How to Manage Hardware & IT Peripherals for Thousands of Employees

Picture yourself as the conductor of a massive orchestra. For you to create a beautiful symphony, every instrument needs to be accounted for, in tune, and played by the right musician. 

Enterprise IT asset management is the same; just replace the instruments with laptops and keyboards. Every asset must be meticulously tracked, optimized, and strategically deployed to ensure peak performance and regulatory compliance.

If you’re reading this article, you’re probably faced with the burden of managing hardware and IT peripherals for thousands of employees—which is certainly no small task. 

Managing thousands of IT assets across various locations can be daunting. Let’s explore the core principles of enterprise IT asset management to build a solid foundation and implement best practices that will streamline your processes and boost efficiency. 

What is Enterprise IT Asset Management?

Imagine conducting an orchestra with no clue which musician plays which instrument. Chaos, right? Well, dealing with IT assets without a good system to track and manage said assets is also chaotic in its own right. 

Enterprise IT Asset Management provides the structure and oversight necessary to manage IT assets effectively, ensuring each piece of equipment contributes to your organization’s harmony.

In other words, enterprise IT asset management ensures that every IT asset is in its rightful place, functioning optimally, secure from threats, and contributing to the overall efficiency of your operations.

Essentially, enterprise IT asset management encompasses managing the asset lifecycle, from acquisition and deployment to maintenance and disposal, to minimize downtime, reduce costs, and ensure compliance with industry regulations.

Alright, cue the music. Let’s bring this orchestra to life! Here’s how:

  1. Conduct Initial Asset Audits

A comprehensive asset audit is the cornerstone of effective enterprise IT asset management. 

Your initial audit may have the following objectives: 

• Establish a baseline inventory 
• Identify underutilized assets 
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. 

Depending on your goals, part of your audit may include performing detailed on-site inspections to verify the presence and condition of physical assets. 

While you’re there, it’s also a good idea to note where those assets are physically located. 

Document information for each asset in a centralized location, including asset type, serial number, location, condition, and ownership.

Finally, validate your findings by cross-referencing your physical audit results with any existing records to identify discrepancies. 

2. Establish and Maintain an Accurate Asset Database with Tracking

Using everything you gathered in Step 1, create a centralized database and processes to ensure it’s always up to date. This is essentially your IT asset bible, acting as the single source of truth for all of your enterprise’s IT assets. 

It’s important to implement standardized procedures for data entry and maintenance, ensuring that all relevant information, such as purchase dates, warranty status, and asset locations, is consistently recorded.

Also, if you haven’t yet implemented automated tracking systems like barcoding or RFID tagging, now’s the time. Integrating automated tracking systems can streamline the tracking process, reduce human error, and provide real-time updates on asset movements. These tracking systems should be integrated with the centralized database to automate updates and provide immediate visibility into asset status and location.

And finally, be sure to schedule regular audits to verify the database’s accuracy and prevent discrepancies. (Your initial audit won’t cut it forever!) 

3. Streamline Asset Deployment

It’s time to make sure you’re ready to give everyone their new tech. Take the time to standardize your procedures, use automation tools, and pre-configure enterprise assets to speed up the process. Regular monitoring and training will help your team handle deployments like pros, reducing unplanned downtime and keeping things running efficiently.

Pro tip: Asset distribution is much more convenient and much less time-consuming with self-serve vending machines and/or smart lockers! These solutions provide employees with quick and easy access to the tech they need while freeing your IT team to focus on other priorities that require their attention. 

4. Schedule Maintenance and Implement Support Ticket Systems

Regular maintenance management is key to keeping your critical assets in top shape. 

Implementing automated alerts for both corrective and preventive maintenance tasks can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of maintenance operations. These alerts can be set up to notify relevant team members when maintenance is due or when potential issues are detected, allowing for timely intervention and less downtime. 

Utilizing a support ticket system further streamlines this process by enabling maintenance teams to prioritize and address issues quickly. This system allows for the categorization of maintenance requests, tracking of progress, and ensuring that no issues are overlooked.

This proactive approach helps maintain asset performance and prevents major problems down the line that could lead to bigger headaches for your team. 

Pro tip: Virtual IT help desks (like Signifi’s Tech Express Desks) are another great way to facilitate IT support from remote locations. You can set up the desks in high-traffic locations, and employees can easily converse with remote IT specialists to diagnose and solve their tech issues. 

5. Monitor Asset Utilization 

It’s important to keep an eye on how your assets are being used. Regularly monitoring and analyzing usage patterns will help you identify underutilized assets. For example, if an asset is consistently underused, you can investigate whether it’s due to a mismatch in allocation, a need for additional training, or potential obsolescence.

Implementing automated alerts for anomalies or deviations can help you proactively address issues before they escalate, ensuring optimal asset utilization and seamless operations. 

Pro tip: Self-service solutions like smart lockers or vending machines can help you automate asset usage monitoring! More on this below… 

6. Invest in Self-Service IT Hardware Asset Management Solutions

This tip is so helpful that we’re sharing it twice! 

Investing in IT hardware asset management solutions like smart lockers and vending machines is a game-changer for enterprise businesses for several key reasons:

• Streamlined distribution: As already mentioned, smart lockers and vending machines enable automated, self-service distribution of IT assets, reducing the time employees spend waiting for equipment and freeing your IT team from the burden of hand-delivering equipment. 

• Controlled access: These solutions provide secure storage and controlled access to IT hardware. Only authorized personnel can access the assets, reducing the risk of theft, loss, or unauthorized use. 
• Real-time monitoring: Smart lockers and vending machines offer real-time tracking and monitoring of asset usage. This visibility ensures that IT managers can account for each piece of equipment, monitor usage patterns, and track who has accessed specific assets. This level of accountability helps reduce misuse and optimize asset utilization.
• Optimized inventory management: Automated systems help maintain optimal inventory levels by tracking usage and triggering restocks when necessary. This prevents over-purchasing and under-utilization of assets, leading to more efficient spending.

How Signifi Can Help You Implement IT Asset Management Best Practices

Remember, effective IT asset management is not just about managing assets; it’s about orchestrating a seamless symphony, ensuring your organization hits all the right notes.

Signifi offers industry-leading IT hardware asset management solutions, including smart lockers, smart vending, and tech express desks (TED), to help your IT teams manage up to thousands of hardware assets seamlessly, even across borders or state lines. 

All of our solutions leverage our advanced SignifiVISION™ platform, with functionalities like trend visibility, top-used item tracking, configurable alerts for proactive monitoring, and much more.

Contact us to learn how our custom, modular solutions can help you streamline enterprise asset management for your organization.