IAITAM Member Digest The IAITAM Member Digest is a monthly publication that was created in order to keep members of IAITAM up to date with current issues facing the industry.  In this newsletter you will find upcoming knowledge events, articles on key industry issues, success stories from your peers, new members, hot forum topics, survey results, Provider Member(s) of the month, the prior month's Certified Course Attendees, updates for the 2009 Annual Conference & Exhibition and Members Only Specials! Contact info@iaitam.org if you would like to share ideas for future newsletters. You must log in as an IAITAM Member in order for the links to become available.   February 2010 - ITAM 360 - Don't Miss It!  Don't miss your chance to sit in on the final open preview session for  ITAM 360.  Register here for the February 18th 2pm EST webinar ITAM 360, the asset management industry's next generation knowledgebase and performance model will be available for purchase March 1st.  Join IAITAM tomorrow for the final open webinar to learn how ITAM 360 can help you mature your ITAM program. ITAM 360 provides the tools necessary to assess your program development in measurements that are weighted according to your organizations needs and analyzed for process improvement.     Log in to Read More...   January 2010 - Corporate Policies Does your corporate policies include text messaging from company provided phones?  The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear a case on this issue from Ontario, California.  Was the employer (an police department) allowed to audit text messages?  Employees were informed that text messaging was for work only and were given a set allowance to use for work.  The case is complicated by all of those policy issues that are discussed in IAITAM courses.  Is the policy clear?  In this case, the policy explicitly outlines the lack of privacy for email, computer and internet.  There is no explicit text message provision. Lesson Learned:  Keep policies up to date.     Log in to Read More...   November 2009 - Doing Our Part  As IAITAM prepares for IT Asset Management Awareness Month, we wanted to share with you some of the daily festivities we will be presenting to our members and followers starting with: Weekly Surveys on issues and topics surrounding ITAM Daily web-based events Watch the IAITAM website for the complete calendar and schedule.  Don't miss a day or you could possibly miss out on a free copy of the IBPL for your organization or any one of the daily giveaways made available through the daily recorded educational tracks!    Log In To Read More...   September thru October 2009 - A letter from the IAITAM 2009 Conference Where to start? This year’s Annual Conference went off without a hitch! This is IAITAM’s 7th time hosting this grand event and I can honestly say the staff loves to put it on year after year! The hallways were full of enlightening discussions, the breakout sessions were extremely educational with more case-studies than ever and the after hour events provided ample net-working opportunities!   Log In To Read More...   July thru August 2009 -   Copyright and Copywrong The majority of our upbringing as children is instilled in us at a young age. We begin to grow and mature, and eventually begin to forge our own niche in society. The main contributing factor to our views of morality and right versus wrong are derived from two main sources, parental lessons and community standards. Such is the case of a Boston University graduate student who was recently found guilty for sharing 30 songs. His cost for such a crime was $675,000. With such a hefty fine, averaging $22,500 per song, it would seem logical to prevent such actions. The problem with this is that there are two sides to this story.   Log In To Read More...   May thru June 2009 -   Roles vs. Titles Since the release of the IAITAM Best Practice Library (IBPL), concerns have been brought to my attention in reference to the roles of the Certified Software Asset Manager (CSAM) and the Certified Hardware Asset Manager (CHAMP). Specifically, the context of the concern is why these management positions were not included as specific roles within the IBPL Key Process Areas. First and foremost, let me explain that the IBPL was created and written to align all of the Key Process Areas, which when combined, constitute a complete ITAM Program.   Log In To Read More...   April 2009 -   Springtime and ITAM For those of us in the northern hemisphere and the northern parts of the northern hemisphere we are beginning to celebrate the long awaited arrival of spring! Our apologies to those living in the southern hemisphere but it’s our turn! So you may be wondering what springtime and ITAM have in common. Well in the spring you see people tending to their yards and gardens, preparing them for the growing season and this preparation includes fertilization, which in turn reminds me of a comment once made by an executive: “Process is like fertilizer. Just the right amount and you have a beautiful flower. Too much and you are waist deep in [fertilizer].”    