Businesses today require a clear understanding of their IT assets to manage costs and usage effectively. Traditional IT asset management (ITAM) systems can pose integration challenges with other business software, while manual asset tracking methods, that still rely on spreadsheets, are inefficient and prone to inaccuracies. This is a significant concern because nearly 90% of IT leaders acknowledge shortcomings in their current ITAM processes, leading to wasted assets and exposing organizations to security vulnerabilities.
So, what's the solution?
The solution is an automated centralized system to manage IT assets throughout their lifecycle. On the bright side, you don't have to overhaul your entire system at once. There are ways to improve and optimize ITAM gradually by evaluating current processes and focusing on the most critical areas first. This will lead to quick wins and a more efficient IT infrastructure.
Why automate ITAM workflows?
IT asset managers are constantly looking for ways to steamline their workflows, facing two significant challenges: maintaining an accurate inventory and overseeing the lifecycle of IT assets from acquisition to disposal. These challenges can be addressed head-on through automation particularly by updating the asset management system during new product purchases, automating end-of-life actions like takebacks, managing renewals, and tagging assets in the management tool based on user and current statuses. This approach enhances accuracy, saves valuable time, and ensures compliance.
Automating procurement and asset management processes guarantees that each asset goes through complete lifecycle management from acquisition to disposal. This strengthens your IT asset management (ITAM) strategy, effectively putting your IT environment on autopilot.
Read More: Cut IT admin time by up to 50% through asset lifecycle management
Two workflows you can automate today
In this article, we've identified the two most important workflows for any company looking to improve their IT asset management strategy. By focusing on these workflows, businesses can kickstart their journey towards better management of their IT assets starting today.
Real-time automated inventory management
Consider having instant, accurate knowledge of every device connected to your network with automated asset discovery; no more time-consuming manual admin tasks or confusing spreadsheets. A unified ITAM platform continuously scans the network, providing a real-time inventory overview that reflects the true state of your IT environment. Here are the benefits it offers:
- Effortless Asset Discovery: Manual discovery processes are outdated. Automated systems continuously scan your network, identifying and registering all connected devices. As an IT admin, this saves you valuable time and resources.
- Real-time Inventory Overview: Gain instant visibility into the true state of your IT environment. A centralized dashboard displays your entire inventory in real-time, including details like device type, location, user assignment, and software installed. This eliminates the need for outdated and unreliable spreadsheets.
- Improved Asset Utilization: With a clear understanding of your assets, you can easily identify underutilized devices. This allows you to optimize asset allocation by redeploying underused equipment or eliminating unnecessary purchases. This not only saves money but maximizes the return on your IT investments.
- Enhanced Security: Automated discovery helps identify unauthorized or unknown devices connected to your network. This allows for immediate action to mitigate security risks and protect your data from potential breaches.
By automating inventory management, you gain a comprehensive and up-to-date view of your IT assets. This empowers you to make informed decisions about resource allocation, security, and budgeting for your IT infrastructure.
Read More: IT Asset Management (ITAM): The missing piece in your cybersecurity strategy
Simplifying IT asset control: Automating the lifecycle
Data-driven lifecycle management automates IT asset tracking from purchase to disposal, eliminating manual processes and ensuring a complete asset overview. This translates to several key benefits:
- Enhanced accuracy: Automatic updates minimize errors in your asset records.
- Efficiency: Automated workflows save time and effort for IT staff.
- Compliance: Accurate data facilitates adherence to regulations.
- Strategic focus: IT teams can dedicate less time to paperwork and more to strategic initiatives.
- Cost optimization: You can optimize asset utilization and avoid unnecessary purchases.
Here's how automation simplifies each lifecycle stage:
- Procurement: Asset acquisition automation streamlines the process, minimizing errors, and optimizing inventory management.
- Deployment: Quick and efficient allocation tools expedite asset deployment to users or departments, minimizing downtime.
- Management: Centralized information provides a directory/overview for all asset data, enabling informed decisions on utilization and cost-effectiveness. Automated tracking simplifies asset location and status checks.
- Maintenance: Automated maintenance scheduling based on usage data and performance metrics prevents downtime and extends asset lifespan. Automated activity tracking ensures a complete service history for each asset.
- Retirement: Automated depreciation tracking helps with asset replacement planning, while usage pattern analysis identifies underutilized assets for redeployment or retirement, optimizing resource allocation.
- Disposal: Disposal process automation facilitates secure and compliant asset removal, minimizing legal risks and simplifying regulatory compliance.
By automating each stage, data-driven lifecycle management offers a comprehensive and efficient approach to IT asset management, freeing up resources, improving security, and empowering data-driven decision-making – all while saving you time and money.
Velory is dedicated to simplifying IT asset lifecycle management, empowering businesses to achieve their goals efficiently and effectively.
How Velory works
Velory automates IT procurement processes, reduces procurement cycle times, ensures compliance, and provides detailed statistics and asset-optimization features. It streamlines IT asset management, from procurement to retirement, minimizing waste and enhancing data security. With Velory, you can take control of your IT operations, maximize budget efficiency, and align purchases with renewal cycles.
Did you know that our clients experience a significant reduction in workload, saving months of workload per IT team?
In conclusion, Velory is an all-in-one solution for IT managers looking to transform their manual IT operations and achieve maximum efficiency. The platform empowers you to automate procurement, manage assets, streamline administration processes, and optimize budget efficiency — all while taking control of your IT operations and driving business success. Velory helps IT departments save hundreds of hours per IT team member every month on administrative tasks through automatic reminders, order approvals, and other streamlining features. Here's how we can help! Contact us for more information here.
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