The most important aspect of every organisation is its use of technology since it distinguishes it from other organisations. For various reasons, the organisation must keep track of its assets (hardware, software, or cloud insights). It includes economic value, data security, on-time delivery of employee work, maintenance of organisational records, etc. 

 

It can be taken care of by using ServiceNow's support. The platform provides a Hardware Asset Management system to tackle the rigorous work of keeping track of every device the organisation owns, lends, and acquires.  

 

Life Cycle of HAM 

The lifecycle of the Hardware Asset Management system contains six crucial stages. Requesting hardware has a similar experience to shopping online. Except for 1 step, i.e., monitoring, as the sites will not monitor your device, but the organisation will.

The lifecycle is as follows, and each has been explained individually to understand the flow better.   

 

Request > Fulfill > Deploy > Monitor > Service > Retire 

 

  • Request 

Imagine yourself buying an item on a site. What are your biggest questions? What is necessary, and how much will it cost me?    

 

Similar questioning follows here. In the organisation, budgets are allotted for all purposes. Hence, the requested components are addressed, solutions are provided, and the request is submitted.

 

  • Fulfil  

For the fulfilment of the above request, there are two ways:   

 

1. Is the device provided by the organisation? or 

 

2. Does the organisation have a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy?  

 

The vendor's availability is recorded when the organisation delivers the hardware. The hardware's compatibility with the organisation's internal policies and vendor's technical and warranty criteria are also noted.  

 

In the case of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy, your devices are authorised, the network is secured, and logging is done by the corporate body and accounted for in financial reporting.   

  

  • Deploy   

 

After the asset's tagging is done for future device servicing, it is configured and deployed.    
 
The deployment also involves transporting the asset from the storage to the designated work area. This can include any remote work area away from home, configuring the device, and integrating the device with relevant technologies.   
  
  • Monitor  

 

This is the task under the asset manager's bucket. Their job involves mitigating the risks involved. It ensures optimum hardware performance, monitors the device's location to avoid its presence at unrequired places, and avoids/eliminates the outdating of the software. 

  

  • Service   

 

This is the stage where all the regular maintenance work, updates and upgrades are done. For even urgent unscheduled repair work, services are provided.   

 

The asset management team will now study the device in question and understand if it is to be repaired, reassigned or retired.   

  

  • Retire  

 

The last stage of the HAM cycle is to understand if the device is unrepairable or has unmatchable security vulnerabilities and needs retiring as the last step.   

 

The last stage of the HAM cycle is to understand if the device is unrepairable or has unmatchable security vulnerabilities and needs retiring as the last step.   

 

The device is updated in the company system to wipe out all the company information, post which the device may be sold, donated, recycled, or properly disposed of.   

 

 

For BYOD (bring-your-own-device), the device is retired as and when the employee leaves the company after deleting the company's data.  

 

 

Why do we need HAM or why is it important? 

Hardware is a huge investment for any organisation as they drop in value (as soon as out of the showroom), require constant upgrades and repair work, and faces a lot of wear and tear. HAM's core responsibilities include overcoming these recurring drawbacks.   

  1. Improved loss prevention: Assign the asset to an owner, keep track of its location and monitor for any inactivity over a long time. 
  2. Enhanced productivity: Proper asset management system lets the employee utilize his time in his task rather than tracking and updating devices or resolving a device-related issue.
  3. Optimised usage: Regularly updating and maintaining the device helps employees use the device properly and efficiently. On the other hand, organisations also save on their expenditure by regularly updating the device rather than repairing it urgently. 
  4. Increased security and compliance: HAM provides a listing of hardware assets along with their version information. This can track the device's vulnerability to emergent threats. 
  5. More-effective lifecycle management: Complete transparency of the device is provided to the organisation.  

 

How does ServiceNow support HAM services? 

ServiceNow believes in automating the work. Hence keeping that belief intact, the platform provides a fully automated process from request to retirement of an asset. The automation process also knows the importance of monitoring the asset. Therefore, the dashboard feature segregates software, hardware or other requested services into one place on the screen. This can help you track your device along with its lifecycle stage.  

 

This calls for the important point of contract and renewal management. The platform feature of notifications can also be used to remind the asset managers which contracts need to be renewed and what new contracts are made in the month, just by tracking the asset efficiently.   

 

Most of these new features emphasise the capacity of ServiceNow asset management products, such as the hardware asset management system, software asset management, and cloud insights. It provides an opportunity to work better together and collaborate to offer a more comprehensive asset management solution.

 


Conclusion

In conclusion, Hardware Asset Management (HAM) is essential for any organization as it helps improve loss prevention, enhance productivity, optimize usage, and increase security and compliance.

ServiceNow's Hardware Asset Management system is a fully automated process that provides a dashboard feature for tracking devices and monitoring their lifecycle stages. The platform's contract and renewal management feature helps asset managers track contracts and renewals efficiently.

InMorphis HAM system, fueled by the mighty ServiceNow, is the perfect solution to optimize and streamline your organization's asset management. With its cutting-edge technology and unparalleled performance, you'll have the power to take control of your assets like never before.

Unlock the potential of your organization's technology and discover the numerous benefits that HAM can bring to your business.