Management

Use These 4 Asset Tracking Best Practices for Peace of Mind

Modern management systems can make it easier to monitor technology in K–12 environments.

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Adam Stone writes on technology trends from Annapolis, Md., with a focus on government IT, military and first-responder technologies.

K–12 schools are responsible for millions of dollars in technology assets that range from student and staff devices to printers and software. However, keeping track of all of these assets can be challenging. School districts that want to make the most of a modern asset tracking solution should keep these best practices in mind.

1. Make an Argument for a Modernized Asset Management Solution

Jun Kim, director of technology at Moore Public Schools in Oklahoma, says his district made the argument that an updated, consolidated asset management solution would improve efficiency. “We were already spending money on multiple applications to do these things, all the resources spent on trying to track where all of this stuff is. Those are human hours,” he says. “Now, we are able to do more with the staff we have because we’ve streamlined the process.”

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2. Decide What Level of Hardware and Software Needs Tracking

“You should determine what level of devices you are you going to include in your inventory,” says Amy McLaughlin, cybersecurity program director for the Consortium for School Networking. “You don’t want to track the equivalent of every pencil.”

3. Determine How You Will Use Newly Generated Data

A modern asset management system will generate lots of data, and schools will need to put that data to use. “How many devices are lost? How many are stolen? How many are in repair? Now I can get granular,” Kim says.

4. Consider Software Delivered as a Service

Software as a Service asset tracking “allows you to have a monthly payment that comes through the operational budget as opposed to a one-time capital expense. That way, you build it into a baseline as the cost of doing business every month,” McLaughlin says.

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