Managing the company’s fixed assets
Asset Management is often associated with financial asset management; it can also refer to the management of any fixed assets within a company – and it is in this context that we present the embedding of this concept and related activities in Jira Service Management.
Jira Service Management is an advanced ITSM software developed in accordance with ITIL principles. It can handle many different processes thanks to its extensive functionality. The description of this solution and its capabilities can be found here: IT Service Management for business. Service desk with the ITIL certificate.
In this text, we will focus on the fixed asset management process in Jira Service Management; we will present real examples of applications based on our past implementations and experiences and the most important asset management functionalities.
NOTE:
*At the begging of this article, we would like to emphasize that Asset Management (in Jira Service Management) can be implemented for Data Center and Cloud as well. If someone has a Server instance, should consider moving to Cloud or DC according to the latest Atlassian changes: the producer is no longer developing its Server systems, and since 15.02.2022 it is not possible to upgrade/downgrade Server licenses. If you need more information please contact us: atlassian@ttpsc.pl – as Atlassian Partner with Enterprise status we are here to help you with any needs related to the Atlassian environment.
We would also let you know that Asset Management is considered mostly by big, enterprise companies which have a lot of assets to tract but it can be also implemented for smaller businesses – Jira Service Management is giving opportunities of growing up according to business development. *
What kind of fixed assets can be managed in Jira Service Management?
Jira Service Management allows you to manage any kind of fixed assets – it is suitable for the management of assets such as:
- Administrative equipment (furniture, kitchen equipment, air conditioners, equipment for individual rooms),
- IT equipment (computers, telephones, monitors, etc.),
- Car fleet
- Machines
- Product components
- Stocks
As well as to less obvious resources, e.g.:
- Software – software and application license distribution.
- Contracts – registration of contracts with customers and functionalities fulfilling the CRM role.
How to prepare?
– Fixed asset organization in Jira Service Management – CMDB
The factor determining the correct operation of processes related to fixed asset management is the appropriate preparation of the CMDB ( Configuration Management Database). CMDB is the component that must include all information concerning the resources that the company wants to manage with the help of Jira Service Management. The database must include:
- The relationship between the resources presented in the form of a tree that will determine the structure of the organization and the fixed assets will be categorized accordingly and thus entered into the system.
- Resource attributes – parameters to be displayed in the single resource format; e.g.: model, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), weight, the employee who has it, date of issue, date of exchange and any other information that should relate to the measure.
- Location structure – information about where the objects are located; Jira Service Management allows you to enter very detailed data, so that you can quickly reach not only a specific building or room but also a more precise location, such as a specific desk or a specific shelf in the warehouse.
- Organisational structure – the structure of the company: introduction of all departments, people who work in them and the relations between them (who is whose superior).
The preparation of the CMDB is necessary for the proper operation of the fixed asset management process in Jira Service Management or any other system. TTPSC business analysts help customers get through this part of the preparation accurately and efficiently.
Examples of activities and processes that can be transferred to Jira Service Management
As we mentioned at the beginning of the text, Jira Service Management can handle a great many processes, making the company’s daily operations easier and more efficient. Below are a few examples related to fixed asset management:
Incident handling
In other words, enabling employees to report equipment problems. When e.g. an employee’s mobile phone breaks down, they can use the system to create an appropriate request – they select the type of equipment (e.g. company phones) from the available list and then indicate what is not working (a specific model) and what the problem is; after saving all the information, an appropriate person (e.g. service technician) receives a notification of a new request and the status of that unit changes to that of a potential failure (the statuses are determined earlier, at the stage of preparation of documentation and the CMDB necessary to implement the process).
- With a few clicks, the employee reports a fault, which the service technician (or a service team) learns about almost immediately.
- Automation mechanisms allow to immediately assign an appropriate person to the request (e.g. based on the location of the reporter).
- Along with the creation of the request in the CMDB database, a change in the asset status is automatically recorded.
Equipment cataloguing
Jira Service Management allows the implementation of a process that will improve the cataloguing of equipment – this is particularly useful for companies where the management of fixed assets has long been outside the IT environment. We can introduce functionality consisting of the confirmation by each employee that they have a specific item. Thanks to this, the company will quickly collect and complete the cataloguing of property.
Equipment purchase and replacement
How to purchase and replace equipment in Jira Service Management? It does not have to be complicated at all, usually, the process can be done in a few simple steps:
- An employee creates a request stating that they have a laptop (or other equipment) whose replacement date has just come or gone.
- The notification goes to the appropriate team (let’s assume this is the IT department); the person who wants to take the case can assign it to themselves or a person is defined automatically – depending on the company’s configuration and needs.
- The person from the IT department creates an order for new equipment for the employee and the request goes into a waiting state.
- When the equipment arrives, the request is unblocked to be solved.
- An IT employee issues the equipment. When a request is resolved, the newly issued hardware is automatically assigned to the employee. The previously owned laptop remains unassigned.
A request can be created automatically when the contract/guarantee/exchange period expires. The request can also be automatically assigned to a specific department, team or person.
