Learning about Asset Management
You use BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management to manage, track, monitor the assets of your company. By using BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management, you can perform the following tasks:
- Managing-CIs
- Managing-contracts
- Managing-software-licenses
- Managing-purchase-requisitions
- Managing-costs-and-charge-backs
Watch the following video for an overview of the Asset Management consoles:
BMC Helix CMDB
BMC Helix CMDB stores information about configuration items (CIs) in your IT environment and the relationships between them.
Data providers, such as discovery applications, import data into BMC Helix CMDB, where it is partitioned into separate datasets. A dataset is a collection of assets and relationships that is created for a specific purpose. In BMC Helix CMDB, there are two types of datasets: production dataset and sandbox dataset.
If you configure two separate datasets for production and sandbox, you get the following benefits:
- You can use the production dataset as a single source of data storage that can be used by the various ITSM applications.
- If a sandbox dataset is configured, you can avoid making changes directly on the production dataset.
- As an administrator, you can define the trusted sources of information to update the production dataset.
- If required, you can also disable the sandbox dataset.
Service asset lifecycle
Using the Service Asset Lifecycle value path, you can manage service assets from initial procurement to retirement, as shown in the following illustration.:
The following table describes the several stages in an asset lifecycle:
Stage | Description |
|---|---|
Procurement | You can procure licenses by using the BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management workflows provides workflows. Use the BMC IT Business Management product to help manage the vendor evaluation and selection process before procurement. |
Storage of software license inventory and entitlements | You can store information about contracts and software licenses. Using license types, you can capture the rights applicable to each type of software license. BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management is installed with standard license types, including enterprise, site, and per-copy license types. However, you can configure custom license types.. |
Deployment | After an asset is received, BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management integrates with the BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management application to trigger the appropriate deployment process. |
Discovery | Typically, you populate BMC Helix CMDB by discovering deployed software and other assets. You can use the BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping (BMC Atrium Discovery) product to populate CI data. BMC Atrium CMDB provides reconciliation and normalization based on the DML and Product Catalog. The DML translates discovery scan data into normalized software titles and descriptions. This normalization enables more accurate and efficient matching of discovered software to licenses. |
Analysis of software license compliance | The License Engine links the entitlements (recorded in software licenses) with the CIs in BMC Helix CMDB. The License Engine measures compliance by using the rules for the applicable license type. If you need to create your own license types, you use a wizard to build the rules that define compliance criteria. Dashboards, alerts, and reports help you to identify and analyze compliance issues. |
Maintenance and support | You can set up maintenance schedules for your assets. Through the integration with BMC Service Support, you can view the history of incidents associated with an asset. |
Retirement and software license harvesting | When a computer goes out of service, the software license is reclaimed for future use. BMC Atrium Discovery updates the software CI in BMC Helix CMDB. The License Engine then determines that the license is available. |
Software License Management | By using Software License Management (SWLM), you can automatically link software CIs with the applicable software license certificates. |
Testing your knowledge
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Do you want to learn more?
For more information about managing CIs, see Working-with-CIs.
For more information about a sandbox dataset, see Sandbox datasets and the promotion process.
For more information about CMDB, see CMDB Orientation.
For more information about Architecture, see Architecture.