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Article Title:
==============

Best Practices: Managing Your Assets in Conjunction with Your Help Desk
Ticketing System

Article Description:
====================

Are you tired of using multiple systems to keep track of your
assets and the issues which have been logged against them? Do you
have a way of tracking where your hardware is located and which
machines are causing you problems? Is managing all these
equipment details giving you a headache? With the growing demands
on IT departments, effective management of assets is more crucial
than ever.


Additional Article Information:
===============================

611 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line
Distribution Date and Time: 2007-07-05 11:00:00

Written By: Clark Tanner
Copyright: 2007
Contact Email: mailto:marketing@...



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Best Practices: Managing Your Assets in Conjunction with Your Help Desk
Ticketing System
Copyright (c) 2007 Clark Tanner
Novo Help Desk Software
http://www.novosolutions.com



Are you tired of using multiple systems to keep track of your
assets and the issues which have been logged against them? Do you
have a way of tracking where your hardware is located and which
machines are causing you problems? Is managing all these
equipment details giving you a headache? With the growing demands
on IT departments, effective management of assets is more crucial
than ever. Knowing what assets you have, where they are located,
when they were purchased, whether they are actively being used,
etc., is critical to any organization.

A high end Service Desk software package will often include
features to facilitate the management of IT assets. Statistics
show that today's IT departments are being expected to track
more than just computers and software. Assets such as PDA's,
cell phones, laptops and other peripheral equipment must also be
tracked. In addition, details such as changes in status,
location, and repairs to equipment can also be tracked, allowing
management to evaluate trends and make decisions accordingly.
Asset management software becomes even more powerful when
combined with a help desk ticketing solution. Ticket tracking
allows you to see which assets are requiring the most
repair/service so you have a better feel of when to upgrade.

Asset management software, especially when part of a Help Desk or
Service Desk system, can ease the burden of a busy IT department.
The benefit is a highly effective tool for tracking what you have
on hand and where your assets are located, as well as who is
using them. Specifics such as identification number, purchase
date, repair history, relationship to other equipment, etc. can
be assigned to each item. As assets are purchased and brought on
line, assigned to users, or get replaced, the asset management
software will keep a history of all the changes. Ad hoc reporting
is almost a necessity with a system such as this, since few
"off-the-shelf" solutions will offer every report a company
would need. A true ad hoc reporting system would allow management
to run very specific reports, providing the overall knowledge
required to effectively plan for the future with regard to
machine replacements. Taking the guess work out of the asset
management process, the Service Desk application could report on
the past and present issues throughout the entire life of any
asset in the database.

With increased workloads and limited budgets adding to the daily
challenges of IT managers everywhere, powerful asset and ticket
tracking systems are becoming more in demand. Upper management
expects to see reports which will explain where their support
dollars are going and nearly every IT expenditure must be fully
justified. If managers are to keep up with these new
requirements, they must consider investing in technology which
will streamline these processes and keep the CFO's and CTO's
happy. "Managed Services" is also a growing trend these days.
Large and medium sized companies alike are considering whether to
continue managing their own IT shops or to contract out to firms
which specialize in providing a "full service IT solution".
Herein lies another reason for In-House IT shops to carefully
examine their business practices and to focus on regularly
enhancing and improving current methods of tracking and reporting
on assets.

The future will most likely force many changes in the way IT
shops are managed. Business models will come and go as companies
determine which support methods best complement their agendas.
Who will survive this evolutionary process? Consider the man
hours you will save by managing your equipment with asset
management software. A good Return on Investment (ROI) should
help make a decision to implement this type of solution much more
favorable than the alternative.




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Written by: Clark Tanner, Account Manager for Novo Solutions, Inc.
Novo Solutions, Inc. is an Independent Software Vendor (ISV)
in Virginia Beach, Virginia specializing in Customer Support
Software. Free trial versions of the Novo Help Desk Software,
Knowledge Base Software, Asset Management Software and suite
of web-based Customer Support Solutions are available.
Contact http://www.novosolutions.com for more information.



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