Tip of the Week: Managing Your IT Inventory Management

IT inventory management is the process of making sure that your information technology resources are maintained to be their most effective, such as what needs to be updated, which licenses need to be renewed, and whether your resources are helping you accomplish your organizational goals. It is essentially a fancy way of saying asset management, specific to your IT - and it is a very important process for any business.

Here, we’ve put together a few tips to help you with your IT inventory management.

Tip #1 - It Needs to be Proactive and Ongoing

Managing your IT assets is often approached on a case-by-case basis, in reaction to some greater stimulus. The opposite should be the case. In order to make sure that your solutions (and all of the considerations that accompany them) are maintained properly, you should adopt a more comprehensive, almost aggressive approach.

Look at it this way: if you were to suddenly have a surprise compliance audit - right now - how confident are you that your business would pass? Always being prepared for such things ensures your IT is always optimized, allowing you to put it to better use.

Tip #2 - Tracking Needs to be End-to-End

Any inventory management you enact needs to comprehensively keep track of all of your business’ assets. This means that, from the moment of purchase, any procured device or solution should be tracked until it depreciates and is retired. Doing so will help you keep better track of your IT.

Tip #3 - Track Your Permissions to Avoid Fines

Many businesses will find loopholes that enable them to share a single software license across their organization… something that software developers don’t appreciate all that much. Audits and watchdog groups often catch businesses trying to game the system through these kinds of tactics. The problem is, you could be following all the rules and proper procedures, but if you didn’t have proof of your entitlement, you could be slammed with fines. Maintaining your records, including your agreements and receipts, can help you prove your compliance if necessary.

Washington Works can assist you in managing your business’ IT assets. To learn more about how we serve businesses and their IT needs, give us a call at 301-571-5040.