The Untapped Opportunities of Hardware Asset Management

In recent years, software license management has grabbed the spotlight in the IT Asset Management world because of the plentiful opportunities for cost savings. While many organizations focus on Software Asset Management, Hardware Asset Management has been largely overlooked.

This is unfortunate because there are many opportunities for savings and process improvements around hardware – from servers to desktops to mobile devices. Equally as important, there are also many potential legal and financial pitfalls to be aware of throughout the hardware asset lifecycle.

Let’s examine a few key areas of Hardware Asset Management where opportunities abound.



1. Initial acquisition and provisioning

Let’s start at the beginning. Hardware needs to be provided for new employees and projects or as part of a routine refresh process. Decisions must be made on whether to buy, lease or re-deploy existing hardware, and the cost of each option can vary widely. Much of this process can be standardized and automated from request through provisioning.



2. Proactive, automated management

It’s not a good idea to simply rely on discovery data to tell you what hardware is in your environment because you may have hardware that is not networked and cannot be automatically discovered. You also may have hardware that was acquired outside of your official procurement and deployment processes, so it has not been formally registered. Tracking new hardware acquisitions, assignments to users, organizations, locations and application systems is very important. Having this perspective allows for reconciliation with hardware discovery data to find machines that are not reporting in and devices of mysterious origin that have appeared on your network. Both scenarios require corrective action.



3. Lease management / process support

Hardware leasing is still an attractive option for many organizations. Unfortunately, it’s too easy to make mistakes that can eliminate the promise of savings. It’s essential to know where the leased hardware resides, changes that have been made to components and software, and contractual conditions. Returning leased hardware on time and in the same or better condition are critical.



4. Extending useful life and optimizing value

Amidst the SAM hype in recent years, the value of hardware asset management savings through efficient use and re-use through the lifecycle has been overlooked. Automated portals provide visibility into assets that are available for re-deployment, reducing unnecessary new purchases.



5. Verifying responsible asset retirement

Improper disposal and dumping of IT equipment – even by supposedly reputable end-of-life vendors – have been a problem for years. While proper disposal practices are essential, end-of-life tracking is highly recommended from a legal perspective. Many headaches can be eliminated by tracking certificates of sale, destruction or ownership transfer, all of which can typically be obtained from end-of-life vendors. Maintaining a documented chain of custody should be part of any organization’s lifecycle processes.



6. Integration with Service Desk and Fixed Asset Systems

When tracking hardware assets through the lifecycle, organizations know when an asset is no longer in service. When a ticket is opened in the service desk to retire an asset, the status should be reflected in the fixed asset system. This is important to avoid paying taxes on assets that have been retired.



7. Maximizing end-of-life financial returns

Financial implications include potential income from sale or recycling proceeds, as well as expenses and fees that are paid to disposal (ITAD) and other end-of-life vendors.

It’s also important to ensure there is alignment between your ITAM and ITSM processes and systems. Remember that your ITAM team is managing the same assets as the ITSM staff – the hardware assets managed in your ITAM repository are the ITSM group’s Configuration Items (CIs) that reside in the CMDB.

Hopefully this illustrates why Hardware Asset Management deserves undivided attention, based on the potential risks and rewards. Take a deeper dive into each of these areas to gain ideas and insights that will benefit your organization.

Terry Divelbliss - Senior Vice President of Marketing and Alliances

– by Terry Divelbliss

Terry Divelbliss is Eracent’s Sr. VP of Marketing & Technical Alliances. He has almost 20 years of experience in the ITAM and SAM industry in product management and customer solution implementation roles, and he is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events.