Your organization has invested a hefty portion of the annual budget in Information Technology hardware and software.

As an IT manager, you know that your company's IT infrastructure is a jumble of old and new purchased and leased hardware, software that's licensed in all kinds of ways, software that isn't licensed at all; mapped against a backdrop of varied standards and processes.
And, you know that no one knows what's out there or where it is.

According to industry analysts, you're not alone. Gartner estimates that “fewer than 25% of companies worldwide have an enterprise-wide lifecycle management program that can proactively address risk, minimize cost, and improve the operational efficiency of their environment.”

Source: Predicts 2005: IT Asset Management Adds Value, Lessens Risk

So when would you use IT asset management software?

• When you purchase PCs, laptops, or workstations
• When you pay for support from an outsourcer on a per-system, per-CPU, or per-user basis
• When you negotiate software licenses
• When you need to know if users have installed rogue software
• When you need to ensure that virus definitions are current
• When you need to respond to a software vendor audit
• When you plan any sort of deployment
• When you acquire a company, or when you're acquired
• When you project your IT budget for the next 12 months

The list never ends. Fact is, Enterprise Asset Management (EnterpriseAM) isn't an option, it's a necessity if you are going to maximize the value of your investment in IT.

Product Strengths

EnterpriseAM utilizes a strong technology base to provide:

• Software discovery at the version, file type, patch, hot-fix and language level
• A server based method of discovery and inventory without the use of installed agents
• Hardware down to the chassis component level
• Automated, constant updates of user audit files
• Identification of off-the-shelf, unknown and proprietary software
• A broad array of platforms including Windows, UNIX, Linux, MacOS, AS/400 and Tru64
• Integration with SMS and other existing applications, seamlessly importing and exporting data
• Scans and queries on demand with user identified parameters
• Flexible analytical and reporting capabilities

We have accomplished these goals through forward and innovative thinking. No other solution has the sophistication to comprehensively address multiple systems, software, and hardware all within a single easy to use intuitive solution.

Benefits

Organizations look to IT asset management business practices to deliver savings, reduce risks and increase accountability by gaining control of the environment and improving the performance of the processes that support the lifecycle. EnterpriseAM is a foundation of the successful IT asset management initiative. As an example: consider the straightforward task of executing an e-mail upgrade. Assume that when you start planning, you know who the targeted users are and where they're located.

But what do you really need to know? Let's just start with:

• What kind of hardware is each user running? (PC/laptop, make/model)
• What processor is installed (processor name/clock speed)
• How much RAM is installed?
• How much free space is on the hard drive?
• What is the OS/version number/patch level required for the upgrade and what is on the target systems?
• What is the current e-mail version or product?
• What other software is on the system?
• Where do the targeted users actually sit?

Imagine the effort required to capture this data manually or with a tool that only captures some of the environment or the information you need. By the time you've completed the manual discovery task, you've increased your project timeline and expenses dramatically. Multiply this effect over several projects and do the math: IT asset management business practices provide the core data to support every facet of your IT operation from financial planning to contract negotiations, to daily operations. Automation with EnterpriseAM is rapidly cost-effective, providing sustainability to all of your IT asset management efforts.

Eracent's EnterpriseAM provides comprehensive reporting capabilities, with more than 1500 pre-defined reports. Ad hoc reporting, and the ability to export all results allows additional flexibility. All report results are also exportable to Microsoft Office’s Excel for quick analysis or management assessment. In addition to traditional database reports, Eracent offers a number of visual reports that provide summary data with drill-down to detailed views.

Functionality

Dynamic and ever-changing environments require products/solutions that can keep up with these continuous changes. In EnterpriseAM, we anticipate and solve the asset management problems you have not yet begun to tackle. You need a technology that doesn't start thinking about the problem when you do, but has the answer to the questions now. With the rigorous workout that EnterpriseAM has received with our customers, the business and technical goals that can be achieved with EnterpriseAM will meet your short term and long term needs.

Secure, Compact, Scalable

System and software information is most useful when you can match up each system or laptop with a user and location and then ultimately with a department or budget group number. EnterpriseAM integrates with HR feeds, active directory, and a number of other data sources to provide a comprehensive view of all IT assets and associated data.

What about upgrades, downgrades, maintenance and product suites? Not a problem. EnterpriseAM flexes with your needs, allowing you to define the ‘rules' for taking these varied conditions into consideration and computing their identities accordingly.