By Joe DeSiena, President Consulting Services
Asset Management is a fundamental business discipline that allows your corporation to manage the life cycle and service levels of critical information assets which impact corporate revenue, productivity and ultimately profitability. It is building a comprehensive asset tracking and management processes to ensure quality data for use in Business Intelligence initiatives.
Asset Management is a systematic process for identifying, cataloging, monitoring, maintaining, operating, upgrading and replacing the physical assets of a business on a cost-effective basis. It encompasses management, financial, customer, engineering and other business processes. True asset management is not only a system you can buy, but is instead a business discipline enabled by people, process, data, and technology.
Asset Management is comprised of the following five key components:
- An enabler to generate and maintain critical management data for use internally by the company and with its customers and suppliers (such as Installed Base or Maintenance Entitlement data)
- A comprehensive process to acquire, validate and assimilate data into corporate information systems
- A flexible system allowing for manual acquisition or electronic capture and reconciliation of data
- A program with accurate and intelligent reporting of critical business and operational information
- A closed-loop system that ensures the quality of data on an ongoing basis
Why Asset Management for Your Business?
Asset Management processes help businesses decrease operating costs and improve productivity. Asset management is an enabler for effective Portfolio Management, Procurement Management, Financial Management, Compliance & Security Management, Contract Management, and Business Intelligence.
Signs of Poor Asset Management
Poor Asset Management leads to poor data quality – negatively impacting the business over time.
Causes
- Lack of Business Controls for Managing and/or Changing Asset Data
- No Ownership for Asset Data Quality
- Out-of-Balanced Investment in people, process, data, and technology
- Not considered a critical function within the business (i.e. audit only)
- Asset Data is not considered Intellectual Property of the business
Symptoms
- Numerous Compliance & Security Issues
- Capital and Expense budgets are difficult to control
- Excessive Network down time / poor performance
- Assets are under or over utilized
- Software Applications are incompatible
- Increasing Operational Costs & Headcount
- Asset Data from different organizations /business systems does not match
Effects
- Increase in Asset Total Cost of Ownership
- Decrease in Workforce Productivity
- Increase in Non-Compliance Issues (i.e. SOx)
- Decrease in Customer Satisfaction
- Lower ROI on Capital Investments
- Decrease in Network / Business Performance
- Increase in number of Internal and External Audits
Next – Part 2 of 2 – Key Benefits of Asset Management and Best Approach
About the Author
Joe DeSiena is President of Consulting Services at Bardess Group, Ltd., a Management Consulting firm specializing in data revitalization, business process design, and information technology for services-related businesses. He is currently a board member of the Society for Information Management in New Jersey.
He is an experienced management consultant with over 20 years of professional experience assisting Fortune 500 clients in resolving business issues related to the Triangle Relationship between business data, processes and systems functions for services and sales organizations. More specifically, he has directed engagements in services marketing and delivery, business planning, data revitalization, data migration, process design and reengineering among others. He has shared his experience and insights in presentations before numerous senior client and association groups.
Joe DeSiena’s industry exposure includes data networking, telecommunications, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, financial services, utilities, travel and entertainment among others. He has corporate management experience in major companies such as American Express, Chase, Bristol Meyers-Squibb, Coopers & Lybrand (PWC), Deloitte Touche, and Pan Am. Joe DeSiena is a graduate of the Stern School of Business at NYU with an MBA in Finance. He received his B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook graduating Magna Cum Laude with Phi Beta Kappa honors.
