IT infrastructures are growing increasingly complex, resulting in increased administrative efforts required to manage all components. IT component management helps administrators gain an efficient overview of the various hardware and software components.

During the development stage, REALTECH placed great emphasis on

• ITIL compliance,
• high levels of user acceptance,
• a fast Return on Investment (ROI),
• a short implementation period,
• and a holistic view of the IT infrastructure.

The Asset & Inventory Management Module allows for the management of asset and inventory data of any IT component in a central database. The underlying data model allows for the strict structuring of all data; using normalization, the information on a wide variety of different devices and systems can be easily compared. 

In principle, there are three sources from which data can be collected:

External sources
The data is collected automatically by connecting to external sources. These are, for example, inventory tools; data from these tools can be read into the database using an XML interface.
 
theGuard! NetworkManager
The automated inventory creation can be accomplished using REALTECH's theGuard! NetworkManager. The discovery is used to read data from system and network components and to store them in the database.
 
Manual input
All data can also be entered and managed manually; the underlying concept strictly follows the guidelines of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL).

Data is maintained in a structured form based on CIs (Configuration Items). The incoming data is normalized in order to ensure comparability.

In combination with the Configuration Management Module, an ITIL-compliant CMDB can be defined on the basis of the database.

Asset and inventory data are an important source of information for the support. The support staff can quickly access the technical and commercial data of the components which contributes to the fast resolution of service calls. If, for example, an error occurs in a network component, the service staff can more readily decide how to approach the problem on the basis of this information.
The support staff will come to different conclusions depending on whether, for example, a device is still under warranty or whether its leasing contract is about to run out. If repair is necessary, the employee can directly access manufacturer and supplier information. Components that are particularly prone to service can be easily identified using the system.
 
More information on theGuard! ServiceDesk can be found here.