Why Data Should Be Part of IT Asset Management

Contact Us

Why Data Should Be Part of IT Asset Management

When most IT shops look at asset management, they’re thinking about managing the physical equipment. They track when the equipment was purchased, where it was deployed in the organization, and any associated maintenance agreements. Some organizations also track software licenses as part of their asset management program.

Data is seldom part of the equation. Although data is the new “digital currency,” the most valuable IT asset an organization owns, few organizations track it properly. They don’t really understand how they’re ingesting data, what systems it passes through, where it is stored, and who can access it. When something goes wrong — a data leak or network intrusion — they don’t know what data assets are at risk.

Every organization should have procedures and tools for tracking data assets, particularly when it comes to personally identifiable information, credit card data, and other sensitive records. Data asset management helps organizations protect and secure this data, meet regulatory compliance requirements, and dramatically reduce business risk.

If you’re in need of assistance with your IT asset management, DeSeMa can help! We offer years of experience and can provide you with the tools and resources needed to keep your company data safe. Continue reading to learn more, and give us a call to get started!

Interested In Learning More?

An image of a man holding up a projection of a screen with the words "asset management" on it.

IT Asset Management Challenges

Many organizations struggle with IT asset management. In a recent Enterprise Strategy Group study, 73% of respondents said their inventory of user devices is incomplete. Another 77% said they lack visibility into growing numbers of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. IT asset management remains fragmented, with functions scattered across multiple departments. The effort involved in keeping IT asset inventories up-to-date is equivalent to almost one full-time staff position.

The costs of poor IT asset management are significant. When inventories aren’t up-to-date, organizations purchase new hardware and software although existing assets could be reallocated. IT resources are underutilized, and cloud costs often exceed budget expectations.

Poor IT asset management also creates security risks. Administrators have poor visibility into devices, their configurations, firmware, operating system, and software updates. Without an understanding of each asset and its critical dependencies, IT teams are unable to apply the right security controls or prioritize incident response.

The log4j vulnerability is a case in point. In a previous post, we discussed why IT asset management is critical to identifying systems and software that could be impacted by the log4j flaw.

An image of gears on a computer.

Achieving Effective Data Asset Management

Effective data management is a business process, as well as an IT process. The first step is to recognize that data has tangible value. In some cases, it’s the most valuable asset an organization holds. With that in mind, organizations can begin developing processes to improve data quality and governance. They can also establish policies that drive data loss prevention programs.

From an IT perspective, data flow diagrams, network maps, and related documentation should be contained within the asset management platform. DeSeMa has invested in tools that we can use to help organizations keep these documents up-to-date and track data storage locations. In today’s distributed IT environment, those locations could extend to remote offices, cloud instances, edge data centers, and even end-user devices.

We do this as part of an ongoing asset management program that also includes the traditional tracking of hardware and software. It provides our customers with a single source of truth for all of the assets within their IT environment.

Hardware and software have value, and must be tracked for budgetary, resource utilization, and security purposes. However, data is generally more valuable than these tangible assets. Let DeSeMa help you establish a comprehensive IT asset management program and track all of your IT resources. If you’re ready to get started, reach out to our team today! We look forward to working with you.

Get Started Today!

Contact Us