Get the basics right

WHILE THE MARKET for IT asset management (ITAM) tools is showing strong growth and is on the verge of mainstream adoption, the general consensus among local ITAM solution providers is that the South African enterprise market is still lagging this global trend.

ITAM: Where to begin?

Research firm Gartner advises that, given that ITAM is a combination of policies, processes, people and tools that aligns with business needs, you should begin by addressing each of those areas in a similar order. Step 1:  Put in place ITAM policies The first step is to put in place employee policies related to ITAM. This would include software licence compliance, reporting loss/theft of an asset, and centralised purchasing or assets. Once the policies are developed, ensure that they are communicated to employees on a regular basis. Step 2:  Process and people Since an ITAM program is heavily dependent on accurate data, which is derived from having robust documented processes, Gartner recommends focusing there. Evaluate the different stages of the life cycle, which are: * Requisitioning the IT asset * Receiving * Deployment and ongoing maintenance (the longest part of the life cycle occurs here) * Retirement and disposal * Begin by conducting an assessment of the organisation and identifying where best practices might already exist in those areas, or even in various offices or regions. If there aren't any best practices in place, this is the opportunity to revise the current processes so that they operate more efficiently and effectively. The processes should be documented, tested and adhered to. Step 3:  Determine which IT assets should be managed You can't manage assets you don't know about. Begin by identifying which assets would be within the scope of those to be managed, based upon the value of the device and whether there is a service contract associated with it, whether there is installed software on it or whether the device could pose a security risk. When this step is completed, companies can begin developing an RFP for an auto-discovery or inventory tool, if one isn't already available or isn't meeting its needs. Step 4:  Evaluate tools to automate processes Many companies want to skip straight to the tool stage. In these cases, there are two toolsets that support an ITAM program: inventory tools and ITAM repository tools. Inventory tools detect what IT hardware is attached to the corporate network and scan the device to inventory what software is installed. This data depicts what is actively deployed in the environment, and after the data is collected it can be transferred into a central repository where the contract and financial data is stored. This central repository, which could be a packaged application or could be a home grown, internally developed database or spreadsheet, depicts the data of what is authorised to run in the environment. When the two datasets, inventory and financial/contract, are compared, the results illustrate where the deltas or potential problems may lie, eg, with unlicensed software. Source: Gartner

Hedley Hurwitz

"Over the last couple of years we've seen a steady climb in the number of companies proactively building on their asset management investment. This does not come as a surprise, as most companies experienced an economic slump and needed to shift their focus. Unfortunately, within the South African market, too many companies still rely on outdated tools and ITAM structures," maintains Vernon Vlok, business development manager at Numara Software South Africa.

"The simple truth is that South African companies don't have a handle on their IT assets, and in most cases the general effort towards software asset management is laughable. In terms of ITAM within government, it's predominantly simply not managed at all," he adds.

HP Business Technology Optimisation solutions architect Clive Brindley concurs. "ITAM has been around for a long time, but the reality is that customers in South Africa don't have ITAM under control to a best practice level."

"Generally, South African companies have a very inaccurate view of their IT assets, both from a hardware and software point of view," agrees Patrick Price, principal consultant at CA Southern Africa.

"The problem seems to be more acute when it comes to mobile devices, laptops and desktops. A leading reason for this problem is that organisations do not have proper change management processes in place. So, for example, when an employee leaves the organisation, their desktop/laptop may be collected from them, but no central electronic record is kept of the fact that the asset has been returned to stock, and no record is kept of the software applications that have now been freed up," he explains.

Price has noted a marked increase in requests for information related to asset management in the local market. "The focus appears to be on contract management as it relates to IT asset purchases and software licences."

Hedley Hurwitz, MD of Magix Integration, says: "Very few companies have accurate inventory figures. In most cases key areas of production systems, such as servers, switches, etc, are well managed. As assets diminish in criticality and visibility they get less attention. Software is always more challenging to manage as unlicensed and unapproved software can rapidly proliferate."

This approach, however, leads to long-term risks of heavy replacement costs and abuse of company equipment, he says.

However, most South African companies are not even doing the basics properly, observes CA's Price. "Many companies still believe that they can do manual inventory checks of their assets. This is a total waste of time, effort and money and does not accomplish anything remotely resembling asset management," he insists.

