Feb
12
2009

Finding the Right PC Inventory System

For most companies, PCs are the most commonly-used technology component. In any given organization, there will be more desktop and laptop computers than any other type of hardware or software. That’s why the effective handling of PC and software inventory throughout its lifecycle is such an important business discipline. And many organizations are turning to PC inventory software to facilitate more effective tracking and management of these important assets.

But, with so many inventory management software on the market, how do you separate the good from the bad? It’s best to conduct a close evaluation of each solution of interest, keeping an eye out for the following traits:

Comprehensiveness

Successfully managing your PC and software inventory is about more than just keeping a log of what you have and documenting where it is located. It’s about effectively auditing changes to your assets and network, and about linking IT inventory to financial assets, such as software licenses or hardware leases, and understanding their impact on the business. Choosing a solution that provides complete, fully integrated capabilities to support all facets of PC inventory management will enable more precise correlation of IT investments to core business activities. Additionally, a comprehensive system will allow for more in-depth analysis of business risks, such as compliance, so they can be proactively addressed.

Simple deployment

In today’s economy, companies are running “lean” when it comes to human resources. Few IT departments have the staff available to support a long, complex implementation. Therefore, you should choose a PC inventory solution that can be deployed and rolled out quickly. This will not only minimize the burden on your technical teams, it will accelerate your return on investment and be flexible enough to provide you with a deployment that fits your network.

Ease of use

As with any software application, features that are difficult to navigate will provide only limited value. On the other hand, an intuitive interface can go a long way towards ensuring broad user adoption and the realization of true business advantage. Make sure your inventory management software is user-friendly, so all users can fully leverage all its powerful functionality – without the need for lengthy and expensive training.

Minimal maintenance

When solutions are cumbersome to administer, companies are more prone to abandon their use. And in today’s organizations, where many mission-critical IT projects must be prioritized and juggled at once, tools that are hard to maintain can become more of a burden than a blessing. Only a system that requires minimal maintenance overhead will provide your business with the PC inventory management capabilities it needs, in the most efficient and economical manner possible.

For example, choosing a SaaS IT Asset Management solution will eliminate the hassles associated with deploying and administering your PC inventory system, since all required hardware and software is installed, tested, monitored, and maintained by the provider’s staff at their own facilities.

Proactive

To make it easier to manage the day-to-day operation of your PC’s, consider a system that can stay on top of issues and let you know when your attention is required. This includes the ability to define and customize system alerts and events to monitor, and flexible enough to monitor issues across multiple domains, both IT inventory related (for example, missing security patches or illegal software) as well as business related issues (for example, license compliance gaps).