My ITAM Story by Kevin Lunz, Service Delivery Manager and Senior BPC
If your time to you is worth saving, then you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone" - Bob Dylan
It has been almost 25 years since I was introduced to a relatively new process people were referring to simply as Asset Management. As I transitioned from computer sales into this new world, I found it sometimes challenging to explain what this new role entailed. The easy explanation holds true today — understanding the cost of doing business as it relates to the software and hardware required to provide service to my customers. My favorite explanation blurs the line of professionalism but directly relates to a license plate issued to Kramer in "The Fusilli Jerry" episode of the Seinfeld show (Google: “Kramer’s license plate”).
When I started this Asset Management journey, spreadsheets and Access databases drove the business. Every department within the organization had their own source of truth, their own governance, and their own processes. If I knew what my department had in stock and what was being consumed, I was happy and not concerned with how other departments managed their stock of software and hardware assets.
When audit time came around it was typically a mad scramble to collect data and conduct physical wall to wall inventories of data centers and telco closets. Most of these inventories would have to be conducted during non-business hours, which means weekends or evenings spent at work typing serial numbers and models into our most recent version of our "source of truth" spreadsheet.
Oh how the times have changed....or have they?
There are companies all over the world still relying on spreadsheets and manual processes to drive asset management. If you are one of those companies, it is safe to say that your data is not entirely trustworthy; there is very little practical management associated with the data, and comprehensive processes and policies governing your assets are probably outdated or do not exist.
In today's world of astronomic fines associated with failed audits and the ever-present risk of asset related security breaches, my question to these companies is, why are you still relying on spreadsheets to manage the assets that drive your business?
I don't want to be the grumpy old ITAM guy here judging your ITAM practices — I feel your pain! I lived it and I did not want to give up what I was comfortable with.
For the love of your customers and the well-being of your company, it is time to let go of the spreadsheets just as you let go of your beloved oversized boom-box and your Atari 2600.
If you are ready to begin your automated ITAM journey, message me directly or visit our ITAM resource page to learn more about IT Asset Management using ServiceNow.
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