Contract register, mini CRM
The circulation of documents and functionalities related to the monitoring of the status and quantity of various types of contracts can be used by the company to organize internal activities, as well as to transfer information related to contracts signed by customers to the Jira system. In this way, Jira Service Management will serve as a CRM system. We have implemented such functionalities in our customers’ companies and successfully observed how smoothly all their activities run and how detailed those activities can be even though asset management add-ons are not associated with CRM solutions.
- We can enter the following information into the system: customer data, contract information (deadlines, amounts, other parameters).
- Services under contract can also be treated as an asset.
- The system allows for collecting data in statistics and reports summarizing the work.
- It is also possible to create charts with data e.g. for a given month (e.g. the number of entered, renewed, fulfilled, rejected contracts).
- The system can, among other things, send reminders about the expiration date of the contract and automatically create and assign applications to the appropriate person (contract custodian specified earlier in the CMDB).
License distribution
Another example of using the “asset management” process in Jira Service Management is license distribution – as with contracts, we can introduce appropriate terms and automation mechanisms to facilitate control over the distribution of software licenses for employees or customers.
Onboarding
The asset management process in Jira Service Management offers a great many opportunities, depending on the needs and sometimes also the creativity of the teams that need improvement. One of the other examples of using the “asset management” process in Atlassian software is onboarding an employee – with a hardware inventory, we can quickly assign the right equipment to a new person. What is more, it is possible to prepare a default “starter” set for each newly hired employee with the date of replacement of each of their elements. Thanks to this, the IT department, in cooperation with the HR team, can quickly introduce a new person and organize their work station. The whole thing can be integrated with the fixed assets data of the administration department (so that the department also receives a notification about the equipment release and has access to it); and thanks to the company’s structure, information about the released equipment will also reach the new employee’s supervisor.
- Possibility to prepare a “starter package” for new employees.
- No more searching for people responsible for the equipment, non-stop checking its availability, postponing the equipment delivery and signing the paper documents of receipt (employee confirms receipt of equipment in the Jira system)
- The relevant departments/persons can create requests with equipment requirements so that purchases can be planned. With the appropriate application, the current status of resources will be recorded: how many laptops are in stock, how many new employees have been registered; an email will also be sent with a notification if the status falls below the minimum level.
- All the data collected and updated in a coherent system; the structure and available devices previously made in the CMDB ensure orderly information flow.
Car fleet management
Jira and its add-ons covering the “asset management” functionality can be used to manage the company’s car fleet. This makes it possible to check: to whom a given car is assigned (who is using it), who takes care of a given vehicle (who is its caretaker), how many times this car has already been repaired, what defects have been reported, whether it is currently on a business trip and if so, on which one. *The setting up of a car fleet management process in Jira can be part of the delegation management process in the Atlassian environment.
What functionality do Jira Service Management + the asset management add-ons provide?
A company that decides to implement the Jira system to manage its assets can count on:
- Acceptance processes following the organizational structure – regardless of the degree of dependence; the system will support a multi-level acceptance path; example: employee -> department manager -> IT director -> company president
- Appropriate request paths for different parameters – the request path may run differently for different cases and parameters. At the preparation and configuration stage, we will introduce as many types of paths as needed. The company does not have to limit itself to one operating scenario.
- Reminders of expiring dates – e.g. the end date of a warranty, contract, license, or, for example, the date of inspection (for the car fleet) or the date of equipment replacement.
- Equipment failure monitoring – thanks to the equipment failure requests, it is possible to keep reports on equipment failure and act quickly in case of e.g. a defective batch.
- Real-time status tracking of devices (assets) – all resources have up-to-date statuses; so it is known whether and by whom they are used, when they were last serviced, etc.
- Automation: e.g. an automatic request for new equipment if the stock drops to a certain level; automatic assignment of requests to relevant persons; sending notifications of upcoming dates (exchange, inspection), automatic creation of graphs with equipment data.
- Constant access to information on where equipment is located – the possibility of checking: where a device is located; which user has it; where exactly in the office; or, for example, who has a license for which software.
What asset management add-ons do we recommend?
The answer to this question depends on a lot of factors – first of all, on company needs, the degree of process development, the overall size of the implementation and the specificity of a given process in a particular organization. The add-ons that we can definitely recommend in the context of the fixed asset management process are:
- Insight Asset Management by Mindville + Scriptrunner by Adaptavist
- Stagil Assets by Stagil + Scriptrunner by Adaptavist
Fixed asset management in the Jira system can be extremely helpful not only in the daily operation of a company but also for keeping records of fixed assets and inventories, which are necessary and required from every organization. Asset Management is a process that can look different and involve different resources – from simple equipment to contracts. If you are looking for a solution that will allow you to control the equipment purchased for the employees and monitor the current state of every device, contact us. Jira Service Management + adequate add-ons are the answer to the needs of companies from different industries. It will work well in corporate business as well as on production lines.
Our main quarter is located in Poland but we do have representatives also in the United States of America, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Taiwan and France. Please, do not hesitate to contact us using our general email address: contact@ttpsc.com – the message will come to the right person, from your region, so you will speak the same language.
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