Mgmt Programs and Budgets

[dkediger]

Hey - I'll kick this off!

What asset management programs are out there for the low end user? I'm currently using Mouse Tracks (

http://www.mouse-tracks.com).

Not a bad low cost program, some ability to set up cost centers for budgeting, although I had to do a custom Crystal Report to summarize all my cost center activity.

BTW - my network is currently a mix of 2 Novell 5 servers, 2 Win2K servers, 90(+/-) desktops and 20 notebooks.

 

[Jasonic]

Have you looked into Peregrine's Infracenter for Workgroups?

I use the full blown version AssetCenter, but the functionality is basically the same only limtied to the number of assets it can manage etc.

Try the Peregrine web site

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Http://www.peregrine.com/

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[peteij]

There are a lot of asset management programs about - it really depends what you want. Mouse Tracks has one thing going for it - it's ridiculously cheap. Of course, it's developed in MS Access, so personally I'd be loathe to pay for anything that could be developed internally with a couple of weeks effort.

A good asset management tool will save you money in the long run and help you to provide a better service to end users. I would strongly recommend you look for a tool that has a strong software licensing element to it - that means a tool that identifies ALL your software to version level.

Most tools allow you to schedule regular audits. Doing this through login scripts (Mouse Track does) is the bare minimum, but through TCP/IP is preferable.

There are a whole host of functions and one tool's strength is another tools weakness, so it really is worth getting as many evaluation copies as you can. There may be dozens of features you would find useful that you haven't thought about yet.

A quick rundown on some of what's available...

Centennial (

http://www.centennial.co.uk)

GASP (

http://www.attest.com)

TS.Census (

http://www.tally-systems.com)

CA AimIT (

http://www.ca.com/product/aimit.htm)

LANUtil32 (

http://www.vector-networks.co.uk)

Asset Insight (

http://www.tangram.com)

Visual Audit Pro
Asset Center (

http://www.peregrine.com)

XPert (

http://www.xpertclient.com)

Asset Frame (

http://www.assetframe.com)

Assetware (

http://www.assetware-technology.com)

GASP, Centennial, Visual Audit Pro are pretty basic, but do offer a little more functionality than Mouse Tracks.

LANUtil32 and AimIT are geared up towards network management - things like policy editors - but their interfaces will give you nightmares!

If you are looking for good reporting options, then Asset Insight blows the rest away.

These are all going to cost you somewhere between £1500 and £3000 in licences for your size organisation, but given that the estimated cost of ownership per PC is £3500-7000 per year, you will probably recoup that cost within a few months.

- Get as many evaluations as you can
- Look for information on ITIL disciplines (TCO, Software Management, Configuration Management, etc.)
- Take the cost up front, you'll save in the long run
- Consider legality (licensing, disposal, Data Protection)
- Don't consider anything that can't schedule audits on a regular basis
- Keep an eye out for a FAQ, if I get the time and the traffic on this forum picks up.

 

[jpmackl]

More Vendors:

Maincontrol

http://www.maincontrol.com

Provance

http://www.provance.com

Isogon

http://www.isogon.com

Some of these are point solutions that track just software/hardware - A total life cycle system would track the financial & all IT assets - The total life cycle system would get feeds from your point solutions.

Good Luck!!