How to use Hardware Asset Management for Recording Keeping

In the life of a hardware asset, there is only one point when we know for sure we have what we purchased: When we first receive the asset.

This hardware asset scenario reminds me being a little kid and playing catch with my neighbor. I would take a new baseball out of the package and throw it over the fence to him. He would catch it and then throw it back. Sometimes he would try to trick me and throw a different ball back over the fence: an old baseball, a softball, and one time a soccer ball. (That caught me off-guard.) And sometimes, he would go inside to dinner and not tell me. I would throw the ball and wait. (Until I was called in to dinner, of course.)

When I took the baseball out of the package, and before I threw it over the fence, this was the only time I knew for sure I had that exact baseball. Once I threw the ball over the fence, I was never sure what I would get in return or if I would get anything back.

I started writing my name on the baseballs immediately when I took them out of the package. This way, I could tell if I was getting back what I had originally thrown over the fence.

Now back to the hardware asset…
We receive the device and verify that what we receive is what we purchased.

But at this time, we know a lot more about that exact device. We know who the vendor was and how much we paid for the device. We can match the device to that PO and invoice We have contractual information about warranty and support. And while the device is in our possession, we can attach asset tags to make identification easier. Before we deploy the device (or throw it over the fence to a user), this is the best time to start tracking the device; to create the hardware asset record with all of the supporting information we know at this point in the asset’s life.

As soon as it is deployed, we have lots of tools to help us know where the device is. But nothing is more certain than when the device is in front of you; especially the very first time you receive the device.

This is why tracking assets at the earlier stages of their lives is so important:

1. We know the most about the device at that point
2. We know exactly what we have
3. We know exactly where it is

Starting out early makes the management and tracking of that device, and all hardware assets, that much easier!

If you’d like to learn more, watch the on-demand webinar: "The ITAM Triforce – Discover the power of SAM, HAM, and the CMDB"

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