SIDEBAR: Towards a Long-Term Strategy
By Bob MathersThe "quick win" initiatives outlined above can help establish a long-term device and supporting asset management strategy aligned with the needs of business units across the entire organisation. Because many of the considerations involved are closely linked, the device strategy should be developed in tandem with the asset management strategy to ensure that objectives are properly addressed.
Such a strategy should consider the total cost of asset ownership (TCO) that includes acquisition, support effort, and tools, as well as indirect costs associated with end-user support effort. The strategy should focus on maximising the value of IT devices over the entire life-cycle. All elements of the strategy - including refresh cycles, thin-client deployment, standardisation, and asset ownership - should be evaluated by their impact on TCO and how well they support overall IT and corporate strategies. Business units, meanwhile, should be engaged in a "demand challenge" process that validates the business value of all devices currently in place.
Defining a device strategy in an asset management context helps to maximise the overall value of IT spending through consideration of all TCO elements. Other important benefits include maximising the value of assets over the entire life-cycle, defining objectives against which asset management success can be measured, and defining the information requirements of a central repository.
Bob Mathers is a Compass consultant based in Toronto, Ontario
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.