Controlling Data Completeness, Enabling Automation and Leveraging Your ITAM / Configuration Management Investment

Wow, can I write a longer title or what?

The purpose of this blog is to share knowledge that was created, tested, challenged and matured by my company and over 17 years of engagement on ITAM projects.

The nature of Benito's brain (my brain), is to categorize and structure data into a hierarchy of types and or taxonomy. 

Employing a common, logical and rational structure for "Control Tables" provide the keys to the solution kingdom that enable efficient reporting, and establish the data architecture to drive automation. Besides, this is a best practice anyways.

<Definition Interlude: CONTROL TABLE = A common, managed and unique information source available within a database table. This table is accessed through the user interface when managing an asset or configuration record. The information within the control table is selected by the user to ensure that a normalized value is utilized when defining an attribute on the asset or configuration. Using a control table approach avoids data variance. This normalized information value makes reporting more efficient by avoiding the creation of complex SQL statements that address multiple iterations of the same value; i.e, HP versus Hewlett Packard, etc. The normalized value within the control tables also enables data VALIDATION of information. The source of data validation is usually from an external data source that is integrated into the CMDB. The integration compares the source value to the control table value within the CMDB through automated workflows. The workflow facilitates the data mapping of the source value  to the target value and syntax. These two methods enable the implementation of a common data model within the CMDB.> 

While all of this is an interesting subject, what I wanted to share with everyone is the deeper nature of how an asset or configuration is classified and how this classification drives completeness, automation and leveraging of your data model. This is the source of one of my project artifacts "Asset Classification & Behavior". This artifact is created early in a project and drives the design of the product catalog design from that moment forward in a program.

An excerpt of the asset classifications and behavior definitions from the related artifact are provided below. 

Of note, a configuration can be a track-able object that is comprised of one or more of these defined natures. This this is a critical topic when designing and implementing ITAM CONTRACT and ITAM CHARGE BACK or cost recovery solution/s.

Now without further adieu, the asset natures...

1.      Asset – Object managed in the database that has physical characteristics and is at the highest level of the configuration hierarchy. Can be associated in a parent-child-grand child, or peer to peer relationships.

2.  Component – Object managed in the database that has physical characteristic and functions when deployed in conjunction to an asset. A component can be managed as a standalone data element or in a child relationship to an asset.

3.      Element – Object managed in the database that has logical (not physical characteristics). An element can be purchased though not physically received. An element may be associated to an asset or component manually or through an automated reconciliation process derived electronic discovery data.

4.      Bulk – Object managed in a database that has physical characteristics. Bulk items are managed to the receiving process only. This class is utilized for expendable parts that need to be managed operationally and do not have financial or contractual requirements.

Copyright: RiverBend Solutions, inc. & Benito Esquenazi

ITAM Program Critical Success Factors

Introduction:

I would like to say that the natural human tendency is to organize data into consumable chunks of detail that have information characteristics. Information denotes a transformation of the data into some type of understanding.

When looking at the characteristics of a successful  IT Asset Management (ITAM)  program the question always get's asked by an astutue ITAM practitioner, "what are the program critical success factors"?

Yes, we have seen these questions on Request for Proposals or in sales pitches.

With this in mind am taking I am looking to crack this code and answer this question.

I will warn all of my readers (which I have none as of the time I am writing this) that I am introducing another theme called technology "technology absorption". You will just have to read on and I will try to expand on this theme in a future blog post.

Enjoy this post and please agree or disagree with me. It makes this post and life so much more enjoyable.

So as the great "Captain Jean Luc Picard" will say at some point in the future standing on the deck of the Starship Enterprise, "Engage"!

So here goes.

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ITAM Program Critical Success Factors:

All ITAM programs are comprised of Organization, Process and Technology elements. The success of an organization’s ITAM program must address critical success factors in each of these domains.

ITAM projects tend to be disruptive in nature due to the need to address organization, process and technology requirements.

The most critical of the ITAM program success factors deals with an active executive involvement in the overall solution.

