What is ITAM for the Critical Infrastructure and Network?
In the world of IT Asset Management (ITAM), vendors and practices come in a variety of scopes and disciplines. However, an organization’s unique ITAM needs must align to the products and structure of its IT department. For example, an organization with thousands of global branches that each have their own IT asset needs will have very different ITAM requirements than an organization with a singular physical location in which they store the majority of their IT assets.
The ITAM industry itself has a heavy focus on audit risk prevention from major software suppliers such as Oracle, Microsoft and Adobe. The majority of ITAM services and tools on the market focus on reducing these expensive software audit risks, and their scope and design is suited well for this purpose.
Beyond Traditional ITAM
However, what many of these solutions do not focus on in their scope is what we call “ITAM for the critical infrastructure and network”, which means ITAM for the actual hardware and software IT assets that allow an organization’s network to function. These include the servers, routers, access points and other associated hardware and software components that are critical to an organization’s ability to digitize.
Traditional ITAM approaches are heavily vested in end-users and their asset usage, such as the PCs, laptops, peripheral devices and end-user software that personnel use on a day-to-day basis. Conversely, ITAM for the critical infrastructure and network is heavily focused on the “hidden” assets that are critical and highly expensive components of networking functionality.
No organization wants to spend tens of thousands to millions of dollars replacing or purchasing networking assets they do not need, or overpaying their suppliers for unneeded support contracts. ITAM for the critical infrastructure and network streamlines network efficiency and costs, allowing organizations to make sure that they are gaining the proper value and return on investment from their networking product purchases.
Realizing the Value of ITAM for the Critical Infrastructure and Network
RAY ALLEN, Inc, a pioneering industry leader in ITAM for the critical infrastructure and network, has been working with some of the biggest companies in the networking industry for over 17 years, providing them with innovative solutions and platforms to allow them to reduce their expenses and gain the most value from managing their organizations’ and clients’ networking infrastructures.