PMcrunch

The usage of IT and computers in the workplace has rocketed in the last decade.I challenge you to find one section of your organization that doesn’t rely on IT to function these days. Indeed, IT has been the core of the competitiveness of successful organizations.

Behind this dependence on computers lies a heavy reliance on the IT hardware and systems supporting this. By this I mean computers, peripherals, screens, software and specialised electronic equipment. Just in the United States this amount is in the $trillions.

But IT assets are notoriously tricky to keep track of and manage, particularly in large, sprawling organisations. If you lack the proper control and strategic overview on when and how to replace and renew outdated equipment it often has rather chaotic ramifications. Information on exactly what IT equipment and software is being used is unavailable. There is general confusion on what software is being used by who, and whether it has a license. The guys at the IT support line can’t deal with many of their queries efficiently due to lack of info on the specs of the caller’s machine. Upgrading equoment or moving to different sofware packages can descend into a slow, inefficient chaos.  Does this sound familiar? Well it’s surprisingly common in today’s organizations. And what’s more, the cost of these problems can be exorbitant. Especially when you factor in the accounting side of things, where knowing exactly what IT assets you have and their depreciation value can mean significant tax savings.

The bottom line is that without managing your IT assets you could be haemorrhaging unknonwn amounts of cash through related costs. The key to resolving this is fixed asset management. As far as managing IT assets is concerned, there’s really two areas to be aware of

Management of Physical Assets. Essentially this is all about keeping a record of the IT equipment, hardware and software existing in the company or organization. That includes what you have, where it is, and how it is being used. A robust system of asset tracking provides you with invaluable information on which you can act and introduce greater levels of efficiency.

Financial Assets. This is where the really big cost savings can be achieved.  Once you know exactly what equipment your organization is using, you can then calculate the level of capital depreciation. This information is music to your accounting deparment’s ears, as cutting costs on fixed assets can sometimes be the difference between profit and loss in a financial year.

Quite often the problem is not that companies do not know about these issues around managing their IT assets. They just do not have a clear solution of how best to resolve them. The most common way of recording assets has been using a basic spreadsheet – yet these become a nightmare to keep track of and update as they grow bigger. However there are now highly sophisticated asset management software solutions on the market that are designed to tackle all aspects of asset tracking, accounting and management. Perhaps it is time for your organization to make that crucial investment.