The school maintains state-of-the-art IT equipment, Bussell says, and managing assets closely has helped his staffers do that and still save money. For example, he’s been able to monitor a specific group of computers from the same manufacturer, to gauge how they are holding up. That, he says, “helps us to evaluate our next purchase.” Another module in the suite allows him to monitor Internet use on each computer in the lab, both by tracking Web usage and blocking select URLs. Still another selling point for him, he says, is the ability to distribute files to a specific machine or machines, since instructors often have material on a flash drive or disk that they want distributed. NetSupport Manager and DNA (enterprise systems management software) have that capability.

“Any time you can automate something,” Bussell concludes, “you’re better off. For us, this solution has met expectations and more.”

Management/Security Merge

The LANDesk (www.landesk.com) product line from the vendor of the same name is one example of software that not only blurs the lines between asset management and traditional network management tools, but also the line between those tools and security products. Beefing up security was a big driver for Dartmouth College (NH) administrators when they selected LANDesk, although the school is also using the product for remote network management and basic asset tracking. Enterprise administrator Timothy Chiacchira says he runs three LANDesk modules: Management Suite, Patch Manager, and Security Suite. With these modules in place, he says, “I know every share, every folder; who has a guest account; even if there’s a remote share on a drive, which could indicate a hacker.” But Chiacchira says he uses LANDesk primarily for distributing new versions of operating systems and other software, and for standardizing computer hardware through monitoring. All 1,200-plus administrative computers at Dartmouth are monitored by the system, including central servers; and though faculty and student systems are not currently covered by the asset management capability, installing LANDesk on student computers is in the works, says Chiacchira, chiefly to help track who’s running what. With LANDesk, he says, “We can standardize the OS build, along with what software we support, and make sure every system conforms.” He links up LANDesk to a Microsoft SQL Server backend for data storage; LANDesk can also be used with an Oracle database. The product also includes an asset management module that can be used for tracking IT assets in detail, including depreciation, users, contracts, and maintenance agreements.

Before LANDesk (and before Chiacchira), Dartmouth used various less formal methods to track installed software. IT administrators knew their machines and which client was linked to which machine, Chiacchira says, but the school didn’t necessarily know exactly what software was on what machine, nor could IT administrators block installation of certain products, as they do now on the LANDesk-managed machines. Chiacchira and his staff can also detect machine changes, such as if a memory module has been removed, a machine is down, or if someone has removed or added software. With LANDesk, he says, he no longer needs to write and execute login scripts to monitor the network. Instead, the product auto-monitors not just Windows, but Linux devices, printers, and just about anything that LANDesk can install a monitoring agent on, even Mac OS X.

The Ultimate ROI

The savings are clearly there, but measuring the direct ROI of an effective IT asset management program can be difficult, say campus technologists. According to the University of Minnesota’s Gregory, one way that the ROI of an asset tracking implementation can show up is as “value-added benefits.” That includes gains in areas such as classroom uptime, equipment ease-of-use, remote solutions to classroom problems, reports and trend analysis of technology use, remote shutdown and lockout of classrooms, help desk capability, and theft prevention. Of course, the ultimate measure of success is the degree of faculty and student satisfaction, Gregory points out, which has long-term strategic and financial impact.

Many schools are just starting to realize that good practices in managing and securing technology assets can provide a big payback. Increasingly complex networks and bigger and bigger IT budgets mean that there’s more to keep track of, more dollars at stake, and more time and staff spent tracking assets. Vendors, for their part, are offering progressively sophisticated solutions in response, including suites of products with various types of tracking and management modules to choose from. In short: Today, whether you’re looking at managing a relatively small amount of equipment in a single department, or an entire institution’s technology investment, products for IT asset management are out there. It’s time to assess your need, build your short list, and start saving staff hours, money, and downtime.

A Wealth of Overlapping Solutions

THE CONCEPT OF MANAGING IT assets via software is still fairly new to much of higher education, just as several years ago, it was an emerging concept for many businesses. But an ever-expanding range of asset management tools are now available to campus IT professionals. In general, solutions that can be used for IT asset management may be grouped into several classes: a) large systems for traditional fixed asset management, b) targeted solutions for managing IT assets specifically, and c) systems that do both.

From the ERP side. For managing buildings and associated elements, most schools of any size use some sort of facilities management software, often as part of a larger ERP suite. Oracle/PeopleSoft (Oracle Enterprise Asset Management, and now PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne Asset Management, as well; www.peoplesoft.com, SAP www.sap.com, and Sungard SCT (Enterprise Data Warehouse; www.sungardsct.com) all offer products in this category. While it’s possible to track IT assets using modules from these products, they’re generally designed from a financial perspective and intended for fixed asset tracking and management. They may not have the capacity and level of detail required to manage campus IT assets well.

From facilities, to IT assets. But according to Gartner analyst Michael Bell (www.gartner.com), a few software companies with good penetration on the facilities management side are reaching out to include IT asset management. Bell cites MRO Software (www.mro.com) as one example, which in February launched Maximo Enterprise IT, which highlights IT asset management. One challenge: Purchasers of Maximo Enterprise IT and other Maximo solutions tend to be from completely different departments: IT vs. facilities management.

IT network, security, and asset control. Further along on the asset management continuum are solutions that specifically address IT asset management, usually including remote-control network management features, as well. LANDesk (www.landesk.com), NetSupport (www.netsupportsoftware.com), and AMX Meeting Manager (www.amx.com) are three in this category; some such products have modules with asset-tracking features, or they allow you to add asset-tracking features, security, and other specialties. LANDesk (spun off from Intel Corp. several years back) includes modules tailored specifically for security, as well as the more complex aspects of asset management.

From the business world. Other IT asset management solutions, largely used by the corporate sector to date, come from companies such as Peregrine (Asset Tracking; www.peregrine.com), Computer Associates (Unicenter Asset Management; www.ca.com), BMC Remedy (which acquired Marimba Software last year, adding new capabilities to its Asset Management suite; www.remedy.com), OpsWare (Asset Tracking Edition; www.opsware.com), and Altiris (Asset Management Suite; www.altiris.com). The Altiris product, like some others, is part of a complete IT asset management solution.

Fixed and IT asset management. One product that combines both traditional fixed asset management capabilities, and IT-specific asset management solutions, is Sunflower Systems (www.sunflowersystems.com). Sunflower also offers a module for managing mobile assets, which could be useful for tracking items such as laptops, tablets, or PDAs on campus.

More overlap. Other types of software solutions—such as help desk solutions—overlap with IT asset management. Also, traditional configuration and system management tools can be used for managing IT assets. Those include Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS; www.microsoft.com/smserver), Novell Zenworks (www.novell.com/zenworks), HP Novadime (www.novadigm.com), BMC Marimba (www.marimba.com), and some smaller players. Looking at even more product overlap, the Altiris Management Suite also could be included here, as could LANDesk. Bottom line? Think: convergence.