IT Equipment Inventory: The Most Critical Pillar

A previous article I’ve written identifies “The 3 Pillars of Effective Communications Technology Management” as billing (1), contracts (2), and IT inventories (3). In two subsequent articles, I provided tips for billing and contract management. I saved IT inventories for last — as it’s impossible to have a well-managed communications management strategy without them. Here I’ll explain how to define, build, and manage IT services and equipment inventories.

DEFINE

Let’s start by defining inventory — the foundation on which communications technology management builds. Without an accurate inventory of services and equipment (how many of each type and for what purpose), you can’t be sure that the billing amount is correct or that all billed items receive the contract rates. You also can’t effectively plan for a transition from old to new technology without an accurate baseline inventory as a starting point.

The inventory is a component-by-component listing of all communications technology items, whether for fixed, mobile, or cloud communications, including all services, connectivity, licenses, and hardware. Each must be associated with a vendor name, account number, service identifier number, and contract.

A first step to building an inventory can be to obtain a breakdown of the components of each invoice you receive monthly from your communications vendors. This “billed inventory” is a good starting point. However, it may not accurately reflect what you have in place since it’s very likely that you’re paying for items you don’t have.

• Mobile devices and telephone numbers (smartphones, data-only devices, etc.)
• Connections to the outside world for voice services and telephone numbers (may be combined with responsibility for data but is often still separate)
• Connections to the outside world for data services and ID numbers for each component (e.g., Internet access)
• Organizational global or domestic networks (MPLS, SD-WAN, etc.)
• User licenses for cloud-based voice/data/ web conferencing services increasingly get combined on the same platform
• Hardware associated with all of the above

• Start with the people. Get the individuals together responsible for various aspects of each service you buy, including placing orders, paying bills, negotiating contracts and managing vendor relationships. You’ll also need the people who maintain the associated equipment, whether in-house-staff or outside support companies. Agree on established lines of communication among them, such as a monthly video conference.
• Information, please. Make a list of all aspects of each service that need to be collected to build inventory. For example, for smartphones, you’ll need the service provider and username, associated location, mobile number, the type of device (manufacturer and model number). You'll also have to specify device serial numbers, including voice, data, and message billing plans — whether the mobile number is part of a pool for voice or data usage and the contracts. If your organization purchases the device over time, determine when to pay for it and the monthly cost. If early upgrades are possible, figure out how many months into the contract in which each device eligible. Mobile inventories are particularly challenging to maintain in large organizations due to the rate of change.
• Is telecom expense management (TEM) in your future? Building an inventory must be accompanied by an agreed-upon method of capturing the detail and keeping it current. Large organizations may engage a TEM company providing a hosted system and support services. In this case, that company can also help with the “billed inventory” mentioned above.
• Spreadsheets work. Smaller companies may use their internal database software or a spreadsheet to compile the information. In either case, ongoing attention is key to keep the inventory current.
• Audit any bills lately? A communications bill audit is another way of putting together the “billed inventory” as a starting point. If you try this approach, be sure that an inventory is agreed upon as a project deliverable by the auditor.
• Old news isn’t necessarily good news. Part of the process needs to be keeping contracts current and developing a method for updating records as services and equipment are added, deleted, moved, or changed.