How CEOs must empower their IT teams to achieve efficiency in asset management
By David Furby, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder, Novatech
In a turbulent economic climate, CEOs looking to expand their business need to keep efficiency at the forefront of their growth strategy. Efficiency not only ensures resilience amidst economic uncertainty, but also lays the foundation for seizing opportunities and driving success.
However, whilst the overarching strategy and objectives may come from the CEO, it is unrealistic and inefficient for CEOs to look at the granular detail, rather they need to invest and focus on putting the right IT teams and support in place within their organisation to help ensure efficient asset management.
CEOs must focus on the road ahead; building a strategy and roadmap that will take their organisation in the desired direction and leave the execution to their teams. Their role is to set the operational tone of the business. Once established, this should be communicated to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or IT director who can plan the organisation’s current and future technology needs to enable overall business success.
Why efficient asset management matters
Asset management is a substantial part of any IT provision; a foundation within the business that enables an organisation to function and departments to deliver on their objectives. It is important for businesses to understand the value of their organisation’s IT assets, and the complexities that the team responsible for their management needs to navigate.
Having board-level understanding and buy-in can empower CTOs and IT managers to develop innovative, forward-thinking solutions and applications that can revolutionise how value is delivered. Just as a CEO needs to have a firm understanding of the financial status of their business, they need to have an understanding of their IT infrastructure, roadmap and how the function can transform their business.
This is where having the right team both in-house and in partnership is crucial. The role of the CEO is to direct an organisation, not to have the skills to do everything themselves. By identifying the requirements to deliver best practice asset management, the role of the CEO is to enable a strong IT provision to be built that can make that a reality.
For example, having an IT Asset Management (ITAM) system in place can ensure the systematic management and tracking of all hardware, software, and other technology assets. With the ability to track all assets from procurement right through to disposal, and if the organisation takes a best practice approach, CTOs can ensure that technology investments are used to their utmost potential, delivering maximum value and supporting both short-term and long-term objectives.
However, the current economic outlook remains sluggish for several industries. CEOs cannot change the economic environment they find themselves operating within, but they can choose the direction they take their company in and the team they select to deliver on that vision.
Understanding the IT life cycle
As a CEO, having an understanding of every aspect of the business is the cornerstone for ensuring efficiency throughout. And it is the same for IT design and infrastructure.
By an organisation’s CEO having knowledge of these five key stages of IT asset management will help the IT teams communicate IT asset investments. By the CEO leading by example on disposing of IT assets responsibly at the end of their useful life, it will also help create a culture that ensures efficient practices.
The five key stages of IT asset management are:
Planning: The planning stage sees the CTO and their team establish which assets are needed and their specifications. It is about working out exactly what the business needs to ensure employees can be effective. To do this, the CTO need to work with the wider business leaders to identify business needs – what is needed now in terms of IT assets as well as what the situation will be in the future. As part of this process, the IT team needs to check and keep a log of the assets already within the business and if they are meeting those needs. It is helpful for CEOs to take an active role in working closely with their CTO to plan out IT resources based on their strategic vision for the business.
Procurement: Once it is agreed which assets are needed, it is about bringing them into the business. When looking at procurement, it is important to consider the IT equipment specifications as well as budget requirements – it can be a balancing act to ensure employees receive the right equipment with the right specifications for their needs, within budget. The CTO and finance team can work closely to strike the balance between budget and specification to deliver the best solutions for their organisation.
Acquisition: Based on the cost-time benefit, when acquiring IT assets, it is most efficient to have all equipment fully assembled. Working with a company that does most of the heavy lifting on your organisation’s behalf increases efficiency and ensures all equipment is in working order, all software is installed and it is simply a case of ‘plug and play’ in most instances. The ability to order IT assets through a custom portal, and receiving hardware that is already prepared, labelled, and fully configured beforehand, means they are ready for use straight out of the box.
Implementation: This stage is a critical part of the IT asset management lifecycle. To ensure efficiency and that the technology employees have access to is fit for purpose, a regular check-in process for performance issues is recommended, as well as a solid process for updates and equipment upgrades. Efficiency and longevity are cut from the same cloth. Putting processes in place to carry out regular maintenance can maximise the lifespan of your organisation’s assets.
Disposal. The last stage of the lifecycle involves asset disposal. CEOs need to lead from the front and act responsibly with how they dispose of their company’s hardware. It is critical to ensure all sensitive data is wiped to prevent data leaks. Secondly, consider the environmental impact of disposing of your IT assets. Leaders should consider working with an outsourced provider who can manage this effectively.
A responsible culture is an efficient culture
Setting the tone is very much a CEO’s responsibility. Actions, decisions, and communication style directly influence the atmosphere and values upheld within your business. Leaders need to create a culture where employees recognise IT assets as valuable resources and adopt responsible usage practices. Businesses can only be as efficient as their most inefficient team member and leadership must educate staff about their role in efficiently and responsibly handling the company’s IT assets.
Technology underpins nearly every aspect of business operations and so the strategic management of IT assets has become not just a technical necessity but a fundamental leadership responsibility.
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.