Asset & Configuration - Process Overview

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Welcome to the Asset & Configuration - Process Overview learning. Click each sequential tab below to find key learnings and information.

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Introduction ::

Asset & Configuration processes provide an end-to-end model and tools to effectively and efficiently track computing equipment per Intel Legal, Finance, IT Services, and Security requirements. A core component of the Asset & Configuration processes includes the Hardware Asset & Configuration Process. Hardware Asset & Configuration supports:

Tracking computing equipment throughout its full lifecycle from acquisition through disposal.
Keeping an accurate record of computing equipment. This is important to IT Services regardless of the equipment's monetary value.
Making sure that the proper control and change management activities are established and followed to properly manage computing equipment.

Hardware Asset & Configuration Process

The below image shows the Hardware Asset & Configuration Process flow. The process flow consists of 5 main tasks performed in the Integrated Service Management Platform (ISMP) tool: Create Asset, Change/Move Asset, Retire Asset, Audit, and Asset Reporting & Analysis. For "checks and balances" purposes, the ISMP Hardware Asset & Configuration process is configured to work directly with the SAP Asset Management process and tools.

Hardware Asset & Configuration Process Flow

Hardware Asset & Configuration Structure {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

Hardware Asset Database

To support the 5 main tasks performed in the ISMP tool, the Hardware Asset Database exists as a repository to hold key information and functional features. The following summarizes the features and requests (triggers that generate Asset & Configuration tasks) that engage the Hardware Asset Database.

Hardware Asset Data: Identity, Product Location, Lifecycle State, Responsible Parties Ownership.
Features: Track Maintenance/Warranty Add/Update Product Add/Update Location	Automated Monitors: Un-received Equipment Duplicates Missing or Inactive Location Missing or Inactive Assigned To Missing or Inactive Cost Center Incorrect State SAP Inconsistencies Not Found
Create: Purchase, Acquisition, Found	Change: Receive, Move, Change, Replace, Reuse
Features: Admin Bulk Create User Create/Update Forms	Features & Requests: Receiving Wizard Move Equipment Request Cost Center/Service Change Equipment Replaced by Vendor Request Reusable Equipment
Retire: Sell, Donate, Scrap, Divest, Loss or Theft	Audit: Physical, Logical
Requests: Surplus Pickup Report Lost or Stolen Equipment Report Duplicate/Data Entry Error Record Divested Equipment	Feature: RFID/Barcode Tool Service Now Tool

Information Types
The Hardware Asset & Configuration Process focuses on tracking the following information types.

Asset Identify	Description: A description of the equipment and how to identify it (Example: mfg, product, serial number and name). The information should match physical labels and electronic information reported by the equipment. Tracking Reason: To understand the kind of equipment being used and how many items we have. To uniquely identify items.
Location	Description: The physical location of the equipment down to the level needed to physically locate it. Tracking Reason: To find equipment when it needs to be serviced or moved, and to provide information for service analysis, planning and tax & financial accounting.
Lifecycle Status	Description: Listing the current state of the equipment in its lifecycle. Tracking Reason: To find equipment when it needs to be serviced or moved, and to provide information for service analysis, planning and tax & financial accounting.
Responsible Person	Description: The person assigned the equipment and the responsibility of keeping the asset record accurate. Tracking Reason: To know who is accountable for the equipment and their role.
Warranty & Service Contract	Description: The Warranty and Service Contract information provides an understanding of the warranty and service contract that covers the computing equipment. Tracking Reason: The information triggers and ensures that the appropriate external service coverage is put in place and that they are well managed.
Finance Supporting Information	Description: The information triggers and ensures that the appropriate external service coverage is put in place and that they are well managed. Tracking Reason: This is to assist the Finance Organization in tracking and monitoring Intel IT assets from the monetary view.
Configuration & Service Information	Description: A link to the attributes and relationships that the services maintain to describe how the equipment is configured and being used. Tracking Reason: It provides an understanding of the equipment technical specification, how it is utilized and why it is critical to the availability and the continuity of IT service.

Hardware Type
The ISMP tool is flexible to track any type of computing equipment. However, based on business needs and organizational objectives, the type of hardware to be registered in the system can evolve and differ from one service to another.

A successful Hardware Asset & Configuration Process implementation requires an organization to have:

Clear definition and strict adoption of roles, responsibilities, and accountability.
Clear in & out of scope equipment defined and communicated.
Clear and concise policies & procedures in place and adhered to for all parties involved.

