Why Organizations Need an Efficient Solution for IT Asset Tracking and Audit Management
All organizations place a priority on tracking their IT assets, either for compliance reasons or because of the valuable data stored on them. IT assets can either be distributed throughout an organization or consolidated in a data center. Doing inventory audits of these assets — manually or using barcodes — is tedious, time consuming, and error prone.
IT assets that are audited span the spectrum: servers, desktops, printers, copiers, projectors, network equipment, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Both government and commercial organizations are faced with the manual and time-consuming task of performing year-end audits of their IT assets.
Why Are Manual Audits Challenging for IT Inventory Managers?
Most computing hardware — with the exception of mobile equipment like laptops and tablets — is expected to stay put. However, that is often not the case. Over a period of time, assets get moved and sometimes temporarily misplaced within the organization.
Required periodic audits become very time-consuming and potentially error-prone, as they mostly involve manual reading of serial numbers and updates in spreadsheets or existing enterprise systems.
IT assets like servers or desktops might be sent out or taken out for maintenance, repairs, or upgrades. Equipment of personnel who have left the organization could be swiftly repurposed for some other use within the department. All this could happen without the knowledge of the IT inventory manager. These are a few reasons why inventory audits tend to be such protracted nightmares.
How Does AssetPulse's RFID IT Asset Tracking Solution Help?
AssetPulse's RFID IT asset tracking system is a comprehensive solution that not only helps IT asset managers gain complete visibility of their IT assets, but also accomplishes this in an efficient, painless, and accurate manner. The system is flexible enough to work with handheld RFID readers exclusively, or by combining them with fixed RFID readers that monitor zones or portals.
How Does the System Improve Visibility and Accuracy?
Handheld and/or fixed RFID readers monitor the presence of IT assets in the premises and perform very accurate, comprehensive inventory audits rapidly. By installing fixed RFID readers at strategic choke points or portals, mobile IT assets like laptops that move in or out of the facility can be tracked in real time.
AssetPulse's RFID IT asset tracking software allows inventory managers to view and export reports of the inventory for a given period, the list of current inventory, or missing inventory.
The system also tracks associated data about the assets — manufacturer, model, product purchase date, warranty expiry date, and so on. A simple, intuitive interface makes it easy to perform complex searches, for example to generate a list of desktops that were purchased 5 or more years earlier so they can be located and replaced.
Why Do Data Centers Need RFID IT Asset Tracking for Better Visibility and Faster Audits?
Auditing densely-packed IT assets in data centers — servers, network gear, storage equipment — can be extremely challenging, which is why audits are typically done few and far between. Handheld RFID readers can rapidly audit servers in data centers, replacing intensive manual labor. Data center managers also want complete visibility into any computer hardware movement; tight control is essential. Doors instrumented with fixed RFID readers automatically track movement in and out of the data center.
The AssetPulse RFID IT asset tracking software has a comprehensive rules engine that lets users configure sophisticated alerts on exception events — movement of assets through doors/portals, missing assets, assets detected in unexpected locations or at unexpected times. The system also proactively alerts users of upcoming maintenance-due-dates for servers and other IT assets, via both email and software alerts.
AssetPulse Mobile RFID IT Asset tracking software runs on handheld RFID readers or smartphones — useful for performing audits and physically locating equipment. Multiple RFID technologies may be used, including passive and active RFID.
Real-World Example: Financial Institution Audits in Under 15% of the Original Time
AssetGather tracks IT assets at a financial institution in the United States. Not only did the institution need to know where its IT assets were, but it also had compliance requirements. A variety of passive RFID tags were used to tag servers, desktops, laptops, tapes, and smartphones. Using a combination of handheld and fixed readers, the institution was able to complete its audits in less than 15% of the time it took to do manually — and the resulting audits were the most accurate in its history.
Key Benefits of Using RFID for IT Asset Tracking
Track a variety of IT assets — servers, desktops, laptops, networking and storage gear, tablets, and smartphones distributed throughout the organization.
- Complete inventory audits efficiently and accurately
- Detect movement of assets as they move through and in/out of buildings
- Improve security and alerting
- Protect intellectual property
- Locate assets easily and quickly
- Manage warranty, insurance, and replacement
- Complete off-the-shelf solution and services that help kick-start RFID IT asset tracking
