Network inventory, auditing, asset management or a handful of other names describe a type of application software that automates a critical project for an organization’s information technology function: taking an inventory of the assets that make up a Windows-based network.

IT assets are any hardware or software. Network inventory software can inventory hardware and software assets regardless of operating system. It is utilized by the IT function of organizations of all sizes and in all industries. And it provides significant benefits by helping IT meet its ongoing challenge - to operate the network as cost-effectively and as efficiently as possible.

Network inventory software has been around for almost two decades. And in addition to the fact that it has long been a reliable tool, there’s more good news for IT. It continues to improve because there are plenty of developers in what is a competitive marketplace.

Although the worldwide user base continues to grow steadily, the number of organizations that could benefit from implementing network inventory software still exceeds the number that have done so.

Layton Technology, Inc. is a well-established, innovative software developer. Based in Tampa, FL, USA, the company is privately held and was founded in 1997. Its flagship product is an example of network inventory software. And since leaders teach, the purpose of this article is to educate potential prospect organizations.

Layton Technology was in 2000 an early entrant into a nascent market with its
AuditWizard™ network inventory software. The company has changed the tagline PC audit software to network inventory software to more accurately describe AuditWizard’s functionality. AuditWizard has the ability to inventory software assets as well as PCs and other hardware assets. This year is the 10th anniversary of the introduction of AuditWizard. The current version, 8.1.4, was released in April 2010.

AuditWizard’s worldwide user base is both large and growing. Layton Technology estimates that as of the second quarter of 2010, more than 10,000 organizations are using AuditWizard to manage more than 3.5 million assets.

AuditWizard network inventory software is the engine that tracks each asset throughout its lifecycle, starting with purchase through to usage and ending with disposal. In addition to IT, other functions within the organization can make or contribute to business decisions based on the information obtained by AuditWizard. The other functions include purchasing, leasing, legal and finance.

Automated vs Manual vs Nothing

Prior to the introduction of network inventory software, which occurred around the 21st century there was only one way for an IT function to take an inventory of IT assets. That way was a manual process and is still used by some organizations today.

The manual process consists of two steps. First, an IT worker physically visits each piece of hardware on the network to inventory it and the software running on it. The main tools used by each member involved in taking the inventory are a clipboard, paper and a writing instrument. Then, after information has been collected on all of the IT assets, it has to be manually entered into a database.

Network inventory software has automated the critical function of taking an inventory. As a result, the work and amount of time needed has been greatly reduced. The research conducted in order to prepare this article turned up two estimates of how much time an IT professional must spend on each PC during a manual inventory. One was 15 minutes. The other was 45 minutes. Let’s split the difference. During a manual inventory, figure 30 minutes for each PC. But PCs are just one type of end-user hardware on the network. All of the other types of end-user hardware (printers, fax machines, etc.) as well as all types of networking hardware (hubs, routers, etc.) also must be visited.

An IT professional doesn’t work for free. According to www.salary.com, the average hourly salary of an IT professional is $33. Thus, the cost for an IT professional to spend 45 minutes doing a manual audit of on PC is approximately $16.50.

A manual inventory could require more than one IT professional. And remember that the manual inventory isn’t over until the information is inputted into a database. Errors could occur while entering the information manually.

With an automated process, a few keystrokes initiates an inventory of IT assets. The IT worker can then return to what he was working on or begin another project while the network inventory software carries out the operation. Thus, the network inventory software has significantly enhanced the IT worker’s productivity and has delivered significant cost savings.

Once the network inventory software completes its work, there is no need to do any data entry. The results of the inventory are available online and the possibility of data-entry errors is eliminated. An IT professional can begin to review the results immediately if he so chooses. And if he is required to send the results to those on a distribution list, a few keystrokes are all that’s needed to prepare and send an E-mail and/or print hard E-mail or print hard copies.

A network is a mission-critical asset. The organization needs it in order to conduct business. Thus, when trouble occurs, the impact will likely be felt beyond the IT department. And the impact could be felt by the entire organization.

Trouble can be small or big. An example of small trouble is spending money to purchase or lease 10 new PCs for a department that hired employees to fill newly created positions instead of transferring PCs of similar functionality that are sitting idle in a department that lost employees because jobs were outsourced.

If information were available from either an automated or a manual inventory, the purchase wouldn’t have been made. And the organization would have saved money and time.

Not having a current list of IT assets that a network inventory provides can lead to trouble. One example is having an audit conducted by a software vendor that discovers unlicensed or illegal copies of its software. In addition, a software industry group, the Business Software Alliance, has an ongoing campaign that seeks out and punishes organizations for instances of software piracy. Organizations can be fined heavily, well into the tens of thousands of dollars for each violation.

Another example of trouble is in failing to comply with regulations imposed by the government and/or the industry in which the organization does business. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002 is a United States law that requires organizations to keep track of IT assets or face severe penalties. It was passed in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals, including Enron, Tyco International and WorldCom.
And the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is an example of an industry measure. It was created by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council to help organizations that process payments made by credit cards to combat fraud by increasing the security of data involved in making a payment with plastic. A single violation can cost an organization $500,000.

On top of any fines, the trouble mentioned above will require the organization to take the time -- and thus spend money -- to bring the network into compliance. And the IT department might have to scramble mightily to correct the omission.

By knowing what assets are on the network, trouble both small and big can be avoided. And of the two ways to take an inventory, the best way for all but small organizations is to automate the process with network inventory software.

