Consolidation key to IT asset efficency
IT asset management teams and the service desk should work together better, says Oded Moshe
Efficiency is the name of the game in rapidly changing IT environments. Eliminating redundancy and managing resources are key to creatively lowering overheads without sacrificing product quality.
But we often employ IT asset management (ITAM) strategies that are outdated, and fail to develop at the rate of the technologies being managed. Not only that, generally ITAM and service desks are in different departments within the customer's company.
Perhaps the ITAM and service desk functions could be a match made in heaven.
From an organisational standpoint, it might make sense to keep them separate. Yet together they are responsible for the welfare of all the company's IT assets.
Integration could reduce the time taken to do lengthy troubleshooting and investigative work. Asset management information (such as software updates, logs, and history changes) could be included on end-user incident reports.
You could also include screenshots in incident reports, connect to a remote end user without additional software, and incorporate change management processes that keep helpdesk staff informed of any asset changes that may cause incidents.
When service desk and ITAM teams are kept separate, there are often several managers with individual goals, even though both teams fall under CIO jurisdiction. This can create confusion, as pertinent information might not be shared.
Additionally, they will probably have limited permission to access each other's data and information, and generally the ITAM team has separate tools that are not designed for use by those with lower-level access.
The outcome is that a dedicated service desk, with the goal of restoring services according to a service-level agreement (SLA), may end up passing on some issues to a different team with its own agenda and SLAs. This can can obviously cause problems.
Successful collaboration by distinct teams is possible with proper processes and discipline, regardless of the number of tools and other technical constraints. However, integrating the teams using an integrated product that covers both service desk and ITAM with built-in permissions levels and other features makes this much easier.
An integrated tool for asset management professionals means they can better track the assets. They can always manage these assets as a separate silo, but managing assets alongside the service desk allows them a broader perspective, including end users and SLAs, and the service history of both assets and users. In the end, the teams should be working towards a shared goal, even if they are measured differently.
If a tool has a feature that allows the end user to launch the incident or request from a workstation with a dedicated hotkey or icon, using an asset management agent installed on the workstation, it can connect the incident to the asset that encountered the issue and produce a screenshot automatically of what the end user sees at the moment they submit it.
This helps speed up the identification process.
In addition, a full updated inventory scan of the workstation, including all hardware, software and a log of recent changes, can be produced. The service desk can provide all relevant information, such as the service and asset history of the involved items.
The service desk team may also get the functionality to click an icon from within the incident to perform a remote-control action on the asset. There should be no need to launch and configure a separate tool and set up additional users. You can also get a full overview of previous incidents.
An integrated tool means a business can easily consolidate all IT-related costs and integrate all IT staff. This should facilitate a more cohesive working environment.
Above all, IT staff should aim to provide a quality service. This means they need proper processes that help produce optimal results for their ultimate employer or customer.
Oded Moshe is vice president of products and IT at SysAid Technologies