The 3 Key Hardware scope & Tracking strategy determinators are, i.e., which & how computing equipment should be tracked:

Service Management Policy:	Computing equipment that is providing a service or can be used to provide a service.
Information Security Management Policy:	Computing equipment connected to the network, or storing information that needs to be protected. For further information, see Information Security Policies Portal.
Finance Organization Policy:	Computing equipment identified as a financial fixed asset and tracked for compliance with accounting rules. For further information, see Global Fixed Asset Accounting Policy Portal.

Configuration Item (CI) A Configuration Item (CI) is defined as any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service. The Asset & Configuration Management process often refers to CIs as Computing Equipment.

Configuration Items often includes the following information:

IT Services	Messaging, calendaring, etc
Software	Outlook, MS Office, etc.
Hardware	Servers, network & memory cards, hard disks, etc.
Facilities	HVAC, Chillers, Lighting, etc.

Computing Equipment refers to the fundamental structural unit of a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) item. Any piece of Computing Equipment should be under change control.

Think of CI's as being the lowest common denominator across all Service Management processes.

Click on the image to view a larger version.

{modal href="images/ETD_Image_Folder/Asset_Config_Process_Overview/CIdiagram.png"} Configuration Items Diagram

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1. Problem Management	Identifies which CI's are the root cause of incident.
2. Incident Management	Identifies which CI was fixed to restore service.
3. Change Management	Identifies which CI's are being changed.
4. Configuration Management	Documents the CI's in the environment along with their up and down stream relationships.

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Hardware Asset Management: Guiding Principles {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

The guiding principles of the Hardware Asset Management Process are established to:

Ensure compliance with Intel's Legal, Tax, Security & Finance requirements.
Provide accurate or timely data to IT Services for daily ops and strategic decisions.
Enable full Service Management process integration

The Hardware Asset Management Process, in conjunction with using the ISMP tool, provides a single repository and process for managing computing Hardware at Intel. The process supports scalability to enable internal compute continuum, recognizing mixed form factors (PC's, phones, netbooks, tablets, etc.), and use capabilities for Intel owned/managed hardware and non-Intel managed systems (NIMS) or bring-your-own-equipment (BYOE) hardware.

The guiding principles and processes include the following control services that parallel the Hardware Asset & Configuration Process flow.

Purchase	The Asset and Configuration Controls Service (ACCS) enables the first step of the Asset Management lifecycle. This step involves responsibilities for opening Shopping Carts/POs in SAP per Service Requests for new purchases.
Create	This step involves creating hardware CIs and associated warranty or maintenance tracking for all new computing hardware purchases arriving at Intel.
Move/Change	The move/change step involves data updates that are managed through workflow (notification / approvals) for change control, and a combination of automation/manual updates performed by the Asset/Config role within the Services.
Reconciliation	Reconciliation steps provide operational data being kept in sync with SAP Capital Finance records.
Disposition	Asset and Configuration Controls Service (ACCS) enable the physical pickup and disposition of hardware including data protection actions for all EOL computing hardware. This is achieved through the partnership with the Client Services stockroom/resources to disposition the maintenance uplifts appropriately.
Audit	The audit step supports capabilities to monitor/audit/identify and deliver indicators while also driving problem resolution. The goal is to deliver 99% asset accuracy for core data on hardware Assets/CIs in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).

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Additional Resources

The following resources provide further learning opportunities and additional information:

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Service Roles ::

There are 12 primary roles who perform key tasks in the Asset & Configuration process.

