|
Cover Story
A Well Oiled ITAM Program = No Digging Required - Artifacts that Fuel Your ITAM Program
By: Keith Rupnik, Education and IT Specialist of IAITAM
Documentation Management is one of IAITAM’s twelve Key Process Areas (KPA) and for good reason – it can sink the best IT Asset Management Program if you do not know where your documents are or who has access to them. Documentation Management has been a challenge ever since we as humans began archiving our thoughts. The goods news is technology has made storing and retrieving our documents much more efficient. The bad news is there is still a lot of paper being generated and the effort to create an effective Documentation Management Process is not trivial. In this article we will explore what it means to have an effective Documentationation Management Process and the requirements of Documentation Management System (DMS). It is important to note that this article will address the capabilities of a DMS and their importance to an organization; however processes are still the key of any successful program and the key to a successful implementation of any type of tool. Organizations that purchase a tool, implement that tool, and leave the processes as an after thought are more likely to fail or not obtain the true value that tool has to offer. More information on Documentation Management Processes can be found within the IAITAM Best Practice Library (IBPL).
Feature Article
Process Demystified - Process Documentation? How Much is Enough?
By: Deima Elnatour, Senior Consultant for Pepperweed Consulting LLC
The word documentation is usually associated with words like “boring”, “long”, “vague”, “mind-numbing” …etc. Employees normally look at a process document and say “you want me to read this? Really! But I do not have time for this? Why don’t you just tell me what is the process?”
These are good questions and maybe extreme re-actions to any documentation and especially process documentation. Thorough and detailed process documentation may make an organization look great and facilitate the job of auditors and support acquisition activities. The reality though is that documentation needs to be done with the end in mind, and employees of the organization must be part of that end. What happens if a new employee joins the company? Will the process document paint a clear picture of how activities are to be carried out to perform certain tasks? If the answer is no, then you did not do it right. How about other internal and external customers, do they know what your process is and what to expect? Again, if the answer is no then you did not do it right.
Feature Article
What's In Your Contract? - Document Management for Contracts: Making the Right Choices
By: Jenny Schuchert, VP of Marketing & Corporate Communications for Animus Solutions, Inc.
Documentation Management for IT assets includes contracts, proofs of purchase, licenses, disaster recovery reporting and any other documentation that is part of the life cycle of the asset. This documentation can be very difficult to locate and maintain over time, especially in a way that can efficiently retrieve and reference the materials. . Larry Shoup, a frequent ITAK author, often says “we do our best to negotiate a good deal for our company and our worst at enforcing those same hard-won advantages that we negotiated.” Considering the cost of some of these agreements, improving the management of contracts through automation is a common step. The business case for contract management specifically is an easy one to write, with real contributions to lowering the risk of non-compliance and reducing overall costs through contract enforcement. Even the simple function of alerts and reminders can save money for the organization. With an alert prior to termination of a lease or software maintenance, the IT Asset Manager can evaluate the usage of the assets and has time to negotiate the number of licenses and the conditions of use that best fit the organization’s needs.
Pillage & Plunder - Copyrights and Software: The Brief Journey from Constitution to Piracy
By: Barbara Rigney, Senior Consultant for Animus Solutions, Inc.
The role of the United States Constitution and the United States legal system in business regulation is to lay “out the highest level of rules involved in forming a government” while it protects the rights of the people of the United States. One of those rules, intended to protect the rights of the people, is Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution – the Copyright and Patents Clause.
What the Law Says:According to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University Law School, Article 1, Sec. 8, Clause 8, it states, “The Congress shall have Power … To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Tımes to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” (LLI) Among those “useful Arts” is computer software licensed by companies like Adobe, McAfee, Microsoft, and Symantec.
Going Virtual? - Stay True to Software Licensing Rules
By: Jeff Kelsey, Vice President of Product and Services for Express Metrix, LLC
Over 50 percent of enterprises have adopted virtualization to one degree or another, according to a study by research firm TheInfoPro, making it one of the most rapidly adopted technologies in recent years. But while virtualization opens up an entirely new world of possibilities for organizations that embrace it, the benefits do not come without old world legal risk. Specifically, few organizations have begun to grasp the software licensing implications of deploying virtual servers and software, not to mention the subsequent challenges of upholding the terms of their existing license agreements. Read on to ensure you can develop the necessary processes and controls to effectively track and manage your software compliance status in a virtualized world.
Green Electronics - Environmental Benefits of 2007 EPEAT Purchasing
By: This article reprinted courtesy of the Green Electronics Council
Information technology has enabled significant improvements in the standard of living of much of the developed world, and through its contributions to greater transport efficiency, improved design, reduced materials consumption and other shifts in current practices, may offer a key to long term sustainability. However, the production, purchase, use and disposal of electronic products such as personal computers and monitors also can have significant negative environmental impacts.
The EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) system for greener electronics purchasing addresses many of these issues. This is the second annual report by the Green Electronics Council (GEC), which manages the EPEAT system, on the environmental benefits resulting from the purchase of electronic products registered and evaluated under the EPEAT program.
Are You At Risk? - Five Myths About IT Asset Disposal
By: Chris Adam, Director of IT Asset Disposition Solutions for Converge
Blockbuster stories about the theft of confidential data have made headlines all too frequently over the past two years. This reality is forcing some businesses to face up to an inconvenient truth: Many organizations have no reliable procedures for ensuring that the computers and related equipment they throw away are sufficiently purged of confidential data that could expose them to a host of legal liabilities.
Anecdotal evidence is startling. A study of hard disks purchased on the secondhand market by BT Group and universities in three countries found that 41% of the disks still contained commercially sensitive information.1
"Secure Erase" - A Faster and Higher Level of Security (Part 2)
By: Dag Adamson, President of Lifespan Technology Recycling Inc.
While the highest level of security for data destruction can be achieved by perforating or shredding the hard drive, this procedure significantly decreases the sustainable value of the computer and may impose an additional cost if the computer is leased.
The next level of security below physical destruction is “purging.” Until recently, “degaussing” – the act of subjecting a hard drive to intense magnetic fields - was the only option for eradicating data with this level of security. A major problem with degaussing is that it renders the drive inoperable once subjected to the magnetic fields.
This Month's Column
Prospering During Slow Economic Times
By: Larry Shoup, Founder & CEO of Silver Tree Solutions
It is no secret that we appear to be heading into a period of slower economic growth. Polls indicate an increasing skepticism for the short-term future, and workers are feeling less secure about their jobs. ITAM professionals share these same concerns and worries. So what can we do about this as ITAM professionals? Do we have to be resigned to “toughing it out,” or is there an opportunity to employ our unique skill set in helping our organizations through this difficult time? I believe the opportunity to help exists, and ITAM professionals who seize it can prosper during this slow economic time.
This Month's Column
Bringing Order to Software Asset Management
By: Steve Klos, Founder and Managing Partner of Agnitio Advisors and
John Tomeny, Director of Marketing & Customer Support for Sassafras Software Inc.
There has been much discussion in the last two years about the development of the first international standards for software identification tags and software entitlements tags (ISO/IEC 19770-2 and ISO/IEC 19770-3). But much of the discussion has been in the form of questions or anticipation of what is to come. As work on 19770-2 has neared completion and the officially sponsored work on 19770-3 is about to begin, greater clarity on these two standards has come into view. | 
