Dovetail. The Combined IT Advantage of Asset Management and Service Request Management
According to formal definition, a dovetail is:
a joint formed by one or more tapered projections (tenons) on one piece that interlock with corresponding notches or recesses (mortises) in another.
AND THAT IS IMPORTANT!
I actually had a little internal debate about whether to choose this article to be titled “The Combined IT Advantage of Asset Tracking and Service Request Management.” Here’s why I changed my mind. Asset Management is more critical to larger successful organizations than simple asset tracking. Maybe an easy decision, but not an easy endeavor sometimes. It takes a deep-thought understanding of which choice delivers the most value, and when, as organizations grow and evolve.
Keeping track of costly equipment in any organization is certainly important. Understanding where that equipment is, and who is responsible, matters. Your finance folks will come to you annually (or maybe more often) to be assured that the organization's assets are being properly utilized and, that from a leadership perspective, they’re being utilized as effectively as is reasonably possible.
When IT Leadership engages with an effective Service Desk (help desk, IT hotline, etc.), then the beginnings of ITIL may be leveraged. And when IT organizations can effectively track and measure service requests, resolutions, and escalations, then, over time, fewer and fewer issues fall between the cracks and get lost or abandoned.
Envision an IT Service Request System that Efficiently Accepts and Categorizes Incoming Issues. You can Develop and Leverage Metrics to Improve Results.
That printer on the loading dock is constantly getting jammed. We’re spending 3-4 hours a week keeping it working. When an IT leader has immediate and clear visibility into resource utilization, they can make the easy decision that says replace that $800 printer with a new unit. Let’s get our team working us forward, instead of our team continuously pulling out paper jams and replacing pinch-rollers.
When you know where you assets are, who is using them, and which are causing the most stress on the organization, then you can present facts. A colleague may need coaching in how to properly care for their phone or laptop because they consume these assets substantially more often than others in their role. When facts are available, emotional issues can be more easily handled.
Also, you can know which department is putting the most strain on you team! Do they need new systemic solutions? Are there possibilities to improve the tools and systems they have available to them? Perhaps they need improved automation, which may require an investment, but thanks to your metrics these investments will have a clear and dramatic ROI.