Computer accounting: what, where, when?

Each enterprise sooner or later faces the need to inventory computers and other equipment that this enterprise has and that provides its work. Automation of computer accounting in the network is achieved through the use of professional specialized software. But since today the market is literally filled with software of different functionality and different price categories, managers find themselves in a difficult position of choice between dozens of proposed solutions. We hope this article will help you make the right choice.

First of all, the computer accounting program should be able to answer three questions: What? Where? When? In other words, the system administrator should know what equipment the enterprise has, where it is located and what is happening to it.

1. "What?": The program should be able to automatically receive information about the number of computers installed in the enterprise and their composition with the ability to determine the serial numbers of hardware components and license numbers of all programs installed on client computers.

2. "Where?": The accounting program should allow the system administrator to split the list of computers in the organization into groups , for example, depending on their location. This function is especially relevant in large companies with complex network architecture and a lot of offices and branches.

3. "When?": The computer accounting program should be able to correctly manage the history of every detail or program available on the network . Whether there was a replacement of one memory bar for another, whether two places were moved in places , whether the anti-virus was updated in time - all changes should be recorded and logged. And since computer equipment is prone to frequent replacement, this function is relevant for companies of any type and scale.

These are the three main aspects that you need to pay attention to when choosing a computer accounting program in the enterprise. In addition, there are several other functions that will be very useful in enterprises of any scale.

First, it is the ability to generate reports quickly and in different formats (.doc, html, xls, pdf, csv, xml, txt ...). Reports are the main tool of the IT manager. The lack of the ability to independently sort the collected data and quickly generate convenient reports can cross out all the advantages of the program.

Secondly, the interface plays an important role. You should clearly understand that you have to work with this program, so it must be intuitive and user-friendly for you. The program should provide the fastest access to the necessary information about the parameters of devices.

Thirdly, it is important for the system administrator to know, not only what programs are installed on each of the user computers, but also to monitor the availability of licenses for the software used by the employees. This helps to kill two birds with one stone: it allows you to update licenses for already purchased software in time and helps prevent the use of unlicensed or hacked software, which, according to Article 146 of the Criminal Code, is punishable by law. Here it should be noted that each of the items in the software list must be confirmed by the relevant payment documents confirming the right to use it. The documentation should be ready to be provided at any time.

Approach to the problem of choosing a computer accounting program in the organization's network needs to be carefully and deliberately, weighing all the pros and cons. Only in this case you will get a tool that optimally solves your problems.