It is difficult to imagine the modern life without computers. Moreover, it's impossible to think about the offices', companies' and organizations' operation process without these machines. Nowadays, almost any field is connected with computers: the work of accountants, engineers, journalists, designers, estimators, and so on. That is why not only the company's income, but its viability depends on stable operation of the computers. It is not difficult to keep a dozen of computers in a proper condition. But what if there are hundreds of them in the company? In this case, the system administrator has to organize the centralized computer inventory system. What is it? Let's try to give the definition.
The computer inventory process is a part of computer asset management in any organization. It includes creating the list of computers that are available in the company, recording their operational condition and parameters, collecting the inventory data from every organization's PC, and generating corresponding reports.
The computer inventory consists of a few parts:
1. The computer inventory process itself. In other words, it is an audit of all the machines in the organization, their allocation in offices and departments.
2. Hardware audit. It is a process of constant auditing the data on hardware: inventory of every monitor, every HDD, every video card, mouse, etc.
3. Software inventory process. It is the process of gathering and collecting data on software that is installed on every remote PC in the organization, versions of applications, updates and hotfixes installed.
The computer inventory process has to be employed systematically. What for? To answer this question, it is enough to say, that computer is an implement and it needs to be kept in a proper condition, which can be rather expensive. Often, the higher the investments you spend on the maintenance, the more profit the computer owner gets. Computer inventory software helps to keep machines in the operable state, and thus, to save the organization's money. How?
Firstly, the hardware inventory allows the system administrator to prevent losses of computer parts during their replacement with new ones or their repair. Moreover, hardware inventory helps to detect in time the computers details' disappearance or their replacement with the older ones, and, hence, to discover dishonest employees.
Secondly, software inventory helps to detect all changes in software that is installed on users' PCs. Unlicensed or cracked programs are against the Copyright Law, and lead to unpleasant consequences for the company. That is why the system administrator has to get all the information on a program's developer, its size, installation date, and the license key during the software audit process. Also, he has to know whether the program is needed for work or for personal affairs.
Thirdly, advanced computer inventory software allows generating summary tables on the company's hardware and software installed on PCs. This helps the system administrator to discover, which programs have to be updated, which have to be purchased to perform the particular tasks, which computer parts and on which PCs are out of date and should be replaced with newer ones. All this allows the head manager to plan future company expenses.
Usually, it is the system administrator who has to perform the computer inventory in a company. The dedicated computer inventory software makes this process much easier. It is usually installed on the system administrator's PC only and allows him to gather all the network information remotely. It is important for IT manager to have an opportunity to receive email notifications, for instance, if some software or hardware changes take place, because usually he is responsible for the security as well.
From everything that has been said above, it is clear, that the computer inventory process is necessary and inevitable problem. The more successful the solution is, the more effective the organization's operability is. And the more often the computer inventory is performed, the more nerves and finances you are able to save.
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