IT asset management has bedeviled CIOs and CFOs for years. The infamous “black box” of IT spending has kept most CFOs and CIOs from truly understanding what their technology budgets buy.

From a technology perspective, tracking IT assets should not be that difficult.

Network monitoring and cybersecurity tools can tell when a device connects or disconnects from a corporate network. Software vendors can uncover the total number of licenses in use, and automated asset discovery tools can scan for equipment unseen by IT.

If the use of personal devices is prohibited, all of these efforts are made that much easier since every purchase should go through procurement or the accounting department. And, if a CIO lacks the in-house resources, most of these services can be obtained through a managed service provider.

For Rob Zahn, CIO of AAA of Ohio — who manages a small data center and over 500 corporate-owned devices spread out over 34 regional offices plus a fleet of service vehicles — all of these approaches apply, as well as using standard images on new machines and conducting yearly security audits.

When Microsoft Windows NT was still around, the first version of which was released in 1993, AAA of Ohio conducted an audit looking for deployments of the operating system. “We thought, ‘Nah, we don’t have any NT PCs or anything around’,” he said. “And sure enough, after Microsoft did that first scan, we found an NT PC.”

There is no certainty, “but I feel very good about where we are at and what our assets are and how we track them,” he said.

Not all CIOs are in as good a position as Zahn, said Sandi Conrad, an infrastructure and operations analyst at Info-Tech Research Group. Just 64% of respondents have effective asset management programs in place, based on a InfoTech survey slated set for publication later this quarter.

Managing a complex IT environment very challenging, even before becoming involved in an external software audit from a software publisher or a third-party auditing entity. Businesses facing VMWare audits in particular should be prepared to take a number of steps to ensure compliance and avoid exacerbating any potential copyright infringement claims.