ABSTRACT
The term asset management is used to describe, in general, the method of accounting for the goods, techniques, and know-how in a company's competitive arsenal. Here, the term cost is used in the broad sense: it encompasses the so-called fully loaded or total cost of ownership models that look not just to the initial outlay but to the cost over the life of the asset. For those organizations with proprietary systems, there are three key questions: A frequent occurrence in IT management is the failure to assign stable employee or department ownership of critical proprietary systems. To date, every vendor lease agreement the author has reviewed has been draconian. Here again, it is important to remain alert: these claims are accurate for only a handful of vendors. Every effective asset management project begins with a process for controlling the assets. Critical success factors include a robust process, management ownership, and full executive support.
