Admit it, You Have a Favorite Child. I Do Too.
I've created some true masterpieces during my time on earth that I love to brag about. I realize, of course, that as the man responsible for their creation, I'm not supposed to have a favorite...but I do. In fact, my favorite is my most recent--the "baby of the family," if you will: I REALLY LOVE the crowdsourcing-inspired device inventory feature we released last week to ATLAS. Yes...that is my favorite creation. For now, anyway.
Why am I so fond of a feature that sounds cliché at best...and passé at worst? Simple. It's elegant, intuitive, and man, is it effective! Just think: if you've got a task to inventory and survey 25,000 IT assets, for example, you've got 2 options:
the status quo--allocate the time and resources to do it yourself (or with your team), or
have the end users collect and verify the information you need while they use their devices during the course of the workday.
Option 1 will take weeks...or months, and in my experience is oftentimes prohibitively expensive (ask me about the hospital system that could only afford to do traditional inventories every 3 years, and the headaches that caused...). Option 2 takes minutes or hours, and saves money...and everyone's sanity. Even if you don't get 100% compliance from end users, any progress made by shifting the workload to the lowest common denominator (no, that is not a social statement on end users) is a penny saved. Which, as Benjamin Franklin would remind us, is also a penny earned.
So Simple, So Effective.
It sounds incredible, right? Granted, the process really isn't as simple as just turning the inventory tasks over to "Joe OfficeWorker" and letting him run wild. But, when we configure the inventory module with your workflows and desired end state accounted for, the "crowd sourced inventory" is easier than online shopping...even for those "did you try turning it off and back on again" helpdesk-calling users.
Supplementing the ease of use is it's flexibility, scalability, and effectiveness. This capability works with all asset types...IT, OT, remote, kits, rolling stock, livestock, owned, leased, etc. I realize this sounds eerily like a late-night infomercial, but truly "you name it, my new favorite child will help you inventory and survey it." It really is that powerful.
Getting Real.
With all deference to my actual children, whom I love more than words can describe, I am very excited about this new addition. It's a great way for service teams to manage asset-based projects, for VAR's to quickly roll out managed services, and for end users to help ensure they always have access to the best tools for their trade. I'd love to show you more--drop me a line and let's schedule a demo.