IT Portfolio Management Step-by-Step: Unlocking the Business Value of Technology

4.4. IT ASSET PORTFOLIO

Overview

The IT asset portfolio consists of investments that already reside within a company. The four primary elements of the IT asset portfolio shown in Exhibit 4.16 are:

• Information and data: customer data, product catalogs, corporate and business unit data, and so on.

• Infrastructure and applications: servers, storage, networks, desktops, phones, operating systems, databases, and middleware. Applications include commercial off-the-shelf (e.g., supply chain, ERP, CRM, etc.) and custom-developed applications (e.g., patents). Also includes help desk, data and command centers.

• Human capital: IT staff, knowledge, skill sets, relationship management, human resource processes (recruiting, training, career development, compensation, resource allocation).

  Figure 4.16. IT ASSET PORTFOLIO

  

• Processes: work flow, business process management, network and system automation, process definitions and flows.

Creating an IT asset portfolio is dependent on developing a clear picture of the current as-is asset topology and architectural views, comparing these against a to-be desired future state, and identifying and prioritizing the associated gaps. Many companies lack detailed views related to both the as-is and to-be states, which will drive costs higher and promote duplication and tremendous inefficiencies. It should not be a surprise that costs to maintain existing infrastructure ...