Log In To Read More...   March 2009 -   Policy Creation Gets a Facelift Last month, Facebook announced its intent to claim rights to all content posted on its website, even after the user has closed the account. The result of this new policy announcement was a mass protest by Facebook users resulting in an “about face” by the social networking company.  Facebook is now posting a new policy, its “Principles”, for users to vote on and provide feedback. There are just a few ways a policy can fail including lack of communication and education, lack of management support, lack of enforcement and finally lack of buy-in by the organization. In the case of Facebook, it was lack of buy-in by their users, and they learned it the hard way, but to their credit, they reacted appropriately.   Log In To Read More...   February 2009 - It Takes Patience! Campbell Soup’s CEO Douglas Conant took the helm of the company eight years ago and at that time the company best known for its soups was struggling. In a recent interview regarding his eight-year tenure at the company, Conant was quoted as saying “You can't talk your way out of something you behaved your way into.” He was talking about the challenges he faced of changing the corporate culture. Today, many companies are focused on short-term results. Publicly traded companies have the added pressure of producing quarterly results and then the fiscal year results. With these short-term goals comes a demand to produce results now and not later. Even IAITAM is aware of these challenges.   Log In To Read More...   January 2009 - Brace Yourself for the Unknown On a cold January day, US Airways flight 1549 lifted off from LaGuardia Airport en route to Charlotte, North Carolina. Ninety seconds into the flight the plane lost power and was forced to make a splash landing into the cold Hudson River. All 155 people aboard managed to survive what could have been a major disaster and massive loss of life. While the plane’s engine failure may have been an accident, the fact that no one died is not. The pilot Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger is being called a hero and it was because of his training and his commitment to being a pilot that he was able to bring the plane to rest intact and with no fatalities. It wasn’t just the pilot but members of the crew and first responders are also being praised for their actions.   Log In To Read More...   December 2008 - The Countdown To 2009 Is On! With the passing of every year, there comes a time to reflect on memories made, goals achieved, and those who have touched our lives. We at IAITAM are proud to be among friends and colleagues within the ITAM community.  The world is not the same as it was when IAITAM began in 2002.  Technology has revolutionized the way in which we orchestrate our existence from day to day.  Not long ago, books were kept in pen on ledgers, and filed away in storage rooms for safe-keeping.  Now you can access documents from years past with the click of a button (with the proper Documentation Management System, of course - that’s where you come in!).   Log In To Read More...   November 2008 - User Group Sign-ups Are Still Going On: IAITAM is proud to announce a new feature in 2009 to our Membership Program -Focused user groups around the globe! IAITAM is looking for interested parties willing to lead their local ITAM community to expand their asset management awareness and assist in bringing educational-based  content to the masses through this new program.  Hide Under A Rock or Take Advantage of The Current Economy - You Decide: You would have to have been hiding under a rock the last few months not to be aware of the faltering economy. It’s impact is being felt all around the world and with the exception of a few industries, everyone is either being hit or getting prepared to be affected is some way.  However, according to some analysts and the news agencies, Information Technology will still experience growth, albeit near flat, for 2009. As Asset Managers we can do one of two things – hide in hopes we won’t be part of the cut or take advantage of the current circumstances and benefit from it.   Log In To Read More...   October 2008 - It's All About the Conference!   Announcing the IAITAM 2009 Annual Conference & Exhibition and What Happened at the 2008 Conference in Marco Island, FL.  The IAITAM 2009 Annual Conference & Exhibition kicks off Tuesday evening, September 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada at 6:00pm with the Pool Party at "The Beach", Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa & Casino's famous sand-bottomed pool!  IAITAM will treat you to entertainment and the best cuisine Las Vegas has to offer. This opening night promises to be filled with music and networking while dining in preparation for the vigorous, education-packed days to follow.  