Asset tracking is often considered to be an esoteric requirement imposed on American businesses as a consequence of SARBOX, but it should be much more than that.   Asset tracking is a vital component of informed and sound management.Assets must not only be managed financially, they must be managed physically as well.  To do that requires knowledge of just where your assets are, even if they are fixed.  Many companies rely on a conventional spreadsheet approach to try to keep track of all their various assets, but that can prove problematic without the use of fixed asset tracking software to ensure the company is compliant with national and international regulations.

That’s especially important in tracking IT assets.IT equipment frequently changes during its operational lifetime.  Components may be switched, replaced or upgraded.Software is regularly installed, uninstalled or upgraded.  Many of these changes are internal and therefore usually “invisible”.  The desirability of many IT systems can also contribute to their tendency to “disappear”.

Central to any asset tracking system should be a powerful, centralised database which provides controlled access for all parties that require it, thus preventing discrepancies that may otherwise arise between departments.  This system should also have the capacity to include information about those invisible software assets sitting on your IT network – how many programs and whether they are licenced or not?A single audit should have the capacity to cover multiple locations and thousands of individual assets. It should ideally also be fully compatible with inventory management systems.

This is particularly important with many asset tracking software packages designed to control and manage mobile and fixed assets that incorporate bar coding and RFID asset tracking (Radio Frequency Identification) technologies. Hand-held scanning devices can work with both accounting and tracking modules to provide an accurate, validated, and consistently current database.This will enable users to comply confidently with auditor requirements relating to accurately accounting for and tracking their asset base.  Once the audit data has been uploaded into the asset or inventory register, managers can get reports detailing total assets and suggested actions (disposable, relocation, upgrade etc) for each of the assets located in the audit. Management can therefore be alerted to any discrepancies in location or status of the asset.