Traditionally, IT Asset Management has never received the focus it deserves.
This changed with the Covid-19 pandemic, which increased its importance in service management.
And why is IT Asset Management important? The answer is simple: just as a healthy human body relies on a central strength, this process does the same job in Service Management.
The initial response of organizations to the pandemic was to increase the productivity of their staff working from home. This meant a combination of structured distribution of IT assets and, in some cases, throwing assets anywhere.
Currently, these IT assets still exist, with varying levels of control in a remote working environment that can go beyond the pandemic.
Companies seeking hybrid models of in-person/remote work need to think about how to control their assets; in addition, they need to monitor activity and validate how these assets are used (e.g. what software is installed).
The broader impact on companies
In response to Covid-19, IT leaders developed the ability to be agile in their decisions, realizing that there really was no alternative.
This is becoming more evident with the popularization of collaborative tools such as Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, and virtual whiteboards. Previously, this was seen as a luxury, not a necessity. This was even true in global companies that used video conferencing or even transported people around the world to work together.
However, having too many tools causes confusion about which one is best to use and how to provide the right IT support. As a result, this has a downstream effect on Asset Management, particularly in software licensing management.
Another side effect is the rationalization of existing assets. An example of this is a company that standardized digital collaboration tools to reduce the overhead of its communication technology.
So, companies should plan now for the future introduction of policies on asset use, distribution, care, security, user support, and other controls for a remote/hybrid work world.
Asset Management and ITIL 4
For companies that distribute new assets and recover old ones, there is a golden opportunity to get rid of the “this is how we’ve always done it” approach and capitalize on the value stream elements of ITIL® 4.
This means truly understanding the value of applying the guiding principles of ITIL 4, particularly focusing on value and keeping it simple and practical. And, by optimizing value streams, service managers will be able to automate more – such as remote monitoring and support.
Recognizing the need to make employees productive quickly at home, an organization eliminated long approvals (temporarily) for laptops and established a scheduling-based deployment to eliminate the costs and delays of sending them to hundreds of employees.
Where collaboration was often taken for granted in an office environment (and rarely done well), it is now a critical element in hybrid environments. And, therefore, its success depends on the practical application of ITIL 4’s Relationship Management and Service Value System.
Impact on productivity/employee experience
When organizations apply the principles of ITIL 4 to IT Asset Management, their personnel feel more supported and productive when working remotely – whether using their own device or hardware provided by the company.
Therefore, those responsible for managing and accounting for assets need to be prepared for the various work models.
And, in addition to the aspect of IT Asset Management, ITIL 4 concepts fuel discussions about what else needs to happen next. For example, organizations are now identifying jobs that need to be in-person, rather than offering more flexible options for people in roles that can effectively perform their work remotely.
Finally, our experiences since 2020 have taught us that we must be flexible and agile in human resource management, another critical component of Service Management.
Interested in learning more about ITSM and ITIL? Click on this Ultimate Guide to ITIL 4
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