All software and hardware that is contained within an organization’s IT environment are considered IT assets.
What is asset management in the IT industry?
- Asset management in IT refers to the strategic decisions devoted to the lifecycle of software and hardware utilized in business environments.
Technology moves quickly. According to Moore’s Law, the number of transistors that can be incorporated within an integrated circuit has the ability to be doubled approximately every two years. As technology grows more powerful, several opportunities will emerge for forward-thinking businesses to multiply their output on a regular basis. At the same time, new vulnerabilities will emerge at an equal rate that can be exploited if IT assets are not properly updated.
IT asset management exists to stay on top of these opportunities while avoiding vulnerabilities by determining new software and hardware opportunities to pursue, tracking existing IT assets already in use throughout an IT environment and determining when to sunset existing technologies to ensure technology in use is always presenting the best possible solution.
What does an IT asset manager do?
An IT asset manager is responsible for maintaining an organization’s daily and long-term technology strategy.
IT asset managers are responsible for creating and overseeing the overall hardware and software strategy for an organization, including maintaining software licenses, administering software updates, administering new devices, tracking hardware and software in use and determining new solutions to emerging technological challenges. IT asset managers are often involved in determining technological spend by department throughout an organization and will continuously track company assets to oversee quality control throughout the assets’ life cycles. Additionally, IT asset managers are responsible for ensuring the long-term security of all assets utilized throughout the environment.
What are the four P’s of service strategy?
The four P’s of ITIL service strategy are perspective, position, plan and pattern.
ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) service strategy is a set of best practices that are used to help align the services offered by IT departments with company needs. ITIL is a systematic approach that is intended to help manage risk, improve customer relations and create stable and scalable IT environments. A huge part of the ITIL process is called service strategy.
Service strategy is a market-driven stage in ITIL that helps organizations determine what types of services they will offer and the right markets to target. Service strategy is determined by following four building blocks: perspective, position, plan and pattern. Perspective refers to the vision for the services being offered. Position determines how strategies will compete within a market. Plan determines the necessary actions for meeting goals and fulfilling the vision. Pattern refers to the ongoing actions an organization will take to maintain its vision over time. It is necessary for IT asset managers to be involved in ITIL discussions in order to determine the right IT strategy for the overarching business.