I. Executive Sponsorship

An organization’s ability to tolerate and absorb an ITAM project’s changes become more effective with executive involvement.  Ensuring a more efficient achievement of the program objectives and the realization of value sought through the implementation of the ITAM program investment.

II. Technology & Process

The next most critical success factor is for organizations deploying an ITAM program not confuse the role of technology and process in context to realizing their solution.

Many organizations assume that deploying a technology solves a process problem. The focus of the process is to control a functional activity while creating business value in the performance and support of a business objective. While the technology allows an organization to transparently and pro-actively support  the process.

III. Technology Absorption

The third critical success factor in deploying an ITAM program involves understanding the capacity of an organization to absorb and effectively tolerate change. Many factors need to be considered to address this concern. These factors include:

(1)   Distributed nature of program

(2)   Complexity to introduce new technology to organization

(3)   Command and control management structure to ensure enforcement of re-engineered business process

(4)   Complexity of business model

After the proposed solution has been defined the organizational absorption factors shall influence the phased deployment methodology of the solution.

Failing to do such will result in an ineffective deployment of the solution.

IV. CMDB

Defining the taxonomy, and alignment of the categorization structures, of the defined product classes and defining control data sets are a critical elements of a successfully deployed and managed ITAM program.

Defining the Taxonomy of assets under management consistently within an ITAM Repository or CMDB creates opportunities to automate data flow between systems and generate efficient management reports to monitor the process.

While utilizing control data sets allows for the utilization of golden sources of data to populate key asset attributes such as financial chart of account, user and location detail. Using data sets effectively enforce consistent data completeness controls.

V. Hardware Asset Tracking Solution

Another critical success factor involves the deployment of a physical data capture solution that is integrated with the ITAM repository. The solution provides a scanning-enabled hand held device that captures field level asset changes at time of the asset tracking event such as Receiving, Deployments and Disposals.  Field level changes may impact the associated financial attributes, and related software contract entitlements. Enabling the harvesting of software entitlement licenses for software packages associated to hardware configurations.

Discovery solutions alone do not provide sufficient asset tracking capabilities for true lifecycle asset management.

The solution will:

1. Establish a consistent, efficient and auditable process for tracking assets throughout the entire asset lifecycle from cradle to grave.
   
   
2. Eliminate manual data entry, streamline data capture and maximize data accuracy with state of the art barcode technology.
   
   
3. Facilitate alignment of fixed asset registers, the procurement system and the Service Now repository.
   
   
4. Provide a control method to capture asset management field changes data via reconciliation technology that catches exceptions before changes are applied to the repository.
   
   
5. Provide audit capabilities to identify and resolve errors in the repository stemming from users not following the mandated asset tracking process.
   
   
6. Provide transaction logs which can be audited to track technician activity to ensure the asset tracking policies are enforced.

VI. Electronic Asset Inventory

An additional critical success factor of a successful ITAM, configuration and software asset management program is the ability to utilize electronic asset inventory data to identify configurations that have contractual and operational impact.

A successfully integrated electronic asset inventory solution into an ITAM repository / CMDB automatically associates discovered system attributes and software packages to related hardware configurations.

Welcome!

Benito Esquenazi is at it again with the publishing of his new "ITAM Musings" blog.

A knowledge leader in the IT Asset Management disciple, Benito Esquenazi is starting a blog to share ideas, challenge preconceptions and generally make the world a better place for those who share a passion for global implementations of IT Asset Management programs.

Benito Esquenazi is a principle at RiverBend Solutions, inc. which has been responsible for global ITAM designs and implementations with a strong procurement, operational and financial focus. He has over 16 years of experience in ITAM programs and solutions.

RiverBend Solutions, inc. dares to be different by keeping it real in transforming organisations. Leveraging their domain knowledge as trusted partner to organizations through leading edge consultation and enabling value added business transformation.

This spirit of this blog is to engage all those that have passion in the realization of best in class global ITAM programs. As well as engage in discussions of real world solution trade-offs.