Properly implementing hardware asset management is essential for businesses looking to optimise their operations. Asset management is a vital process for managing a company’s hardware assets, such as computers, printers, servers, and other devices. With proper asset management, businesses can ensure that all their hardware assets are utilised to their fullest potential and remain in good working order. This article will explore the various benefits of hardware asset management and why it’s a critical process for businesses.

What is Hardware Asset Management?

Hardware Asset Management (HAM) refers to the systematic approach that businesses take to manage their hardware assets throughout their entire service-life. HAM is essential for any company that relies on technology to perform its operations. It covers all aspects of hardware management, including planning, procurement, deployment, monitoring, maintenance, and retirement. The lifecycle of HAM can be broken down into six parts:

Importance of Hardware Asset Management

The importance of hardware asset management cannot be overstated. Proper management of these assets can result in a range of benefits that are critical for businesses. Firstly, hardware asset management enables businesses to improve their agility. With accurate asset tracking, businesses can respond more quickly to change and are better equipped to manage fluctuations in demand. This, in turn, helps businesses to maintain their competitive edge in the market.

 

Cost Reduction and Increased Efficiency

One of the most significant benefits of hardware asset management is cost savings. By properly implementing HAM, businesses can streamline their processes and reduce unnecessary expenses. This results in a more efficient operation that is better equipped to handle future challenges.

There are several ways in which hardware asset management helps businesses reduce company spend:

Reduced maintenance costs: Regular maintenance of IT assets is essential for keeping them in good working condition. However, it can also be expensive. With hardware asset management, businesses can track maintenance schedules and proactively schedule repairs. This reduces the likelihood of costly breakdowns and helps keep maintenance costs under control.

More-accurate hardware budgets: One of the biggest challenges in managing IT assets is budgeting for hardware replacements and upgrades. HAM software can help track asset lifecycles and provide accurate forecasts for when hardware will need to be replaced. This allows businesses to plan ahead and budget accordingly.

Less hardware spend: Another significant expense associated with IT asset management is hardware purchases. By properly tracking their existing inventory, businesses can identify redundant or underutilized assets that can be repurposed or disposed of. This reduces the need for new hardware purchases, saving money in the process.

More-efficient disposal processes: When hardware reaches the end of its useful life, proper disposal is essential. Not only does this help protect the environment, but it also ensures that sensitive data is properly wiped from devices. HAM software can help businesses identify when assets are nearing the end of their lifecycle and automate disposal processes to minimize manual work and ensure proper procedures are followed.

Minimal manual work: Another key benefit of HAM is the ability to automate many of the manual tasks associated with IT asset management. This includes tasks like tracking assets, scheduling maintenance, and managing software licenses. By automating these processes, businesses can free up staff time to focus on other areas of the business.

 

Enhanced Security and Risk Management

In today’s business environment, cybersecurity threats are an ever-increasing concern for organisations. With the increased use of multiple hardware devices, it is difficult for security teams to protect what they can’t see. However, effective Hardware Asset Management can help provide a complete listing of all hardware assets, along with relevant version information.

This allows security teams to create complete coverage strategies and identify vulnerable assets. By identifying all hardware assets within an organisation, HAM helps to ensure that security controls are properly implemented, vulnerabilities are identified and addressed, and unauthorised devices are prevented from being connected to the network.

In addition, HAM can also work in conjunction with IT Asset Management (ITAM) to identify unapproved hardware assets and ensure compliance with policies and regulations. By maintaining an up-to-date inventory of hardware assets, businesses can track all devices and detect any rogue or unauthorised hardware. This helps to minimise the risk of data breaches, system failures, and other security incidents.

 

Overall, Hardware Asset Management is a critical function for any business that values its technology infrastructure. HAM can help businesses reduce costs, enhance security and risk management, improve decision making, achieve regulatory compliance, and boost overall efficiency. The successful implementation of HAM can lead to better management of assets, ultimately leading to a better return on investment.

Get in touch to discuss hardware asset management for your business.

Each asset has an associated cost, and you want to maximize any investment by ensuring that equipment is being used properly by the right people. Asset management is also a key component of overall risk management as it ensures that your business only uses supported and compliant devices.

Single Order Generic Ethernet Access, or SOGEA for short, is a type of broadband internet connection that provides a dedicated Ethernet connection directly from a customer’s premises to the internet service provider’s (ISP) network.

SOGEA allows customers to connect to the internet using only a single order, which includes both the broadband service and the telephone line rental. This means that customers can use the same telephone line for both voice calls and internet access, without the need for a separate Openreach phone line.

One of the benefits of SOGEA is that it can provide a faster and more reliable connection than traditional broadband options such as ADSL, which rely on copper telephone lines. SOGEA is also a good option for customers who don’t need a traditional phone service, but still require high-speed internet access.

SOGEA is currently available in the United Kingdom, and it’s expected to become a more widely used broadband option as more internet service providers adopt it.

Starlink internet is a revolutionary new way to connect to the internet that is fast, reliable, and available virtually anywhere in the world.

With Starlink, you can say goodbye to slow, unreliable internet connections and hello to high-speed internet that delivers download speeds of up to 100 Mbps. Best of all, Starlink uses advanced satellite technology to provide internet access to areas that are traditionally underserved or completely without internet access. Whether you’re living in a rural area, traveling on the road, or just tired of slow internet speeds, Starlink has the solution you’ve been looking for.

Our leased line product is a dedicated, private telecommunications circuit that provides a direct and continuous connection between two points, typically used for internet access, voice communications, or data transfer.

One of the main benefits of a leased line is the reliability and consistency it offers, as it guarantees a fixed bandwidth and symmetric upload and download speeds, without sharing with other users. This makes it ideal for businesses that require high levels of connectivity and bandwidth, such as those that use cloud services or require large file transfers. Additionally, our leased lines offer improved security, as they are not vulnerable to interference or hacking from external sources, unlike shared broadband connections. Lastly, leased our lines come with a service level agreements (SLAs), which provide guarantees for uptime and response times, ensuring a high level of customer service and support.

Ethernet First Mile (EFM) is a technology that enables high-speed, dedicated internet access over traditional copper-based infrastructure. Specifically, EFM refers to the use of Ethernet technology to provide connectivity from a customer’s premises to the service provider’s network.

In traditional broadband access, a customer’s connection to the provider’s network typically involves a shared medium such as cable or DSL. With EFM, the customer’s connection is dedicated, meaning that they have a direct, uncontended connection to the provider’s network.

EFM is often used to provide high-speed internet access to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as remote or underserved areas. It can offer speeds of up to 35 Mbps over distances of up to 10 kilometers, depending on the quality of the copper infrastructure.

Overall, EFM is a cost-effective solution for businesses that require reliable, high-speed internet connectivity but cannot access fiber-based solutions due to geographical or economic limitations.

FTTC stands for Fiber to the Cabinet, which is a type of internet broadband technology. It involves running a high-speed fiber optic cable from the internet service provider (ISP) to a street cabinet, which is usually located on the side of a road or a pavement, and then using the existing copper telephone lines to connect homes and businesses to the cabinet.

The distance between the cabinet and the property can affect the speed of the internet connection. The closer the property is to the cabinet, the faster the internet speed.

FTTC can provide faster internet speeds compared to ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology, which uses copper telephone lines for both download and upload data. FTTC can offer download speeds of up to 80 Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps, depending on the quality of the copper telephone lines and the distance between the property and the cabinet.

FTTC is often used as an interim solution while ISPs work on providing full fiber connections to homes and businesses.