Becoming familiar with the standards and using them as a guideline to “self-certify” is an option for organizations or departments that want the benefits of asset management without independent verification of conforming to the standards.

In either instance, an IT department wanting the benefits of asset management will need to state its objectives and define its scope. Its objective will need to be in alignment with the overall objectives of the organization. Its scope can be any number of things related to the management of the IT assets. Look for areas that are in need of improvement. Examples of a defined scope include:

• Management of the acquisition of IT assets
• Management of the maintenance of IT assets
• Management of the tracking of IT assets
• Management of the transfer of IT assets
• Management of the disposal of IT assets

And so on and so forth.

I recommend forming an IT Asset Governance Committee to regularly meet with all stakeholders to focus on satisfying the needs of the organization. Stakeholders are anyone who can either directly or indirectly effect the desired outcomes of the defined scope and objectives. They can be external; a third party data destruction company for example. Or they can be internal; the Logistics and Accounting departments for example.

Once all stakeholders have been identified and a committee representative of all stakeholders is formed, meeting agendas should be fashioned around risks and opportunities. Discussing all IT asset related risks with representative stakeholders will lead to improvement opportunities in mitigating those risks. Sometimes mitigating risks involve changes. When stakeholders are involved in improving organizational processes, necessary change becomes more palatable.

Every department within an organization has room for improvement. Following the established guidelines in the ISO Asset Management standards can be a useful tool for your IT department in making significant process improvements to help your organization be more effective in achieving its objectives more efficiently.

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