Glossary

[IT] Asset Life Cycle Management - The management of all physical assets from the moment they are requisitioned through the process of delivery, configuration, deployment, servicing and disposal; sometimes referred to as "from cradle to grave".

[IT] Asset Management - The practice of tracking and managing all network- connected IT hardware and software assets (captured by auto-discovery tools), and wireless and remote devices not scanned by an inventory agent (e.g. PDA and wireless phones and pagers). This involves: location and ownership status of assets (e.g. leases, rental agreements, and service agreements), operational status and history of assets (e.g. asset active, disposed, on loan, and on repair), asset leasing agreements and schedules, software license compliance, Install/Move/Add/Change (IMAC) process management, asset costs and cost center charge-back, and asset service history.

Auto-Discovery Tools - Auto-Discovery tools provide software agent technology that automatically scans computers and other IT equipment on a network to retrieve the hardware properties (e.g. CPU, RAM, and Hard Drive) and installed software information (e.g. Publisher, Application Name, Version) from those devices. Due to their main function, auto-discovery tools are also commonly referred to as "inventory" or "collector" tools.

Crystal Reports - Reporting software produced by Seagate Software Inc., which produces customizable reports. Crystal Reports is the embedded reporting tool within the Provance IT Services and Asset Management Suite.

Help Desk Management Tools - Systems that provide service providers with the data and workflow tools to respond to end user support inquiries and incidents. These systems include knowledge bases to assist in problem resolution, and tools to record each incident, manage the workflow to resolve problems, and respond to requests.

[IT] In-sourcer - Many companies are redefining their IS departments as profit centers. These profit centers interact with the IT end user communities within their organizations on a contractual basis similar to outsourcing, where billing may be carried out in the form of departmental charge-backs. This is referred to as "in-sourcing". In these cases, the IS department faces many of the same challenges as outsourcing service providers and therefore requires similar tools.

Install/Move/Add/Change (IMAC) Management - The process of managing the installation of new equipment (i.e., when a new employee is engaged), movement of assets from one location to another (i.e., when an employee is transferred from one building location to another), addition of items to the asset (i.e., if the employee needs more RAM or a new hard drive), and changes (i.e., when software is upgraded to the latest version). In a seat context, this would also include the ability to deploy and configure and change seats (not just assets).

Lease Management - When assets are leased rather than purchased, the leases must be managed to ensure that assets are returned in the specified condition and on time in order to avoid costly penalties. In an outsourcing environment, a service provider would also seek to have visibility about leases across multiple contracts, so that assets - not required under one contract - can be redeployed to another contract if the lease is still active.

Network and Systems Management (NSM) Tool - Tools that provide the capabilities to monitor the performance of the network infrastructure (hubs, routers, servers, etc.) and manage user network privileges and security. These tools may also include Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) and IT Inventory modules. NSM tools provide service provider technicians with the tools to proactively manage network resources and respond quickly to system failures.

[IT] Outsourcer - Many companies are turning to external companies to provide and manage their IT environment. An Outsourcer enters into an agreement with their client to provide and maintain an IT environment with negotiated service levels and performance metrics in place.

[IT] Seat - An IT seat is a grouping of physical hardware and software elements combined with any number of associated services. It is possible to have desktop, server, and mainframe seats. A desktop seat may contain the physical assets, such as a PC and software, combined with a variety of other services; for example, LAN connection, Internet access, remote network access (e.g., dial-up), file storage, back-up and restore services, email services, training, help desk support, hardware/software maintenance, and platform and software technology refreshed on a defined schedule. Data, network, and communications security requirements are also beginning to be captured as part of the seat.

[IT] Seat Management - A "seat" is a collection of services and service level agreements plus the associated IT assets required to fulfill them. Seats can be defined in any manner, but are typically defined in support of a job function such as engineering, sales or accounting.

In addition to desktops, seats can manage servers and communications or peripheral devices such as cell phones and PDAs. Other seats can include training seats, HR seats and software seats. Seats allow IT to control its infrastructure through standardization, and apply automation in order to resolve billing and charge back issues. The cost of each seat component can be tracked at a granular level.

Service Level Agreement (SLA) - In an IT services and asset management environment, the service level agreement (SLA) is a contract between the client and service provider that governs the delivery of outsourced IT services within the seat. The SLA captures the measurable service or quality obligations of the service provider and identifies the costs agreed upon for each service.

Service Level Agreement Contract Management - These tools provide the capability to easily define and manage seat definitions and all other aspects of complex service level agreements. It enables multiple IT services and asset management contracts to be centrally managed in a single environment for better operational leverage across outsourcing projects. It also provides a spreadsheet environment to easily capture and manage complex, multiple-period seat pricing schedules.

Technology Refresh - IT hardware and software do not remain in line with business system requirements, nor do they remain efficient forever. Eventually maintenance costs override the value that the equipment or software is providing or more current business objectives require more powerful or alternative solutions. Technology Refresh is normally one of the negotiated terms in any IT Service Delivery engagement.

Total Cost of Ownership - TCO is a method used to define and measure the total cost of acquiring and maintaining a desktop computing environment (which is much more than the cost of a new PC). It includes both direct costs, such as software, repair, and support, and indirect costs, such as downtime and peer support. Gartner Group estimates that TCO per user is typically about $9,000.