Auditing to Add Value
This article looks at how organisations can get maximum return from their audit projects.
Too many companies carry out tactical audits based on a single project objective, failing to see the long-term benefits. An example would be a company performing a software audit with the sole purpose of reconciling their software licences but with no on-going plan to maintain the results.
Another common situation is where a company uses an audit to gather information prior to a rollout of new hardware and software but fails to implement a change management solution. This means the audit data is only valid for a very short period, the licence reconciliation becomes invalid and no additional benefits are gained. In 1999, millions of pounds was spent on tactical Y2K audits with no on-going strategies in place. Auditing should be seen as an investment from which many benefits will flow.
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We encourage companies to view the audit as key to their IT strategy and this involves looking at their Total Cost of Ownership Model.
Whichever Model they use, and it must be appropriate to their business, it needs to be fed accurate data because you can only make sound decisions if you have the right Model and the right data.
When you look at the major areas of cost in any TCO Model the information gathered from a well planned audit can lead to substantial savings in almost all areas of the Model including End User Operations, Capital Spend, Administration and Technical Support.
Whilst there may be one main business reason driving the audit, the results will benefit areas throughout the business. We have found that where the department owning the audit is prepared to look at the data needed by their TCO Model and other current and planned projects, they are able to use the audit project infrastructure to support additional activity.
This can include collecting asset details, user and location information, gathering cost centre data for each piece of equipment, a software roll-out, re-naming PCs, asset labelling and environmental feedback. The additional data then feeds into other departments and projects for example; asset management, the help desk, training plans, outsourcing, finance. As part of a recent audit we surveyed server rooms, a job which the company would have had to undertake themselves but at a significantly higher cost. As we were already on site we did this as part of the audit and saved the company time and money.
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Before starting the audit, the company must be aware that change is inevitable and must implement a change management process accordingly. Using audit tools to implement effective change management reduces costs. In addition, the continuing availability of up-to-date data not only provides the information needed to manage the desktop but can continually feed the TCO Model.
Also, audit tools have traditionally been seen as standalone ('point') products but we encourage companies to review suite based audit tools which can provide further on-going benefits such as integrated metering, remote control and software distribution.
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As a direct result of the audit most companies can streamline the range of software applications and versions installed. This leads to more focused support and training which in turn reduces costs and improves service.
Companies always assume they may find more software than licences but this is not always the case. Often, they fail to account for licences released when a PC is swapped out for another. They simply install the new PC with the software installed by the supplier and can end up paying for a new licence when they already have one. An audit will free up any excess licences which, even if they are for non-current software, may be used for an upgrade or cross-grade.
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We have had more than one client who has never tracked hardware disposals and found that they had less hardware than they thought. They were able to significantly reduce their annual maintenance costs.
Help desks are often not populated with accurate inventory and user data. As a result calls are often logged to 'phantom' equipment. By providing the help desk with the audit data and keeping this up-to-date the help desk can provide improved analysis which can reduce down time and improve service.
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If you would like to find out how SAMSolutions TLC can help your organisation please contact our Team on 01635 567766 or e-mail: info@samsolutionstlc.com
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