How To Choose The Right Asset Management Software
Asset management is a process of monitoring and maintaining assets (i.e. a useful or valuable item of property) of a company or business. It may apply to tangible assets such as buildings, company equipment, company cars, land, inventory, cash at bank, cash in hand, etc. or intangible assets such as brand name, domain names, computerized databases, software, website, patented technology etc.
AMS (Asset Management Software) is a dedicated application which can manage all assets of a company or an organization. It provides all the information about assets of an organization like their location, current user, the way they are being utilized and other details. It records and tracks an asset throughout its lifecycle – deploying, operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets. Once an asset is deployed, Asset Management Software records all maintenance activity and enables the concerned authority to perform regular audits, right until asset retirement. Asset Management Software is also known as Asset Tracking Software or Asset Management Tool.
Asset Management Software comes in various shapes and sizes. Here are the main types of AMS software classified by the industry:
- Financial Asset Management – manages investment funds and segregated client accounts.
- Infrastructure Asset Management – manages physical and infrastructure assets like utilities, property, transport systems, solar systems etc.
- Software Asset Management – manages the purchase, deployment, maintenance, utilization, and disposal of software applications within an organization.
- Enterprise Asset Management – manages tangible and intangible assets of an enterprise.
- IT Asset Management – manages all the hardware and software assets and supports life cycle management and strategic decision making for the IT environment.
- Digital Asset Management – manages digital assets like digital photographs, animations, videos music, etc.
- Public Asset Management – manages all things of value to a municipal jurisdiction and its citizens' expectations.
Some commonly used Asset Management System software are ManageEngine, Pulseway, Asset Panda, GOCODES, LANDESK, solarwinds, servicenow, SysAid, Spiceworks, Snipe-IT, BMC – Track-It!, InvGate, etc.
Tips To Select The Right Asset Management Software
As there are many AMS available in the market, selecting the right one becomes a difficult task. Here are some important tips you must consider when buying an Asset Management Software:
1. Understand The Lifecycle Of The Assets
The first and the most important thing to do before selecting an AMS is to understand the lifecycle of the Assets & HR software of your company or organization– both tangible and intangible. Choose a system which provides real time access to the various departments responsible for supervising the resources across the enterprise. The system you choose should work as a smooth communication channel among the stakeholders, consumers and business owners.
2. Objectives And Expectations
You must have a clear view of what you want to accomplish with your Asset Management System. It’s always better to arrange meetings with your staff, and IT personnel etc. and prepare a list of all short term or long-term objectives. If you need an outside assistance in this process, there are some experienced firms in the market; take their guidance.
3. Check Reviews And Ratings
Read the past experiences or reviews of other users of any AMS before buying. Check the ratings provided by different users or authentic software rating agencies.
4. Price And Discount
Compare prices of various AMS packages and understand what is included and what is excluded in that package. Find out hidden costs, if any. Some of the AMS provider companies offer a discount on your purchase. Do not go mad over it – research well before you speak with the representative about discount and begin negotiations.
5. Stick To Proven Products
Analyze the reputation and experience of in developing the asset software of the vendor. An established asset tracking and management software provider is more likely to be able to offer continuing support.
6. Compatibility With The Technology Used In Your Organization
Ensure that the asset tracking software package you are looking to buy is compatible with the technology used in your company or organization. Here are some technical considerations you must consider:
Operating System
The software for asset management should run under the operating system you have installed on the hardware being used. Any OS not supported will result in someone producing or retrieving assets without going through your asset tracking software system, which negates the whole point of having it.
Language
In which language the software is written? Whether a compiler or interpreter is available on the given system to run it efficiently in terms of machine time and storage requirements.
Hardware
The hardware being used in your system should be compatible with the asset software package and its various versions. There should be a scope for upgradation. Other necessary or useful software should also be able to run on the computer system.
Format
The asset management software package should have the facility to be converted in the form of disks, tapes etc. so that it can be transferred to another medium such as hard disk, when required.
Free Demo
Check whether free trial or demonstration is provided by the company. Ask for it and try to get the demonstration in the same conditions (identical hardware and software configuration as you will be using in your organization).
Simple And Fast Learning
Choose an AMS software tool which is simple to understand and whose functionalities are not extremely complicated for the user to operate. This will reduce the time and cost in training your employees and encourage the employees to interact more with it.
Hosting
Analyze whether you want to host the asset management software on your own server or a web-based or cloud-based server. In general, cloud-based server is more convenient as you don’t have to rely on your IT team to install the software or its updates; all that is handled within the cloud itself and you don’t have to worry about issues with computer crashes or conflicts with other programs. Plus, you can receive new features as soon as they’re developed rather than waiting for a new version of the software to be released.
Reporting
Ensure that the asset tracking tool package allows you to easily create customized reports without having to buy any additional software or know SQL.
Audit
A timely audit of the assets of your company or organization is necessary. Look for an AMS software package which lets you schedule your own audit timeframe, receive status updates on the process, and make changes for missing and unrecorded assets.
Notification
A timely notification to the users of matters such as funding limitations, past due actions, audit checklists, asset use violations etc. is very important. Ensure the AMS software lets you set up automated emails or in-app notifications for specific events and designate who should receive them.
Technical Support
Ensure that the asset management software provider offers various ways of technical support such as telephone support, online Web chat, a ticket-based system, social networks, and a community. Make sure that the software you choose has a back-end technical support team that is friendly, well-trained and who can solve your queries and problems easily.
Expandable
Ensure that the facility of future addition of extra components/features is available so that when your assets expand, you can expand the software as well.
I hope this checklist will help you in choosing the right Asset Management Software. In addition to this, if you have any personal questions, make sure you ask it to each software vendor so that you get to buy only the best asset management software for your Company!
