Implement Hardware Asset Management
Build IT services value on the foundation of a proactive asset management program.
Your Challenge
- Executives are often aware of the benefits asset management offers, but many organizations lack a defined program to manage their hardware.
- Efforts to implement hardware asset management (HAM) are stalled because organizations feel overwhelmed navigating the process or under use the data, failing to deliver value.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- Organizations often implement an asset management program as a one-off project and let it stagnate.
- Organizations often fail to dedicate adequate resources to the HAM process, leading to unfinished processes and inconsistent standards.
- Hardware asset management programs yield a large amount of useful data. Unfortunately, this data is often underutilized. Departments within IT become data siloes, preventing effective use of the data.
Impact and Result
- As the IT environment continues to change, it is important to establish consistency in the standards around IT asset management.
- A current state assessment of your HAM program will shed light on the steps needed to safeguard your processes.
- Define the assets that will need to be managed to inform the scope of the ITAM program before defining processes.
- Build and involve an ITAM team in the process from the beginning to help embed the change.
- Define standard policies, processes, and procedures for each stage of the hardware asset lifecycle, from procurement through to disposal.
Start here – read the Executive Brief
Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should Implement Hardware Asset Management, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.
1. Lay foundations
Build the foundations for the program to succeed.
2. Procure & receive
Define processes for requesting, procuring, receiving, and deploying hardware.
3. Maintain & dispose
Define processes and policies for managing, securing, and maintaining assets then disposing or redeploying them.
4. Plan implementation
Select tools, plan the hardware budget, then build a communication plan and roadmap to implement the project.
Guided Implementations
This guided implementation is a twelve call advisory process.
Guided Implementation #1 - Lay foundations
Call #1 - Assess current state.
Call #2 - Define scope of HAM program.
Call #3 - Define roles and metrics.
Guided Implementation #2 - Procure & receive
Call #1 - Define standard and non-standard hardware.
Call #2 - Build procurement process.
Call #3 - Determine asset tagging method and build equipment receiving and deployment processing.
Guided Implementation #3 - Maintain & dispose
Call #1 - Define processes for managing and maintaining equipment.
Call #2 - Define policies for maintaining asset security.
Call #3 - Build process for redeploying or disposing of assets.
Guided Implementation #4 - Plan implementation
Call #1 - Discuss tools to help your HAM program succeed.
Call #2 - Discuss best practices for effectively managing a hardware budget.
Call #3 - Build communications plan and roadmap.
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Hardware Asset Management
Build IT services value on the foundation of a proactive asset management program.
This course makes up part of the Infrastructure & Operations Certificate.
Course information:
- Title: Hardware Asset Management
- Number of Course Modules: 5
- Estimated Time to Complete: 1-1.5 hours
- Featured Analysts:
- Sandi Conrad, Practice Lead, I&O Research
- Allison Kinnaird, Research Director
- Now Playing: Academy: Hardware Asset Management | Executive Brief
Book Your Workshop
Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Lay Foundations
The Purpose
- Build the foundations for the program to succeed.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Evaluation of current challenges and maturity level
- Defined scope for HAM program
- Defined roles and responsibilities
- Identified metrics and reporting requirements
Activities
Outputs
Outline hardware asset management challenges.
Conduct HAM maturity assessment.
- HAM Maturity Assessment
Classify hardware assets to define scope of the program.
- Classified hardware assets
Define responsibilities.
- Job description templates
Use a RACI chart to determine roles.
- RACI Chart
Identify HAM metrics and reporting requirements.
Module 2: Procure & Receive
The Purpose
- Define processes for requesting, procuring, receiving, and deploying hardware.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Defined standard and non-standard requests for hardware
- Documented procurement, receiving, and deployment processes
- Standardized asset tagging method
Activities
Outputs
Identify IT asset procurement challenges.
Define standard hardware requests.
Document standard hardware request procedure.
Build a non-standard hardware request form.
- Non-standard hardware request form
Make lease vs. buy decisions for hardware assets.
- Procurement workflow
Document procurement workflow.
Select appropriate asset tagging method.
Design workflow for receiving and inventorying equipment.
- Receiving and tagging workflow
Document the deployment workflow(s).
- Deployment workflow
Module 3: Maintain & Dispose
The Purpose
- Define processes and policies for managing, securing, and maintaining assets then disposing or redeploying them.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Policies and processes for hardware maintenance and asset security
- Documented workflows for hardware disposal and recovery/redeployment
Activities
Outputs
Build a MAC policy, request form, and workflow.
- User move workflow
Design process and policies for hardware maintenance, warranty, and support documentation handling.
Revise or create an asset security policy.
- Asset security policy
Identify challenges with IT asset recovery and disposal and design hardware asset recovery and disposal workflows.
- Asset disposition policy, recovery and disposal workflows
Module 4: Plan Implementation
The Purpose
- Select tools, plan the hardware budget, then build a communication plan and roadmap to implement the project.
Key Benefits Achieved
- Shortlist of ITAM tools
- Hardware asset budget plan
- Communication plan and HAM implementation roadmap
Activities
Outputs
Generate a shortlist of ITAM tools that will meet requirements.
Use Info-Tech’s HAM Budgeting Tool to plan your hardware asset budget.
- HAM budget
Build HAM policies.
- Additional HAM policies
Develop a communication plan.
- HAM communication plan
Develop a HAM implementation roadmap.
- HAM roadmap tool