Log In To Read More...   September 2008 - Are you Covered? Insurance for First-Party IT Risk This article provides an overview of how a company can transfer first-party privacy risk. Almost all companies face various IT systems failures, network security breaches, and privacy incident exposures (collectively “IT and Privacy Risk”) based on their daily business operations.  It may surprise even the best managed company, however, just how much first-party IT and Privacy Risk it sometimes retains.   For example, although during the course of engaging outside vendors, a company can sometimes offload some privacy risk to their vendors by way of contractual indemnification and insurance requirements.  Such safeguards have no impact on risks caused by a company’s own employee negligence or wrongful conduct.  And, what if the vendor’s coffers or choice of insurance policy is weak?  Or, even going forward with a strong vendor insurance clause that is backed by an equally strong insurance policy, what about first-party loss exposures such as IT systems failure due to human error or reputation injury, internal forensic costs, or the expense of credit monitoring that results from a privacy breach?  Log In To Read More...   July 2008 - Is Your Disaster Recovery Plan Ready? Goodbye and good riddance Dolly, but how’s your Disaster Recovery Plan? As of this writing, it looks like North America survived yet another hurricane as Dolly makes its way onto land and heads west across the United States and Mexican border. So what does this weather report have to do with IT Asset Management you ask? Well it should remind us all of how solid our Disaster Recovery (DR) Plan is, or should be. Just in case you’re wondering what DR has to do with IT Asset Management, the answer is plenty.  Log In To Read More...   June 2008 - Announcing the New IBPL Advanced Training Courses With the release of the IAITAM Best Practice Library (“IBPL”), it became evident that in order for organizations to quickly incorporate the IBPL components into their enterprise, IAITAM would have to provide curricula that would enable the IT Asset Manager to integrate the knowledge provided in the IBPL volumes. Log In To Read More...   May 2008 - Announcing the New CITAM Course Contest Winners IAITAM is offering a select few the opportunity to attend the new CITAM course for free! The CITAM Contest was announced in the last issue of this newsletter.  The only catch was that past CITAM graduates, which are also members of IAITAM, needed to write a short essay explaining why they should receive the brand new CITAM training for free and email it to us. Several members submitted wonderful essays making the decision for a single winner very difficult.  So difficult in fact we chose four, two Individual Members and two Corporate/Provider Members.  Log In To Read More...   April 2008 - IAITAM Introduces New Certified IT Asset Manager Course The Certified IT Asset Manager (CITAM) Program was originally developed by professional Software and Hardware Asset Managers to codify a number of existing IAITAM professional development programs.  IAITAM’s Certification in IT Asset Management has evolved over the years to accommodate the changes in the profession and therefore the course has evolved as well.  IAITAM now introduces the new CITAM, intended to guide individuals within the profession and align the needs of the organization with IT for the benefit of the organization.  This new hands-on course will allow professionals to review existing infrastructure and plan a real world IT Asset Management Program - one that is applicable to the global work place and inclusive of a widely dynamic range of issues as well as properly managing IT assets across their organizations.  Log In To Read More...   March 2008 - Introducing the IAITAM Best Practice Library™ (IBPL): The Global  Prescription  IAITAM is very proud to announce that  the IAITAM Best Practice Library (IBPL) has shipped. The following are excerpts from ITAK Volume 3 Issue 2. President’s Letter: The president’s letter this month will be in a little different format from prior letters. I have decided for this month not only to include a letter but also a full series on the IAITAM Best Practice Library™ (IBPL).   Log In To Read More...   February 2008 - Focused Musings It seems strange to me to write about acquisition whether it be a type of asset or another company while there is so much press being given right now about the possibility of an up-coming recession. If you are working in many of the areas of the financial industry not only is there a possibility but you may already be right in the middle of a serious downturn. For this months’ column, I’m going to introduce some new ITAK features, talk about the Association and the industry and discuss how you have even more opportunity to validate your program with a downturn in the economy.  Log In To Read More...