5 Fundamental Success Factors – ITAM
Organizations must succeed in 5 key areas (success factors) to positively impact strategic IT decision making. This is hard when the paths to success are interdependent yet not aligned or linear. Here they are:
- Organizational Commitment. Because ITAM is dependent on cooperation from cross functional stakeholders and their front line resources, it will not succeed without executive support of ITAM as a strategic initiative through executive mandate and ongoing funding.
- People. ITAM is process but process does not write, manage or score itself. People do. People set and enforce policies, processes and procedures, people manage the related activities and people are held accountable for the results. ITAM cannot succeed without the commitment of your people.
- Process. ITAM manages integrated finance, contract and inventory data. Without an enforceable framework (policies, processes and procedures) for collecting, managing and reporting on data, there is no assurance of accuracy and ITAM will fail.
- Data. ITAM data starts with proof of what you own. Where do you get that data from? What data do you need to track? What if you can’t get it? If you’re lucky enough to have proof of what you own, how do you know you still have it? Are you using it as permitted? What is permitted? How are you managing those things you own but can’t inventory with technology? The questions are many. ITAM is data heavy and without a sound data plan, it will not succeed.
- Technology. Data requires technology to be of any real value. There are many ways to centralize and report on ITAM data, what is appropriate for you is fundamentally tied to you stage of ITAM maturity. If your organizations is chaotic, well managed spreadsheets may be appropriate, if processes are defined and enforced and your people are committed, an ITAM COTs repository may be the right investment. The appropriate application of technology is a key success factor at every stage of maturity.
The depth at which each factor plays a role in achieving ITAM results will vary depending on your stage of maturity. All 5 will increase in weight as success factor as your level of maturity increases. To learn more about ITAM Maturity watch an executive summary presentation of the RAPA Maturity Model.
