Case Study : Managing IT Assets
A nationwide operator of amusement parks had wrestled with the challenge of consistently managing technology assets across a geographically diverse group of sites. Though most assets had been tagged and investments had been made in scanning equipment, the homegrown solution provided neither the accuracy nor control needed to centrally manage purchases and deployments. Each park had different tagging standards and locally-purchased equipment that needed to be integrated with the company's technology footprint.
The IT department was tasked with the job of finding a package that could address these issues and more. Key to the selection were the following:
- Provide secure, reliable access across all locations while limiting local views to local assets.
- Leverage existing investments in scanning equipment.
- Allow asset purchases to be centrally controlled.
- Adapt to a wide range of unique data requirements.
After a preliminary selection of our software, the client worked extensively with our technical support group to conduct a Proof-of-Concept test in which actual client data was converted, staff was trained and performance was evaluated in a real-world setting. Several refinements were identified to improve centralized controls and our software exceeded expectations.
Once the purchasing documents and programming specifications were in place, our development team provided the needed enhancements; our support group converted existing data, trained client personnel across 18 sites, and provide on-going support. Meanwhile, in the field, each park conducted an audit of the asset records to clean up past records and inconsistent treatment of assets. The project proceeded smoothly through each phase and within 90 days began to provide the sought-after results.
Ultimately, the benefits of the project were multi-fold. Data can now be presented that accurately reflects the technology assets deployed at any location or company-wide. Asset purchases and deployments are managed centrally. The number of configurations requiring support from IT was dramatically reduced. Because of consistent purchases, favorable pricing from hardware vendors was improved. Personal property tax schedules for IT assets were correct. Reusing assets across parks was enabled because of consistent deployments. In short, our software continues to exceed expectations.