When you consider the business landscape of just 10 years ago, the use of computer equipment has skyrocketed exponentially. There isn’t one business process today, be it administration, manufacturing or customer service, that doesn’t fundamentally rely on computers to function efficiently. Indeed, IT has been the core of the competitiveness of successful organizations.
Along with this symbiotic relationship with computing comes a strong dependence on the IT infrastructure supporting it. This could mean anything from computer hardware, keyboards and mice, software, monitors and more specialized hardware. Just in the United States this amount is in the $trillions.
However keeping track of IT assets can be pretty difficult, especially in large organizations. If you lack the proper control and strategic overview on when and how to replace and renew outdated equipment it often has rather chaotic ramifications. Nobody knows what IT equipment is being used in the organisation. Noone has an handle on software usage and whether that software is properly licensed. 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. Operations for upgrading equipment or switching software platforms spiral into months of inefficiency.Does this have a familiar ring to it? Actually you would be surprized at how common it is in businesses today. Futhermore the expense associated with these issues can take a significant chunk out of your annual profits. Particularly considering the tax savings than can be made from properly keeping track of depreciation of IT assets.
The bottom line is that without managing your IT assets you could be haemorrhaging unknonwn amounts of cash through related costs. The answer comes down to a process called fixed asset management. Fixed asset management for IT hardware and software basically falls into two distinct categories
Physical Asset Management. 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 Asset Management. It is here where the big money can really be saved. 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.
Many organizations know full well issues they are facing with regards to their IT assets. The problem lies with inefficient techniques in trying to solve 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. It might be time for your business to think about investing in fixed asset management – it could be key to survival in the recession.
Tags: asset management, asset tracking, Business, business accounting, cost cutting, fixed assets, it assets, it equipment