	Asset & Configuration Admin Performs adds or updates to software and hardware data in the Configuration Management System (CMS) that require admin permissions. They do this on behalf of all services. They also perform the tasks to make sure SAP stays updated based upon changes in the CMS.		Auditor Logical Performs audits of logical asset & configuration data. They verify CI accuracy. If issues are found, they correct inaccurate data and report errors to the Asset & Configuration Audit Manager of the Service.
	Asset & Configuration Manager Accountable for the completeness and accuracy of their service's asset & configuration data in the configuration management and accounting systems. They ensure that their service knows and complies with asset and configuration management policy and process requirements. They ensure their service is staffed & trained to perform asset & configuration activities.		Auditor Physical Performs physical audits of computing hardware. They verify the existence, identity and location of equipment. If issues are found, they correct inaccurate data and report errors to the Audit Manager of the Service.
	Asset & Configuration Specialist Supports software and computing hardware for a service. They submit requests to update the Configuration Management System when their service adds, moves, or changes the software or hardware they are using.		Disposition Specialist Processes surplus pickup requests from beginning to end. This includes: contacting customers, picking up equipment, removing disks from equipment, and routing equipment to the proper path (donation, resale, reuse, scrap, etc).
	Asset & Configuration Contract Specialist Maintains warranty, maintenance, and license information in the Configuration Management System. They reconcile Intel and supplier information. They forecast changes that need to be made to existing agreements.		Disposition Donation Approver Fields donation requests from internal and external companies and the donation of a specific asset to a specific recipient.
	Audit Manager Solely responsible for validating CI accuracy via formal and independent audits. They are responsible for scheduling and assigning formal and independent audits to Audit Manager of the Service's. They are point of escalation for systemic CI inaccuracies (i.e. responsible for CI data quality).		Disposition Resale Approver Identifies types of equipment eligible for resale and approves the sale of individual assets.
	Audit Manager for the Service Ensures that formal and informal audits of asset & configuration data are completed within their service. They report data quality issues and ensure that improvement plans are implemented.		Disposition Center Owner Fully accountable for the surplus pickup and disposition process being run from their room. This includes ensuring compliance to process guidelines, performing approvals, and validating that surplus equipment is routed appropriately (such as not allowing P100 equipment to leave Intel or not allowing functional equipment to be scrapped).

Service Structure {showhide title="See More ..." changetitle="Hide ..."}

Various services in the IT Service Management program can have unique structures. The data values of each service structure -- comprised of the: Service, Service Component, Support Skill, and the Service Level Agreement (SLA) and Operational Level Agreement (OLA) terms -- are defined and configured by the Service needs.

Although the data values can be unique and vary from one service to another, the functional group can only choose service support roles based on a predefined set of values.

Note the right-hand example of the Asset & Configuration process and the corresponding roles that can be used. In this example, the Service, Service Component, and Support Skill elements that define how the service functions may be uniquely structured to fit the Asset & Configuration service model needs. But the roles available for the service execution are defined and do not vary (modified) per service preferences.

Click to view a demonstration how to View Your Service Role in the Service Now Tool.

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Service Now: Features & Reports ::

Asset & Configuration tasks are performed using the Service Now tool. Within the Service Now tool are key sections that separate task performance into "modules" such as the Integrated Service Management Platform (ISMP) module tool. The following Service Now tool information provides foundational navigation and features learning in addition to key IT Service Management Reporting (ITSMR) learning.

Service Now: ISMP Navigation & Features

When using the Service Now tool, color coded field labels help you to identify field inputs or value determinants.

	An Orange bar indicates a system generated value in the field.
	A Red bar indicates a mandatory field.
	A Light Red bar indicates a mandatory field currently has a value.
	A Green bar indicates UNSAVED changes have occurred in the current session.
	A Magnifying Glass icon to the right of a field indicates a reference field. Reference fields have a auto-fill feature to populate data as it is entered/typed. Clicking on the Magnifying Glass provide a list of available choices to select.

Integrated Service Management Platform (ISMP) Tool: Reference Materials

Click to view a demonstration how to Create and Modify Your Service Now Homepage.

Click to view a demonstration how to Use General Navigation Tips.

Job aid: Common Features Used In ISMP Forms

Product Documentation: Service Now, Navigation and the User Interface

Service Now: ITSMR Reports

In the Service Now tool, the Reports section provides available reports.

ITSMR Asset Reports are categorized into three main groups:

Inventory Reports - Computing Equipment, Model, Service & Location data
Disposition & Surplus Pick-Up Reports - Request, Request Item & Location data
Data Quality Reports - Computing Equipment data availability & accuracy

Service-specific ITSMR Asset reports include:

CS Asset Audit Summary
CS Surplus PAC
CS Surplus Proactive

Standard ITSMR Asset reports include:

Hardware Inventory Details
Hardware Inventory Summary
Hardware Disposition Detail
Hardware Disposition Summary
Duplicate Values
Null Values
Hardware Change History
Asset-Lookup Report
Hardware Relationship

IT Service Management Reporting (ITSMR) Tool: Reference Materials

Job aid: ITSMR Report Features

Product Documentation: Service Now, Generating Reports

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|| Completion || ::

When you have completed the learning in this content, click the below Track Completion button.

This allows the IT Service Management team to know that you have completed this learning and are prepared for relevant next steps.

Click when you are finished.

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