The importance of having an action plan

Why ITAM is mission-critical to reducing costs, mitigating cybersecurity risks and ensuring compliance

IT Asset Management – ITAM – has never been so important. At its heart is a set of guiding principles that enable businesses to gain 360-degree visibility of their IT estates. This helps IT departments understand what technologies are in place – on-premise and in the cloud – which need replacing, or upgrading and those which have become obsolete and can be retired. ITAM can also help IT departments track which software and systems have been implemented without their knowledge by other departments – a worrying and increasingly common occurrence.

In this new series of three articles, we explain what ITAM is and why it matters, how and why businesses should measure their ITAM security and lastly, practical steps for creating an effective roadmap that can optimise efficiency, reduce costs and mitigate compliance and cybersecurity issues.

1. What is ITAM and why does it matter?
2. The importance of measuring your ITAM maturity
3. The importance of having an action plan

In the third and final article in our series of three about the importance of effective ITAM, we look at the practical steps businesses can take to create a structured roadmap with clear goals and KPIs. We also cover our recommendations for companies that want to manage ITAM in-house and also those that want to work with experts like SoftwareOne who have teams of dedicated experts that can effectively manage the entire IT lifecycle on your behalf.

What ITAM can deliver: The importance of having an action plan

Your journey towards IT asset management (ITAM) maturity begins the moment you recognise there’s room to improve how you buy, use and keep track of software, cloud services and more. But to achieve ITAM maturity, you’ll need an effective roadmap that keeps you on the path to continual improvement.

Creating the right roadmap is a challenge. Every organisation will have a different starting point, so you must fully understand your current position before planning a route to maturity. You’ll also need to be ready to adapt to changing conditions over time, altering your future development plans to stay on target. Navigating your journey successfully requires investment in terms of resources, time and effort.

One way to ease the journey is to work with a trusted partner that can lighten your travel load. A proven ITAM services provider can help free your organisation to focus on what it does best, while making sure that you continue moving closer to your ITAM objectives and targets.

Creating your roadmap

After you’ve assessed your organisation’s current level of ITAM maturity, you’ll understand where you have gaps and how different areas need to improve. With this knowledge, you can determine your desired end state, establish your priorities, and build an action plan to get you there.

Your plan should clearly define the business case for your journey to ITAM maturity. One obvious goal is the potential for cost savings, but your business case should also identify other potential benefits. These can include improved compliance, reduced auditing risks, staff time savings, enhanced security and better visibility into your IT estate for budgeting, vendor negotiations and end-of-life/end-of-support planning.

To be effective, your roadmap should also clearly identify your ITAM objectives and the scope of your improvement efforts. For example, which assets – hardware and software – and processes will you focus on?

After you’ve defined all the necessary elements, you can then establish your priorities and map out your plan for improvement. The roadmap should identify actions you can track and measure, as well as provide a clear budget and resource plan. You will also need well-defined KPIs and milestones that enable you to track progress on your journey to ITAM maturity.

Finally, remember that your journey requires the support and involvement of your organisation’s people. Make sure everyone understands their individual roles and responsibilities. And keep good communication a priority with every stakeholder: it’s a must for transparency in IT asset management.

The benefits of proper planning

Although it’s critical to clearly understand your ITAM goals, that knowledge alone isn’t enough to get you to your destination – that’s why you need a roadmap to guide your way. Think of it like having smart GPS support when you’re on a long road trip to someplace you’ve never been before – not only can it identify the shortest, safest route, but it can adapt and keep you on course despite construction detours, crashes and other obstacles.

On your journey to ITAM maturity, the right roadmap will help you establish ongoing processes to identify unused or underused IT resources, duplicate or wasted spending and potential compliance risks. It will also help you to achieve new levels of protection against software audits, by allowing you to maintain a complete and up-to-date view of your entire software estate.

When you add performance tracking and automation through real-time dashboards, you also gain valuable insights for your IT team and decision-makers in the C-suite. This makes it easier to plan for – and achieve – short- and long-term improvements in how your organisation operates. And with support from best practices and the right diagnostic tools, your business can keep an organisation-wide focus on advancing your ITAM capabilities. This will help you to optimise processes for procurement, planning, budgeting and cost and value management, keeping your ITAM efforts efficient, cost-effective and compliant.