Asset Management concept
As an asset administrator, you can manage the lifecycle of any configuration item (CI) in the BMC Configuration Management Database (CMDB). You can populate asset data from multiple sources, such as BMC Helix Discovery and data integration tools, by manually receiving assets through the Receiving module or the Smart it mobile app, creating the asset records, or through external data sources. BMC Helix CMDB normalization and reconciliation procedures ensure that asset data is not duplicated in the database.
The following image depicts a high-level flow of data in your asset management process:
Data providers, such as discovery applications, put data into BMC Helix CMDB, where it is partitioned into separate datasets. This data is then brought together into a consolidated production dataset that you use as the single, reliable source of reference for your IT environment. Consuming applications, such as BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management, BMC Service Level Management, applications represented in Business Service Management, and more, use the data in the production dataset.
Discovery applications discover CI data and store the data in an internal database, which can then be populated into BMC Helix CMDB. These applications discover data on a regular basis, such as when new hardware or software is installed or uninstalled, and as updates happen in the company's environment. You must set up the required filters at the discovery level itself so that only necessary data is populated in the CMDB when data is discovered.
Software asset management
Organizations can acquire software in different ways. Software can be built for a specific purpose within the company. Software can be purchased from a software vendor or outsourcer. Software can be acquired through an acquisition or merger between companies, or between departments within a single company.
Software asset management is a core component of an overall asset management policy. IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) in the Software Asset Management Book defines software asset management as "all of the infrastructure and processes necessary for the effective management, control and protection of the software assets within an organization, throughout all stages of their lifecycle."
ITIL indicates that the following processes make up the holistic approach to software asset management:
- Overall management processes — The management processes surrounding the other software assets management processes. The overall management processes are related to change management.
- Core asset management processes — Identification of software assets, including maintaining this information in BMC Helix CMDB.
- Logistic processes — Control of the software asset lifecycle. These processes include procurement, deployment, and end of life.
- Verification and compliance processes — Verification and compliance of software asset management policies and procedures.
- Relationship management processes — Software contract management.
Standard configuration
The Standard configurations functionality is integrated with the BMC Change Management application to facilitate the procurement process. The standard configuration compares what is available in the inventory to determine which items are available and which items need to be procured. The standard configurations define what type of software or hardware a particular group is entitled to. The configurations are stored in the Configuration form. This form has a header component that describes the configuration and a line item component that describes each of the components (hardware or software) that make up this standard configuration.
For more information on product and operations catalogs, see Configuring product and operational catalogs.
Configuration management
In BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management, Configuration Management consists of processes that ensure CIs are available when BMC Helix ITSM: Change Management requires CIs. If CIs are not available, request new CIs. For acquiring new CIs, you can create new or use existing contracts with the suppliers. Configuration management also consists of processes to ensure that the supplier and the contract information is updated.
The following figure shows the configuration management process flow:
Sequence | Process | Reference |
|---|---|---|
1. CI Requisition | Configuration administrators, purchasing agents, and approvers order new CIs. Purchasing agents use the Requisition Console from Mid Tier interface to create requisitions for assets, submit them for approval, and generate purchase orders.
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2. CI Registration | Configuration administrators and purchasing agents register when they create new CIs. A user with Asset Admin permissions can directly create assets. | |
3. CI Update | Configuration administrators update the attributes or relations of the existing CIs by using the Asset Action feature to perform routine and repetitive tasks with just a few clicks. | |
4. Contract Administration | Configuration administrator when they create new contracts or update the existing contracts. |
Configuration catalog
Use the configuration catalog in BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management to set up and manage approved configurations in your company.
Federated data
Federated data is data stored outside BMC Helix CMDB but linked to configuration items (CIs), so that it is accessible through BMC Helix CMDB. A few examples of information that can be federated are invoices, purchase orders, and printer maintenance records. By federating non-essential data, you can improve the efficiency of CMDB and make maintenance easier. To learn more about federated data, see Federated data.
Federated data enables the BMC Helix CMDB and asset management tools to work closely. BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management supplements CI records in the BMC Helix CMDB with federated data about asset lifecycle management data and functionality. You can build your organization's asset data on the foundation of a completely reconciled and normalized production dataset of CI information, even when multiple data sources (like Discovery tools, or manual addition of records) are involved.
Datasets in configuration management
A dataset is a collection of CI information for a specific data source. BMC Helix CMDB and BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management provide a control mechanism that appear in the form of CMDB datasets. Separating the data into different datasets (sandbox and production datasets) based on the source of that data provides governance of the data that is available in the production dataset. By default, BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management is configured to use a sandbox dataset (BMC.ASSET.SANDBOX). This effectively causes BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management to read from the Production Dataset (BMC.ASSET) and write to the Asset Management Sandbox.
Reconciliation Engine in datasets
The Reconciliation Engine determines which modified attributes should be modified in the production data. When a user modifies data, the data flows through the sandbox dataset, and then through the Reconciliation Engine. An administrator defines what sources of updates have the most appropriate (trusted) information to load into the production dataset. The administrator can also decide to disable the sandbox dataset.
Reports
BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Managementprovides various predefined reports to give you quick and easy access to information about your system. Use the Report console to generate these reports. If the predefined reports return more information than you need, you can manage the scope of the report by using qualifications. For more information, see Using reports and flashboards.
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Learn more
Configuring reconciliation in BMC Helix ITSM: Asset Management | |
|---|---|
Reconciliation status | |
How asset information is updated in the datasets when you create an asset | |
Managing CIs | |
Sandbox dataset | Promoting changes from a Sandbox dataset to production |