In order to enact effective Change Management, IT companies cannot arbitrarily make changes to their infrastructure. Decision-makers need to have a clear picture of their assets from summary and detailed perspectives. They need to know what they have in place and how it is configured before they can make decisions to implement changes — this is where a robust asset management solution comes into play.
Asset Management Application for SharePoint
Our Asset Management solution is tightly integrated with Microsoft SharePoint, whether on-premises or in Office 365. SharePoint and Office 365 are communication and collaboration platforms that are already in use by a majority of businesses worldwide. Being embedded in SharePoint means our program does not require separate, standalone systems.
Designed from the ground-up with ITSM and ITIL principles in mind, the job of our Asset Management system is to answer the question, “What is going on with my assets?” Detailed asset information can be accessed from within the program, such as an asset’s deployment status, location, serial number, model number, warranty data, and current status.
Our system can leverage network discovery tools (such as Microsoft’s SCCM) to automatically determine, record, and catalog all connected assets without any manual input. For example, if assets (e.g., new routers and laptops) are added to the system, our tool will pick them up and add them to the database automatically.
Contextual Information Crucial to Effective Asset Management
A key difference from other solutions is the level of contextual content that we provide about your assets — our solution aims to answer the following questions:
- Who is currently using a device? Who are the last 10 users of the device? When did they use it and for how long? What is its check-in/out history?
- Where is the device specifically located? Who is responsible for the device?
- Can users reserve the device for future use? Can they check-out the device online?
- When was the item purchased? How much did it cost? What is its current value given depreciation? If old, is it scheduled to be de-commissioned?
- Was the device purchased or leased? Is there a contract involved? What are the terms?
- IT Help Desk Integration: Are there any outstanding tasks involving the device? If so, what is the ticket number? What is its maintenance/service history?
- Are manuals available for viewing? Are any other assets connected to this one?
All of this information is critical when implementing Change Management best practices. Our Asset Management system provides you with the contextual data that you need to quickly make proactive Change Management decisions.
Integration with IT Help Desk for SharePoint
In addition, our SharePoint-based Asset Management seamlessly integrates with our IT Help Desk for SharePoint. The pairing of these two solutions enables your organization to access holistic asset details in conjunction with our automated ticket-based service request platform.
From an “ITIL Lite” perspective, Change Management represents the final stage of incident resolution: fixing issues and, if needed, making adjustments to existing processes. This stage typically comes after Incident Management (the immediate incident has been addressed and the situation is stabilized) and Problem Management (the root cause of the incident and/or process malfunction has been analyzed and identified).
Integrating our Asset Management with the Incident, Problem, and Change Management and Problem Management processes of our IT Help Desk makes for a powerful combination, particularly when solving time-sensitive tickets — up-to-date asset information will be at your fingertips, enabling you to successfully make critical decisions.
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Crow Canyon Software delivers the power of a connected, digital workplace to your organization, helping you be more successful and competitive. We provide the tools that allow you to gain the maximum benefit from SharePoint and Office 365, Microsoft’s premier collaboration platforms.
Want to learn about how our business productivity applications for SharePoint and Office 365 can power up your organization? Give us a call at 1-925-478-3110 or contact us by e-mail at sales@crowcanyon.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
