Check out the key steps for building an IT inventory. In short, this document allows companies to identify opportunities and plan investments in the short, medium, and long term

Recently, we showed on the blog the importance of IT maintenance. We also covered the need to focus your team on high-value actions. In practice, both steps can be greatly supported by an IT inventory. Therefore, in this article, we will show the main precautions to carry out this process properly and efficiently. As a result, you get a complete view of the organization’s IT structure.

In practice, however, let us start from the beginning: what is an IT inventory? It is a document that must cover all the assets (software, hardware, licenses, devices) that exist within a company. Moreover, it contains important information. For example: purchase data, past and future maintenance, and license expiration dates. It also records the employee responsible for each device, among other details.

Therefore, the goal behind this document is to survey all the technology resources that exist in a company.

Why create an IT inventory?

Likewise, we live in an increasingly digital world. Getting the best out of a company’s existing resources is a cheap and smart way to become more competitive. One thing is certain: ignoring this document will put a company behind its competitors. That is true regardless of the investment made in software, hardware, licenses, and devices.

As a result, an IT inventory gives managers the ability to understand the organization’s current moment. Therefore, they can identify investment and improvement opportunities. In addition, they can anticipate potential problems that could interfere with day-to-day operations. Some advantages of building this document are:

– Monitoring IT needs within the business’s short-, medium-, and long-term planning;

– Anticipating problems, vulnerabilities, and difficulties caused by a lack of IT resources. This matters above all at a time when data security is essential;

– Keeping track of equipment warranty periods;

– Ensuring predictive maintenance of devices, extending their useful life;

– Identifying inefficient or obsolete assets;

– Having more data to make strategic decisions about future investments and improvement priorities;

– Discovering the protection status of corporate data and potential security improvements;

– Running software and license audits, identifying renewal deadlines and unnecessary programs.

How to build an IT inventory?

In short, you now know what an IT inventory is and what its advantages are. Therefore, let us get straight to the point: what should be included in this document?

1 – Create categories

As with any inventory, the first step is defining the categories in which the assets will be listed. First, you need to define large categories, such as hardware, software, and users. Then, you establish subgroups within them.

After all, these internal divisions must be well structured to make it easier to view all assets. For example, in the hardware category, you can separate: computers, notebooks, printers, routers, modems, servers, among others. For software, the separation should be made between applications, licenses, and cloud services.

2 – Define a naming convention

In addition, assets repeat themselves within a company, whether software or hardware. Even if two notebooks are exactly the same, they need to be entered differently in an IT inventory. Moreover, it is important to keep this standard over time. Otherwise, the work will be lost.

In practice, the second step is to define a naming convention. It must cover the specifics of each device, license, or asset. Moreover, managers must be able to read it easily. It is common to mix letters and numbers to create your own rule. Therefore, this rule must be clearly specified in the IT inventory.

3 – Choose the software

Obviously, a traditional or cloud spreadsheet can be used to survey your IT assets. However, there are solutions that make this work more intuitive and simpler.

In addition, these tools can create an automation logic for information, ensuring assets are updated intelligently. After all, errors and oversights tend to be more common in manual and repetitive processes like this one.

4 – List the assets

Likewise, after creating the categories, their subgroups, and the asset naming standard, the actual work begins. This is the moment to identify all the assets within the corporation and list them in their proper groups.

As a result, among the relevant information, do not forget:

– Product name and its name within the standard established by the company;

– The item number and its serial number;

– Technical data for each device and software;

– Purchase date, maintenance date, and the next preventive maintenance date. For licenses and software, the renewal date;

– Additional information.

5 – Assign owners

Meanwhile, even with the possibility of automation via software, the IT inventory has to be reassessed periodically. After all, organizations are constantly acquiring new hardware and software. In addition, there are maintenance needs and other issues.

In short, it is simpler to keep an IT inventory up to date. Starting from scratch after six months or a year is much harder. Therefore, one of the simplest paths is to assign a person or a group within IT. That team then becomes responsible for performing this check periodically.

The right interval depends on the company’s profile. For example, it can be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or even annual. In practice, the choice follows the business profile and the IT situation. The goal is to reach short-, medium-, and long-term targets.

Do not forget some additional precautions

First, run audits – Beyond listing assets, you need to run frequent audits on devices and across the entire structure. In practice, you are looking for vulnerabilities and other flaws. In a world where cyberattacks are increasingly common, this care is fundamental.

In addition, protect the data – Just as with business data, the IT inventory must be well protected. After all, it carries strategic information about your business. Therefore, keep secure backups and invest in protecting your business.

In practice, establish responsibility agreements – In a hybrid and home-office work scenario, many business assets are located in employees’ homes. Consequently, create a responsibility agreement and make sure these devices and software are properly monitored, updated, and protected.

Therefore, run an IT diagnostic for your business and build an IT inventory with Inove Solutions. Learn more about these services on our website!