6 steps to start with ITAM
IT asset management (ITAM) , including?software asset management (SAM), has long been neglected within?IT service management (ITSM) . However, ITAM adoption has grown in popularity in recent years, with IT organizations finally waking up to the fact that they have asset-based waste.
But if we expand the view beyond the financial aspect, software compliance is still important, especially because software vendors might increase software audits with new sales revenues suffering due to the adverse financial impact of the global pandemic.
ITAM's main goal is to plan and manage the full lifecycle of all IT assets, to help the organization:
Let's take a closer look at how you can implement an ITAM strategy to benefit from all these.
How to start with ITAM: 6 steps to succeed
A common piece of advice, no matter the context, is to start at the beginning. In many ways, this is highly applicable to ITAM – with much of the foundational early work (and investment) critical to the success of the later operational ITAM activities.
Importantly, this foundational work applies to organizations even before they decide on investing in an ITAM tool. It will help decide not only the need for an ITAM tool but also the capabilities that are required of it.
1- Understand your organization’s need for ITAM
Here, it’s important to appreciate the many roles ITAM capabilities can play and the benefits that are realized as a result. This will guide the creation of your ITAM capability and the people/teams that you need to involve in setting up your organization’s initial ITAM capabilities.
For example, ITAM can be used to: protect company assets from loss, ensure compliance with software licensing agreements and legislation, support the IT service desk and its remediation and provisioning activities, identify assets that need replacing (or potentially “sweating” to garner greater value from them), negotiate better sourcing deals, invoke third-party support and maintenance agreements when needed, save money, and inform project-based decision making.”
2- “Start where you are.”
If you’re familiar with the ITIL 4 best practice service management guidance, then you’ll recognize that this is borrowed from ITIL 4’s seven Guiding Principles. It means there’s no need to start from scratch with ITAM, with there likely many existing helpful activities and information sources available to leverage for your initial ITAM needs.
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For example, there might already be an Excel or Google Sheets list of hardware somewhere in the organization. Or the IT service desk might record asset details while delivering support or provisioning services. Or network scanning tools might be recording the assets on the network and who’s using them.
3- Agree on the initial ITAM scope and focus
ITAM can be the proverbial “boiling the ocean.” So, identify what will deliver the best business benefits out of the potentially long list of opportunities. For example, if your organization is looking to reduce IT asset costs in the short term, then there’s the opportunity to use ITAM to prevent expenditure on new assets unless absolutely necessary.
4- Quickly pull together an initial asset inventory
ITAM success will rely on your organization having a trusted source of IT asset information. So, start by finding existing asset inventories/registers. These will likely be incomplete and inaccurate but it’s a good start. For example, leveraging network monitoring data if available. Because this not only shows the assets being used on the network but also by whom.
5- Target quick wins
For example, identifying underused assets for redistribution – which could be underused software or where some employees have multiple devices when they don’t need them. Or there might also be issues with your organization’s leavers procedures, such that IT assets aren’t collected from employees when they leave.
6- Use agreed-on metrics to measure success
So, what will define your ITAM investments as successful? And how can you measure performance against these “critical success factors”? This will likely involve financial savings, but it can also involve other factors such as greater efficiency (perhaps in IT support), improved governance and compliance, or improved employee experiences and productivity – where employees are better equipped to do their jobs.
We hope these steps can guide you through the early steps of the process. If you’re new to the world of ITAM, we have a definitive guide that will provide you with at least 80% of what you need to know in less than 20% of the time needed to piece it together yourself.
Find what ITAM entails, what doesn't, how it relates to ITSM , a detailed list of benefits and best practices, as well as six things to look for in an ITAM tool. And don't forget to complement it with expert Aaron Davenport's asset management strategy walkthrough! You can find it on your favorite podcast platform .