What problems can Assets Data Manager help solve?

Data Manager is incredibly powerful when implemented. Here are some examples of how Data Manager has helped organizations in the IT asset, configuration, and security space.

[ CMDB Data Quality ] [ Configuration Management ] [ Security ] [ IT Asset Management ] [ Billing Complexity ] [ Beyond ITAM and CMDB ]

CMDB Data Quality

As much as 53% of device / CI attribute data is not captured in Service Management systems.

Data Manager can ensure your coverage is complete by combining the results from multiple tools of different types and providing a holistic, single view of your asset through reconciliation.

• “Through 2024, 99% of organizations using CMDB tooling that do not confront configuration item data quality gaps will experience visible business disruptions.” Gartner: 3 Steps to Improve IT Service View CMDB Data Quality. Published 6 December 2023.

• “In 2020, 32% of Gartner inquiries regarding IT service view CMDBs cite data completeness or quality concerns as a challenge.” Gartner: 3 Steps to Improve IT Service View CMDB Data Quality. Published 6 December 2023.

• The CMDB enhances service management practices. A configuration management database (CMDB) is an integrated operational data store that contains key IT/digital assets, inventories, and their dependencies. It can play an essential role in enabling impact analysis and managing IT portfolios for risk, efficiency, and performance. In our survey, 52% of respondents said their organization adopted a CMDB and are at different phases of implementation; of those, 83% agreed that their CMDB is essential to operations.” Forrester: The State of Service Management. Published 12 February 2024.

Additional data from "State of Service Management

Configuration Management

Agents only cover about 75% of devices for patch and update management.

Data Manager can ensure that nothing remains unpatched, by automatically messaging an audience when missing or inconsistent records are found.

• “Unused CI data provides no value and is one of the reasons that 50% of respondents to Gartner’s 2019 I&O Management Survey reported that the value they obtained from CMDB investment fell below their expectations.” Gartner: 3 Steps to Improve IT Service View CMDB Data Quality. Published 6 December 2023.

Security

Up to 30% of assets with network access lack appropriate cyber coverage.

Data Manager can find uncovered assets by comparing results across several network scanning tools at once and initiating the remediation process.

According to Forrester’s Security Survey, 2022, 74% of enterprise security decision-makers reported that their organization had suffered at least one breach of sensitive data in the last 12 months. Seventeen percent of these breaches were the result of a lost or stolen asset such as a laptop or mobile device, and 34% were the result of an external attack. Forrester: Tame the Asset Management Beast. Published 13 February 2023.

Fifty-one percent of respondents to Forrester’s Modern Technology Operations Survey, 2022, stated that they’ve lost track of laptops or other edge devices, resulting in security concerns. Forrester: Tame the Asset Management Beast. Published 13 February 2023.

IT Asset Management

Up to 33% of IT assets are not captured and managed by IT Asset Management systems.

If you can't see all active devices, then there may also be limitations in your software asset management data due to potential unknown software in the environment, which could lead to licensing issues or even security breaches.

Data Manager can combine information from different source types—for example, CMDB, Azure, and network scanning tools—to ensure that every active asset is identified and flagged for further investigation.

• 54% of digital and IT professionals have unknown assets. Forrester: Tame the Asset Management Beast. Published 13 February 2023.

Billing Complexity

Many teams have an inability to accurately provide monthly baselines for active assets in service because their data is inconsistent.

Through automated connections, Data Manager can seamlessly identify and initiate corrections for underspending or overspending involving customers or third-party support suppliers.

Data Manager can provide the comfort that what is seen on the bill is actually in the environment, and the customer and supplier can agree on the rules for asset identification and implement them through automation.

Removing the onus on one organisation (customer or supplier) to provide the details behind the invoice ensures that both sides of the billing process are confident in the results and there is no “bill shock”.

Beyond ITAM and CMDB

Although the examples above are focused on the IT asset, configuration, and security space, Data Manager can be used to solve many other problems. If you have data coming from multiple systems and need to validate the coverage between tools, we can help.

Some examples might include:

• Checking that users are consistent between HR systems and support tools.

• Ensuring locations between environments match and are normalized and appropriately grouped. For example, Data Manager can help correlate SYD in one system with Sydney in another, and Sydney, NSW, Australia in a third.

• A retailer may need a track their PoS devices.

• A manufacturing company may need to track their parts of all descriptions.

• And many, many more…

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