The Gartner IT Financial, Procurement and Asset Management Summit held in Orlando over the past few days focused primarily on how enterprises can effectively operate their ITAM programs in a challenging economy. Conversation was centered around cost cutting, managing vendor relationships, and maintaining quality IT systems with less people. It was a far cry from last year's conference directing IT asset managers to develop new and innovative programs that drive business value creation.
There was a reactionary, conservative feel to the conference. With expectations of continued shrinking budgets and a lingering recession, companies are concerned about investing more into IT. Sure, there was some talk about new trends in technology for advancing business goals, but there was much more discussion this year about risk management. Even the keynote speaker, P.J. O'Rourke, was a conservative.
It's unfortunate there wasn't more discussion about how to make Information technology and IT assets enablers for emerging from this economic rut. Technology is at the center of discussions about health care reform. How can we use the vast amount of technological assets to deliver quality and affordable care no matter what form it takes? Jack Heine did raise the topic of "smart buildings" as a way to create more efficient and comfortable facilities, but where was the challenge to create a smart grid and smart communities with technology and services supplied by companies in attendance?
IT Asset Management is the discipline of managing all this technology, so that it is in the right place at the right time performing optimally and in compliance with licensing and usage requirements. As technology becomes more ubiquitous, IT asset managers will be more challenged in dealing with all these issues. The complexity of deploying, maintaining and managing these varied assets is further pronounced during the disposition process (of which I am much more involved). How are we to deal effectively with the security, environmental compliance, license repurposing, and cost considerations of asset disposals when we deal with more than just simple desktop computers and monitors?
Businesses should take this opportunity to apply the power of technology to enable business value generation for both their internal and external customers. That's how we'll gain efficiencies and thereby reduce costs. Conservative cost cutting alone will make us less competitive in the long run. We'll pay a much greater price in the end.
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