RECESSION AND COMPLIANCE

Patrick Price

Driving the adoption of ITAM tools has been the recent global economic recession and compliance issues. "Sometimes a wake-up call is needed, and I think that's exactly what we got. The problem is that with the economy being the driver, investment in ITAM technology is mostly limited. Not that throwing money at the problem solves anything, the focus should be long-term," remarks Numara's Vlok.

Randy Hildebrandt, senior manager at BMC Remedy Solutions Management, says the economic climate has prompted most organisations to trim expenses. "They can't do that effectively without knowing what assets they need in contrast to what assets they have. Companies seem to be either optimising their current processes around the life cycle of assets or formalising their asset management projects to gain that needed visibility of assets."

Hurwitz says the issues driving adoption of ITAM are the challenges of compliance, business continuity planning, and the IT department or provider's objective to achieve ever higher levels of service to the business.

In terms of compliance, regulations like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard are forcing organisations to get an accurate handle on their assets, both hardware and software.

"South Africa is lagging slightly behind on adoption because there are fewer regulatory drivers. Practical issues like budgeting, driving down costs and increasing efficiencies, and fulfilling service level agreements are still driving the business case for purchasing asset management solutions. Adoption is also driven by demands of growth. As organisations increase in size and complexity they will adopt aspects of ITAM, largely driven by the existence and size of pain points."

Many companies do not realise that effective ITAM is a crucial part of corporate governance, because companies must know who is using their IT assets, what they are using the assets for, and where the users are so they can be tracked and traced, elaborates Hurwitz.

CA's Price envisages that more companies will adopt proper asset management processes and controls as and when they are audited by the software licensing bodies, and as they are brought to account for non-compliance of software licences.

ADVICE AND ARROGANCE

Beyond a certain size, all companies need a dedicated ITAM solution, says Magix's Hurwitz. "It all starts with a solid foundation  n accurate inventory of hardware and software. Automated discovery tools make this part of the process painless and achievable. Then there have to be policies formulated, or adopted into the system, that will drive the principles regarding the maintenance, security and life cycle of assets. Other priorities include risk reduction through standardisation, proper documentation and loss detection," he adds.

BMC's Hildebrandt says a company's priorities will depend on where it is on a maturity scale. "If they don't have any visibility into asset management, then they can start small by first finding out what they have - an asset inventory. Next, they can put some processes around the life cycle of those assets to maintain control. Finally, tying financials to the assets allow true metrics that will show value."

Numara's Vlok suggests that companies partner with vendors who specialise in ITAM. "Focus on a structure that can improve performance, reduce risk and optimise your investments, then follow through with it. Imagine, rather than repeatedly responding to unforeseen, spontaneous problems as part of your everyday routine, you could anticipate and help to solve them even before they occur. The key is to have a system that's proactive, reliable, fast to deploy and does not cost a fortune," he insists.

CA's Price notes that the top priority is to ensure that effective asset management processes are in place, and that they are followed. "Once the processes are in place, then the appropriate asset discovery and life cycle management tools need to be implemented to assist in the accurate management of the processes."

Theo Fourie

"Throwing money at the problem is not a solution and there are no quick fixes. ITAM should become as integrated a part of your business as the helpdesk is. It is imperative to implement a sustainable and cost-effective solution, which provides visibility of all your hardware and software assets. ITAM will engulf time and budget, if not initially implemented correctly," says Vlok.

Hurwitz indicates that the most common mistakes made by most South African companies when managing their IT assets are complacency, arrogance and a lack of awareness.

"Executives don't pay enough attention to the accuracy and management of the inventory. It's seen more as an auditing requirement, and if the asset register is signed off [then] they are happy."

Without an accurate inventory and adequate policies in place, it is impossible to achieve efficiencies in financial and productivity terms. For example, he says, without an accurate software inventory, and to manage the risk of being 'caught short', companies end up spending more on maintenance renewals than the actual implemented licences may require.

Another common mistake is to underestimate the complexity of implementing and maintaining an ITAM system. The system itself will become a risk if not accurately maintained and adequately secured. The arrogance creeps in when executives think or assume that "it cannot happen to me".

"They soon realise the opposite is true when they realise their IT assets - hardware, software and peripherals - are being pilfered around them," says Hurwitz.

He warns companies to avoid ITAM disasters by deploying solutions that effectively prevent the theft of hardware and software, and the manipulation of data.

