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I believe those are core to any successful ITAM program, however a program can function fairly successfully if any, but not all, are missing.
Here is a high level RACI with 5 functions and 5 organizational participants:
Function 1: Asset Lifecycle Management
ITAM Team: Responsible and AccountableProcurement: Consulted
IT Operations: Responsible
Finance: Informed
Information Security: Informed
Function 2: Software License Compliance
ITAM Team: ResponsibleProcurement: Consulted
IT Operations: Informed
Finance: Consulted
Information Security: Informed
Function 3: Hardware Procurement & Receiving
ITAM Team: ConsultedProcurement: Responsible and Accountable
IT Operations: Consulted
Finance: Informed
Information Security: Informed
Function 4: Audit & Reporting (Internal/External)
ITAM Team: Responsible and AccountableProcurement: Informed
IT Operations: Informed
Finance: Consulted
Information Security: Consulted
Function 5: Unauthorized Software Identification & Removal
ITAM Team: ResponsibleProcurement: Informed
IT Operations: Responsible
Finance: Informed
Information Security: Accountable
1. Procurement = 9
2. Asset ID = 9
3. Comms and EDU = 10
4. Compliance = 8
5. Legislation = 8
6. Disposal = 8
7. Finance = 8
8. Policy = 7
9. Project = 8
10. Vendor = 9I have contributed by evangelizing the ITAM profession, and building mulitiple asset managers throughout my career. I believe in the value that ITAM delivers, and know that our job is never complete. I remain highly ethical and stay in the position of being able to help wherever I am needed, and offer new ideas and innovative thought to the profession in the form of interactions with other asset managers, executives, and stakeholders.
Automation – building on the AI theme, automation is critical in ITAM today and should be a key process area.
I have been involved in several software audits with previous companies. I have found that auditors are people who want to do a job, and most of them are ethical. If you approach the audit as a learning and corrective experience, rather than a punitive and greed-based move by a publisher, and you have the opportunity to impart that perspective on the auditor, you can usually strike an understanding and influence the audit to move in the right direction. It is critical to be respectful of the auditor’s time, and they generally will be respectful of yours. If you find that they are not playing fairly, it is important to remind them of point number one above.
It is an asset manager’s responsibility to become aware of and to understand the organization’s finances, as they relate to the ITAM function. It is imperative to immerse yourself in, and to understand, how the money flows, where it comes from, how it is spent, and how effectively it is managed.
Artificial Intelligence in ITAM is currently in use in a number of ways, including in evaluating process effectiveness, analyzing licensing usage trends, and built in functions in a number of ITAM tool sets.