Characteristics of AuditWizard Network-Inventory Software

Ease of Installation and Ease of Use.
Begin by downloading AuditWizard onto the PC on the network from which the inventory will be conducted now and in the future. Two minutes is all that the time it takes for AuditWizard to take an inventory of the host computer. (Remember that it takes an IT professional an average of 30 minutes per PC in a manual audit.) Then, AuditWizard network inventory software will begin work on the rest of the IT assets all automated and without any user intervention required. When the inventory is complete, IT department will have total network visibility.

Scalability
Scalability is crucial characteristic of network inventory software. While some networks may be too small to justify an implementation, there should be no such thing as a network that is “too large”.

Cost-Effectiveness Network inventory software that is easy to install, easy to use and scalable to wherever a wide area network (WAN) stretches also is cost-effective in two ways: One is its purchase price. The other is that network inventory software immediately begins to defray the cost of purchasing it and pays for itself by reducing the organization’s total cost of ownership (TCO).

Functionality and Benefits
Network-inventory software audits and discovers assets on the network. The audit function monitors the presence and status of assets and the hardware and software contained within. The discovery function finds new assets that have been added since the previous audit. In addition to end-user and networking hardware, AuditWizard audits and discovers two types of hardware assets that can be connected to the network: computers and removable media or (such as USB storage devices) and mobile devices (such as Blackberry® smart phones, PDAs and digital-music players. Certain information can be obtained from network hardware such as modems, printers routers and hubs.

By identifying all of the assets on the network, the IT function can determine which belong, which should not be there and which are not being used. The assets that belong on the network are the property of the organization. Each plays a role in the network. Each has a dollar value and is listed on the organization’s balance sheet. Thus, the IT function needs to keep track of them. If a new workstation that cost $10,000 that was purchased for the engineering function and configured two weeks ago doesn’t show up on the inventory of assets, the IT department can start the wheels turning to find out what happened.

When AuditWizard network inventory software identifies assets that should not be there, the IT department can remove them from the network. The security of the network and employee productivity is enhanced.

Software assets that should not be on the network are freeware and shareware that were downloaded by employees. They could be the source of viruses, which would be a security problem. Another example is games that employees download and play during work hours. The freeware, shareware, games and everything else that should not be on the network occupies space on a server. Thus, the performance of the network is also compromised.
It is fact that employees play games during work hours, wasting time and costing the employer money due to lost productivity.

According to a survey by Office Team, a large recruiting and staffing agency in the United States, the average worker spends 3 hours each week on non-productive tasks such as playing games, browsing Internet sites that are not job-related, having personal conversations via the company’s email systems, or chatting with friends thought IM-style programs. That’s the equivalent of 156 hours each year!

How much money does that cost a company?

According to a survey published in July 2008 by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American workers earn $18 per hour. Thus, the answers are $54 per employee per week and $2,808 per employee per year.

AuditWizard network inventory software also identifies which assets are no longer being used.

In the section above titled Automated vs Manual vs Nothing, there is an example of IT purchasing 10 new PCs for a department instead of transferring 10 PCs that were sitting idle in another department. The information collected in an inventory of assets by network inventory software prevents unnecessary or redundant purchases and promotes reutilization.

Additional cost savings result when network inventory software identifies software on the network that is no longer being used. The organization could stop paying for the licenses. The ability to identify software that is no longer being used actually could be used to regain compliance.

Let’s say the company is seeking to become compliant on all Microsoft applications. An automated network inventory reveals that 250 copies of a particular Microsoft application are installed on desktops. But the company only has purchased 150 licenses.

Thanks to network inventory software, there’s no need for the company to purchase 100 additional licenses. That’s because usage data collected during the audit by the network inventory software shows that only 100 copies of the application have been launched since the previous audit. Thus, licenses can be re-allocated to any users who currently are not licensed. And the company will save money because it was not necessary to purchase additional licenses.

In addition to identifying all of the assets on the network, AuditWizard network inventory software provides detailed information about each IT asset. The information is of two types. One has to do with the technical specifications of the product, such as manufacturer, make/model, installed software, etc. The other has to do with the lifecycle of the product as property of the company, such as the number of the purchase order used to obtain the product, the date the product was delivered, the current location of the product and the organization that has responsibility for it. Lastly, having a current snapshot of the assets on the network makes it easier for the IT department to plan for any upgrade to the network. IT Asset Management Initiative

An IT asset management initiative elevates the power of the information obtained by AuditWizard network inventory software to another level. In addition to IT, the information can be used by additional departments in the organization to make or contribute to business decisions.

An IT asset-management initiative tracks the lifecycle of each IT asset, beginning with purchase, extending through service life and ending with retirement and disposal. In addition to IT, other functions within an organization that typically are involved in an IT asset management initiative include purchasing, leasing, legal, accounting and finance.

An IT management will deliver cost savings.

According to the prominent IT industry analyst firm Gartner, enterprises that systematically manage the lifecycle of their IT assets will reduce the cost per asset by as much as 30 percent during the first year and between 5 and 10 percent (of additional savings) annually during the next five years.

Today, an organization with an IT asset management initiative is the exception, not the rule.

As time goes on, however, it’s likely that just as more organizations are doing themselves a favor by automating the inventory process with network inventory software, more organizations will do themselves an ever bigger favor by expanding the implementation of network inventory software into an IT asset management initiative that links IT and other functions.

Any Questions?

Layton Technology hopes that you found this article informative. If you have any follow-up questions about network-inventory software in general or Layton Technology’s AuditWizard network-inventory software in particular, please contact us by telephone in the United States of America, (813) 319-1390 or by E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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AuditWizard  is a trademark of Layton Technology, Inc. Copyright © 2010 Layton Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved.