Information Technology Asset Management and Banking

Information technology assets management is of great significance to banking and finance, an industry that has embraced technological innovation to adapt to evolving consumer expectations. In an article entitled “10 Technologies That Will Disrupt Financial Services In The Next 5 Years,” Jim Marous, Co-Publisher of The Financial Brand and Owner/Publisher of the Digital Banking Report, stated that “many of the new technologies that are threatening the banking industry also present significant opportunities. Those organizations that leverage big data, advanced analytics, and new technologies to improve the customer experience can build trust, loyalty, and revenues that are keys to success in the future.”

Emerging technologies, Marous added, are more customer-centric, efficient, intelligent, secure, and targeted, which will help banks and financial institutions better anticipate and address marketplace needs – and become more competitive. Those technologies include everything from smart machines and quantum computing, to augmented and virtual reality, blockchain, robotic process automation, and artificial intelligence.

Why Information Technology Asset Management Matters

With this greater adoption of technology assets comes the need for accurate and efficient information technology asset management. Not only can such practices help banks and financial institutions better track and maintain their critical IT assets. A formal IT asset management platform enables these organizations to meet regulatory requirements, maximize the useful lifespan of their IT investment, eliminate duplication and waste along with loss and theft, and make more informed and confident budgetary decisions.

So what are the risks associated with the failure to adopt a comprehensive information technology asset management system? Leaders from the banking and finance industry weighed in on this very topic for InformationWeek in 2006, and although the interview is now 13 years old, their insight remains highly relevant today. Anthony Iannetta, Partner at Evergreen Systems, said that risks for banks with poor asset management include unreliable inventory records, underutilization of assets, costly physical inventories, and less than optimal procurement processes. Perhaps the biggest risk facing these organizations, however, is the “failure of internal and external audits due to the inability to demonstrate control of IT assets,” he said.

Peter O’Neill, the Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, added that bank executives, shareholders, and regulatory organizations, all require an accurate record of all IT assets for financial controlling, information security, and compliance reasons. Without a formal and accurate means of information technology asset management, guesswork and mistakes are sure to follow. Banks and financial institutions that implement a formal information technology asset management system will almost certainly gain invaluable transparency into their fixed assets and inventory – from the items’ location and value, to their condition and maintenance histories. They also save money by eliminating redundancy, keeping up with routine preventive maintenance on their IT assets, and having the ability to track down assets within seconds.

Asset Panda’s mobile information technology asset management system is the most powerful in the world. Powered by an intuitive app that syncs with the cloud, Asset Panda gives banks and financial institutions a hassle-free way to track their IT assets any way they want with customizable features, unlimited users and easy data import and export, plus simple integration with legacy systems. A built-in barcode scanner eliminates the need for additional hardware or software. All you need to track and manage the complete lifecycle of your information technology assets is the smartphone or tablet you already carry.