’s choice between hardware and cloud assets should align with what is needed for your business to achieve its priorities and goals. Let Multiply help you learn how, contact us today!