EASIER THAN YOU THINK

Theo Fourie, sales director of Columbus SA, an asset management software company, says the main problem faced by companies trying to manage their IT assets is that the department responsible for IT tends to be the one with the least knowledge of the equipment, programs and users it is supposed to manage.

Enterprise asset management has a new best friend

IT asset management is not just about controlling assets; it is also about ensuring optimum performance of a company's assets, and in such a way that it does not drain a company's resources and budget. Jane Thomson, MD of Softworx, an EOH company and Infor reseller, says it is no secret that implementing and maintaining enterprise-wide systems has become one of the greatest challenges an organisation faces today. "The effort required to configure, install, maintain, and support business applications often robs an organisation of valuable time that could be applied to more strategic activities." She says that enterprise asset management (EAM) software applications offer significant operational and economic advantages, but what often multiplies those advantages is utilising SaaS (software as a service) options. According to Thomson, numerous organisations globally have opted for a SaaS route to avoid the capital costs and reduce the set-up time associated with software implementation. "SaaS provides the infrastructure and experienced support needed to ensure fast, secure, reliable access to your critical business data and asset management functions. It gives customers greater choice and flexibility to take advantage of the capabilities of EAM, without a large upfront investment or the need to manage IT infrastructure," says Thomson. "EAM may just have a great partner in SaaS. Together they eliminate the financial, technical, and administrative burdens of traditional organisation-wide software implementation, and this can only make a customer happy," concludes Thomson.

"Unlike assets like office furniture or stock, which are physically visible, many IT assets are not necessarily observable, and require specific knowledge of their architecture and design to check their whereabouts and status," says Fourie.

"Without the necessary monitoring and tracking tools, IT assets are very difficult to manage."

Similarly, the effective control of software requires a dedicated system to examine the status and maintenance of applications to ensure they are carefully and accurately tracked and monitored to prevent redundancy, and ensure maximum usage for greatest value.

Monitoring hardware and software need not be an onerous, time-consuming or expensive task, explains Fourie. IT assets can be discovered remotely, using a simple tool that runs on the company's network to identify all ICT-related assets and analyse the intricacies of serial numbers, disk size and specifications, status, condition, licence and even warranty dates.

Jane Thomson

"Not only will an inventory scanner report back with the details of more than 2 000 hardware items, but it can interrogate the uninstall log that sits on every computer to determine what software was installed, and when. This provides a comparison between software purchased and licensed, and that which might have been added or downloaded. Management can use such a log to decide whether the company is under- or over-subscribed to certain software," says Fourie.

Using information retrieved, assets can be categorised into defined classes, and then linked to an asset code assigned to each user. In this way hardware and software can be allotted to appropriate cost centres, specifying purchase costs and dates, values and depreciation rates.

"By simply typing in a user's name, all the information of assets used by that employee becomes immediately available. This is not only useful to check usage and efficiency, but to ensure that if that person leaves the company, all the IT assets he or she used remain in the company's possession," says Fourie.

One of the most under-estimated values of software monitoring in a large organisation is its ability to measure the extent to which a user utilises specific software. Accurately assessing usage specific to users enables management to decide whether that specific software is worth renewing.

Inventory scans are quick, easy and simple to run. Fourie says the budgeting advantage provided by astute and regular asset management is considerable.

"Without precise and up-to-date information about what IT assets you have, you cannot plan your budget effectively. Trying to rely on physical auditing of IT assets is not only extremely costly, but impractical and inefficient - within hours of completing a time-consuming physical audit, it can be out of date," says Fourie.

NO PAIN GAIN

The emergence of powerful discovery tools that can span networks and gather intricate information in an agent-less fashion has enabled organisations to introduce asset management in an automated and non-invasive manner, Hurwitz points out. This trend of achieving ITAM without the pain of gathering information manually, or managing agents installed on devices, has enabled accurate inventory gathering.

Most organisations can save up to 30% of their IT costs through effective inventory and software management, says Vlok. "Poorly managed hardware and software configurations consume as much as 80% of the lifetime cost of a computer, but combining multiple tools for hardware and software management can make cost and complexity skyrocket," he adds.

HP's Brindley reminds that getting an accurate view of your IT assets gives you power over your vendors - you can tell them what you want, instead of them trying to tell you what they think you should do. But, in order to get its ITAM house in order, he suggests that a company obtains strong organisational buy-in.

Brindley anticipates that within three to five years, most companies will be well on their way to having a handle on their ITAM, not just in terms of assets but also services, and to a best-practice standard at that.