CHAPTER 3: KEEPING IT FRESH

What are the challenges?

•   How do I find the best place to start?

•   How do I keep my customers on my side? How do I manage changes, such as additions and removals?

When it comes to interacting with end-users, remember that they often need little excuse to blame the tools that they have been given to carry out their role, and their perception of having out-of-date or underpowered equipment is sometimes enough alone to increase the volume of calls to your support desk. Whilst there may be situations where using old equipment to carry out a specific task within your infrastructure is appropriate, when it comes to your users, their own perceptions are most definitely their reality.

With this in mind, take a detailed look at your support statistics to see if you can identify any hardware-related trends – it may be machines of a certain make or model or, in fact, a combination of application and machine specifications (for example, all PCs with less than 3GB of RAM running a specific application). Do this across both desktop and laptop areas and make a list of any areas that seem to be affecting call volumes. Then look at your whole environment to understand how many machines may require changing.

Whilst there is some value in performing upgrades and new image builds, keeping active machines within the standard two- to three-year manufacturer warranty periods, if managed efficiently, will be more cost-effective than paying for additional maintenance contracts as insurance against failure.

With an understanding of how many machines you want to replace, go to the market place and get an estimation of the cost. Also consider a programme of change rather than a single big bang approach, setting up a schedule of change which rolls out the new machines gradually. This approach will also help minimise the impact on individual areas of the business.

In discussions with your chosen hardware manufacturer, include the possibility of them creating or duplicating a machine image for your new machines, as well as the possibility of them assigning asset numbers in line with your proposed schema. In this way, when you receive a shipment, you will have most of the software build completed and also a simple update to your asset inventory listing of the new machines.

For a successful ongoing Asset Management process that maintains a high level of accuracy, it is paramount that you identify and control the ‘doors’ into and out of your organisation that IT assets may travel through. Only by the process of identifying new or additional equipment and highlighting and verifying old, retired or lost equipment, can you make sure that your asset database is maintained accurately.

The procurement process is clearly the most obvious ‘door’ into your environment, and having your hardware supplier provide you with information that is accurate and relevant will make your records easier to update. Also consider other methods by which equipment may arrive in your environment – either through other procurement channels that you do not control or via individual users that bring in equipment that they wish to use in the company environment. Make sure that you are able to maintain control and that you strive to gain communication with new equipment. Also ensure that the support lines are clearly drawn, so that you can easily identify what you need to support and what you can save effort on.

Similarly, with the exit points from your environment, you have a responsibility to ensure that any equipment that is to leave your organisation is effectively disposed of and that all data that is inappropriate out of the context of your organisation is removed effectively. It is also your responsibility, wherever possible, to identify equipment that has not been officially removed but is termed as missing. Using automated inventory tools and setting date criteria within which reports can be made regularly may go some way to help identifying equipment that ‘walks’ of its own accord.

Remember:

•   Start by looking for changes that will have the most impact or have the most positive effect.

•   Without customers, you probably wouldn’t have a job, so keep their satisfaction as a top priority.

•   Identify the entry and exit points for assets in your environment and put in place processes and controls to manage them effectively.