
Introduction: What is Asset Management Software?
Small and medium-sized business (SMB) operations are increasingly more distributed and complex, more people-driven, and more dependent on portable technical assets. In this environment, Asset Management has gone from a loose “nice-to-have” to an absolute necessity.
Administration of and accounting for the numerous laptops, modems, and other such assets are critical for a number of purposes, including finance, compliance, and security. Even assets as categorically disparate as chairs and automobiles must likewise be governed. Knowledge of this fact has become progressively dispersed throughout the business aether, and minds keen on continual growth and improvement for their organizations have been quick to consume and act on this knowledge.
Asset Management can be thought of the systematic governance of:
- Laptops
- Desktops
- Dongles
- Modems
- Office Supplies and Furniture
- Vehicles
- Machines
- And Much More
Asset Management is essential for efficient administration of:
- Information Technology
- Finance
- Compliance
- Security
- Logistics
As modern business administration is largely software-oriented, it comes as no surprise that software offerings exist to streamline and automate various aspects of Asset Management. Yet while the importance and essential problems of Asset Management have been known for a long time, many SMBs aren’t fully employing Asset Management techniques or reaping the benefits of Asset Management software.
By foregoing Asset Management software, many SMBs are missing out.
Why Asset Management Software
There are a number of pain points faced by SMBs which are solved by Asset Management. A systematic exploration of these reveals much.
Pain Point 1: A Lack of Systematic Management Causes Problems to Pile Up and Inefficiencies to Become Pervasive
SMB leaders know that Asset Management is an important part of business. However, they often rely on an “ad-hoc” or “as needed” approach. “A spreadsheet here, a living document there” is often the name of the game. Yet we know without a doubt that such strategies are untenable in the long run, and present serious, systemic problems even in the short run.
Pervasive processes must be employed so that, at any time, an administrator can identify any asset’s location, value, current user, etc., know that the information he or she is gleaning is up-to-date and accurate, and know that it will continue to be accurate and reflect future changes. The moment these processes are not adhered to, problems pile up. Mere weeks after some essential component of the scheme is no longer in place, compounding inaccuracies of data, out-of-date information, misleading statistics, and flat-out deceptive reporting (if reporting is even feasible!) are not only possible, but expected.
But, of course, it can be challenging to maintain these processes without well thought-out tooling that enforces best practices while making any necessary tasks both easy and intuitive. This is the first and most apparent benefit of Asset Management software: processes are codified through a simple interface, essential information is both easy to keep and (where appropriate) automatically kept up-to-date, and reporting is as easy and available as it is accurate and reliable.
Pain Point 2: Lack of Easy Compliance and Security
The accuracy and reliability of reporting is worthy of special attention as it solves a number of common SMB challenges. Compliance, audits, and other such hurdles change both quantitatively and qualitatively. What once might be perceived as a Sysiphean effort quickly becomes the click of a few buttons.
A powerful example of this can be found in one-click data exports, something that quality Asset Management software offers to its users. Disparate and complex information sought by auditors and security experts becomes instantly available and presentable. This allows for significant decreases in turnaround time for auditing processes and eliminates much of the stress that can occur during them.
Pain Point 3: Inability to Gain Insight through Reporting Creates Mystery and Uncertainty
The insights exposed to auditors and security experts reveal another valuable benefit of Asset Management software: instant insight and peace of mind. Physical control of inventory can be made effortless. Problems with assets can be documented in a systematic fashion. Aged or otherwise unneeded assets can be marked for disposal. All of this and more is made not only possible, but easy. This is because Asset Management software can make complex data digestible and understandable. What was once noise becomes information.
Current information about Assets provides important feedback, while historical information, captured by the system and presented in a readable and intuitive form, provides a powerful narrative of events and a strong indication of trends related to use, procurement, security, and more.
Electric’s Asset Management Software and Your SMB
Nonetheless, not all Asset Management software solutions are created equal, and certainly not all are going to be of equal value to one’s business. Outside of solving certain problems in the abstract, there are very real aspects of any particular software which can “make or break” its appeal in the eyes of the discerning user. Certain characteristics, such as the need for Asset Management software to be SaaS-based and therefore accessible from anywhere at any time are so trivially important as to almost go without saying. Yet there are other, more subtle characteristics that can bring genuine and surprising value to an Asset Management solution.
A key aspect of Electric’s Asset Management software is that it’s not some separate application disconnected from other essential areas of command and control. Rather, it is a seamlessly integrated component of the powerful IT Hub. This means that one is not forced to choose between being limited to traditional Asset Management activities within the confines of a single piece of software or undergoing the nonstop ordeal of swivel-chair operations. Instead, full feature integration means that Asset Management exists within a single field that also encompasses procurement and shipping, command-and-control and security for devices by means of Mobile Device Management (MDM), reference and documentation of issues, and more.
With the Electric IT Hub, it’s possible to:
- Procure a laptop
- Assign it to a user
- Install MDM on it
- Track its location
- Document damage and other events
- Enforce policies
- Remotely lock and wipe
All within a single web application, available anywhere.
It’s worth reiterating and expounding the point about remote locking. Electric’s solution benefits from MDM and the Electric App to allow for remote actions, such as wiping or locking, straight from the IT Hub. This makes even frightening situations, such as the theft of a laptop, not only less stressful, but easily manageable.
Even when the stakes aren’t so high, users of Electric’s IT Hub will benefit from a solution developed by experts in the industry. Electric’s many years in IT have equipped its team of IT experts, engineers, and visionaries to build a solution that truly meets the needs of its customers without compromising on usability or stability. By carefully evaluating the information and interactions required by SMB users, the software was designed to remove any unnecessary complexity or clutter. A key aspect of this was identifying non-actionable information that did not directly support the user’s core tasks and workflows– the interface is designed to present the essential information needed to efficiently manage IT assets by teams both tech-savvy and non-tech-savvy.
In addition, the IT Hub’s user flows have been optimized to make both the new Asset Management features and its other existing features as intuitive as possible by aligning interaction models and navigation with recognized industry standards. This focus on reducing cognitive load and aligning with user expectations has resulted in Asset Management software that feels intuitive and streamlined – free of unnecessary steps or complications. Users can now quickly accomplish their core tasks such as identifying the location of a laptop or recording damage to it without getting stuck in complex operations. Electric’s customers are also able to take advantage of cohesive flows in the IT Hub for full device lifecycle control. This streamlining of information and processes is a key factor in making the IT Hub a truly user-friendly and productivity-enhancing solution for SMBs.
In short, by accessing Electric’s Asset Management as part of the all-encompassing IT Hub, users will enjoy incredible benefits around efficiency of flows and accuracy of information.
Summary and Implications
The importance of Asset Management is something that will only progressively increase. Leaders in the SMB space will not merely want, but need to employ Asset Management best practices and software. Electric’s Asset Management system, built by an organization of industry experts, not only solves essential needs but does so within the powerful IT Hub, making it the one-stop-shop for any SMB’s IT and security needs.
Electric’s Asset Management, therefore, does far more than serve as a way to facilitate a process or act as an upgrade to an ad-hoc collection of tooling and documentation. Instead, it provides a crystal-clear view into and effective control of your IT universe.