The challenge of Tracking IT Assets

Most companies today are getting more and more IT assets by the year. Most of those companies don't know where 30% of their valuable IT assets are according to the Gartner Group.  In addition to losing assets, and adding more to the balance sheet there is a growing need to account for capital equipment according to Sarbanes Oxley and other regulatory issues and the result is plain to see: the manual, physical management of IT assets quickly becomes a nightmare.

How have companies tried to solve Asset Tracking?

Over the past several years companies realize that the only way to get a hold of growing IT Asset base is to look for some sort of automation. early efforts to get inventory with "the push of a button" relied on network discovery, looking for an IT Asset when it was connected to a network. Many solutions exist in the market which can track with moderate accuracy if a server is connected to the network, however, before that asset is deployed into the enterprise and after it is decommissioned, it is nearly impossible to track that item. Most items are lost, stolen, or unaccounted for when they are disconnected from the network, it is clear IP discovery was not enough.

If a server, desktop or laptop needs maintenance, significant amount of time is spent finding the asset rather than actually fixing the problem.

Automate Asset Inventory with RFID

Imagine being bale to take a 99%+ accurate inventory with the push of a button. That level of accuracy in Asset Tracking is possible with ODIN's Intelligent asset management "I AM" system.

ODIN’s I AM™ software allows users to easily track IT assets through the full life cycle including:

• Receiving
• Asset Inventory
• Asset Security and Unauthorized Moves
• Finding Assets in the Enterprise
• Decommissioning Assets

The innovative RFID software works with inexpensive passive RFID tags (between $ .10 and $ 1.50 each depending on where and what they are affixed to) and a combination of wall mounted and handheld RFID readers and RFID portals. I AM^TMtracks the movement of IT assets in real time and allows for a real-time view of your IT assets in your enterprise. The best part is there is no human interaction required - no difficult bar codes to scan one at a time, no taking assets off a cart or out of a box, all automatic reading without line of site thanks to passive RFID.

I AM^™ enhances Asset Security

One of the most popular uses for I AM^TM is increasing asset security. ODIN has deployed I AM^TM at the world's leading banks, hedge funds and government agencies to protect valuable assets. I AM^TM integrates into access control systems so that enterprises can pair authorized users of assets with specific access control cards. This automates the removal of assets such as laptops from building. In addition tags can be hidden clandestinely on IT Assets and badges have the same look and feel as tradiotnal access control badges.

See a demo of ODIN's I AM^™ security RFID Asset Tracking integration here (YouTube 1:25)

How I AM^™ Integrates to Asset Tracking Software

If you already own an enterprise asset management system like Sunflower, HP Asset Manager, BMC Remedy or IBM Maximo, I AM™ automatically updates your systems and keeps that software as the system of record. I AM^TM can easily add on RFID capabilities to most enterprises asset managment software. The foundation of I AM™ is EasyEdge™ RFID's only op erating system software.

If you do not already have an enterprise asset management system, I AM™ allows you to quickly get up and running tracking your assets with a lightweigh t asset tracking software. ODIN however designed I AM^TM first and foremost to get accurate RFID data without human interaction, it is secondarily and asset management application and really is designed to help you ge the most from your investment in existing enterprise applications like Maximo, Remedy, or other asset management applications.

I AM™ logs asset movement and it can track who moved the asset, where and when. Automated alerts can be sent via email or SNMP.

Find out what happens when IT assets can speak.

Read ODINs RFID for Asset Tracking white paper.

How I AM^™ can save time and money

When it comes time to do an audit, simply take a handheld RFID reader or cart based RFID reader and scan the assets that are in a room or building. The application automatically keeps track of what was expected in a location as well as what was missing. It also tracks erroneous assets that have appeared in the room.

If you are looking for a particular asset, simply enter the known information about that asset and use a “Geiger Counter” like find feature to locate the asset.

RFID IT Asset Tracking Results

ODIN’s I AM™ enables any enterprise to greatly improve their physical IT asset tracking capabilities. With RFID, you will reduce inventory times, reduce shrink and eliminate many security issues and keep better track of aging assets. Tasks that were not possible before like passive asset tracking are now possible, and previously onerous tasks are drastically reduced in time. And with ODIN's RFID software the cost is reduced as well ensuring a fast return on investment.