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In the 1980s, massive layoffs occurred as the market shifted.  These layoffs were part of the genesis of IT asset management, with horror stories of equipment walking out the door (including leased equipment) driving the creation of discovery tools and repositories for asset data.  Today we find ourselves in this situation again, with a generation of growth in between.  While our tool sets and business practices for managing assets are far advanced since the 80s, some professionals are working in a down economy for the first time and may be slow to adjust the priorities. 

This situation requires an analysis of  the basics to make sure we can meet the demand for lifecycle management far beyond our normal workload.  Planning ahead is the only strategy available to us, as well as a good way to remain off the list.  Consider the following steps, and suggest any others that come to mind:

1.  If tracking assets to the individual, concentrate on verifying accuracy of the list and prepare in advance a report that lists assets by department or cost center, individual and location. 

2.  Examine the way contact information for assets is kept up to date.  Coordinate with HR for updates from the employee database.   Clean up misspelled names, errors in omission, etc.

3.Examine the policies, specifically the termination policy to find out whether final checks are held until all equipment is accounted for or if there is some other enforcement practice planned.

4.  Review the storage space for assets, cleaning up ahead of time and planning for new assets.  To limit loss of continuity on open projects and tasks, some organizations keep a copy of all files on the PC and laptops before preparing for re-deployment or disposal.  If that practice is not in place, you might consider it or at least keeping track of where the equipment came from and delaying reconfigurations for a brief period of time.

Logitech announced this week that they have shipped the 1 millionth mouse.  For the Hardware Asset Manager, it serves as a benchmark of the size and difficulty of managing all of those millions of pieces and parts that become IT assets.  Usually, we don’t even track the mouse or keyboard, as elements of too little value and easily replaced to track.  For more on the event, go to:  http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/172/5388&cl=us,en