Your business uses tons of computer equipment, also known as IT assets. Having the right equipment is great, but things get more challenging when you must keep track of where and how it’s used.
It’s especially tricky when your company operates out of multiple locations. So where do you start? You need an IT asset inventory management system.
This article will cover what you should know about IT asset management. We’ll break down what an asset inventory is, why it’s important, and how you can get started. Stick around to get all the details.
What Are IT Asset Inventories?
An IT asset inventory is the documentation and tracking systems you use to organize all your computer equipment. It’s meant to help you understand the value of different pieces of equipment and where it’s being used in a business, and it tracks key processes like audits and routine maintenance.
What Is Meant by IT Asset Inventory?
As for what IT asset inventory means, it’ll typically be deployed in a couple of different ways. You’ll usually either see manual inventories or digital software-based inventory systems.
Manual inventory is great for small businesses that don’t have much equipment to manage. It typically involves manually inputting assets into Excel spreadsheets or similar programs as you purchase, maintain, and dispose of equipment throughout its lifecycle.
Digital inventories use more complex software programs to thoroughly analyze the equipment you have on hand. This benefits larger companies that need to track thousands of assets across many locations. However, these systems can be hard to implement on your own. Having a partner like Multiply can make these processes much easier.
At Multiply, we’re a team of IT consultants and senior service technicians who help with IT asset management, including IT asset inventory management. We can help you get set up with our own software that is much easier to use and even facilitate communications across teams to get this process organized and avoid any frustrating bumps in the road.
IT Asset Inventory Importance
Having an IT asset inventory is very important to the success of a business. You need one to ensure compliance with financial and IT management regulations. That way, if you’re ever audited or have issues, you have direct data to refer back to.
In addition, an inventory keeps your processes organized. It’s hard to identify problems when you have computer malfunctions if you don’t know what equipment you have on hand in the first place.
Lastly, your inventory will help you optimize processes for maintaining equipment throughout its lifecycle and replacing it as it ages. This will keep all your key components operating smoothly and avoid disruptions in your daily business activities.
What Is Included in IT Asset Inventory?
Several components and pieces of data may be included in an asset inventory. Let’s look at some of the typical IT asset inventory elements.
IT Asset Inventory Elements
The most common asset inventory elements are:
- Location: Businesses with multiple departments or locations will want a section for it in their inventory. That way, you know where each piece of equipment is being used if you must find it.
- Users: Another key piece of the puzzle is knowing who is using what equipment. This could be specific employees the equipment is assigned to or be more generalized to a specific department.
- Maintenance and support: Inventories can also track maintenance and support data. It tells you when the equipment was last maintained, updated and what kind of work was done.
- Performance: Tracking how equipment is performing is crucial to managing business operations. You want everything to operate at full capacity so processes can be the most efficient.
- Lifecycle stage: IT asset management involves monitoring equipment as it progresses through its lifecycle to know when it needs to be replaced. Having the lifecycle stage in the inventory makes this process much more efficient.
An asset inventory can track a lot of data, so setting it up effectively is essential. To give you further information, let’s look at an IT asset inventory example to see how it can be used.
What Is an Example of an Asset Inventory?
A company has 27 offices located across the U.S. IT leaders have noticed that computers are operating slower as they age, so they bring it to the attention of business leaders. However, before they can be replaced, decision-makers need to know how many total laptops and desktops are currently in use across locations.
Suddenly, there’s a realization that not having an inventory of IT assets has put everyone involved in a tough spot. Trying to manage asset discovery and creating an inventory across locations quickly becomes overwhelming, so decision-makers decide to partner with Multiply to help.
Once Multiply gets on board, streamlined asset discovery systems are implemented to simplify identifying assets across locations. Multiply also facilitates communication across teams so everyone can work together effectively in this process.
The company can then calculate its needs for new equipment, purchase it, and record new assets in its inventory once they are deployed.
What Is an IT Asset Inventory Checklist?
An IT asset inventory list, sometimes called an inventory control system, helps keep processes for tracking and managing assets in line with company regulations. Going through a checklist helps all employees know what they should do when managing inventory records and ensures accurate tracking of assets at all times.
How Multiply Can Help
If you need help setting up an asset inventory system or getting started with IT asset management, Multiply will be a great resource for your needs.
Multiply is a team of senior service technicians and IT consultants with years of asset and data management experience. We partner with businesses to streamline the processes of setting up IT inventories, bridging communication between teams, and can ensure visibility into all of your IT assets and processes.
Contact us today to learn more about how Multiply can help!
