Managing Hardware Assets can be a daunting task. Exactly what needs to be tracked and for what reason.

The reason is simple enough. The company books or Accounting department. Within the corporate structure accountability needs to be addressed in terms of taxes and associated liabilities. I will not jump into that because it is way too deep for this discussion. But that is the underlying reason.

Okay, for the What. The hardware that needs to be tracked is virtually every active piece device that connects to the network and even those that do not.

This means ever file server, printer, copier, scanner, and a users computer. It also means the router, switch, firewall, UPS, and tape backup drives. If you can think of it then it probably needs to be tracked.

In my case, we use mostly Dell equipment. So I document the service tag, description, and year & month purchased. I update the list annually and give a copy to the accounting folks.

New equipment needs to be added and obsolete equipment needs to be removed. If you dispose of a device you will need to update that as well.

That is it. Simple, huh?

Trust me. As mundane as this sounds it is pretty important. You should be aware of the life expectancy of your devices so you can plan on replacing them when the time comes or at the very least being prepared. Also, you are responsible for this equipment even if it is retired. So do not let any employee take home corporate hardware assets and sell it on eBay. that would not be good.