The software helps administrators manage assets through growth and consolidation.
Managing contracts, controlling hardware and software costs and optimizing IT assets to meet organizational requirements constitute critical chores for IT professionals. Symantec's Altiris Asset Management Suite 7.1 aims to remove the hassle from IT asset management by giving enterprises the detailed information they need to make smart, informed decisions. Such tools are a necessity in today's cost-conscious workplace.
Altiris Asset Management Suite (AMS) culls data from Symantec's Client Management Suite (CMS) and Server Management Suite (SMS). AMS also integrates with similar Microsoft discovery tools so IT departments can tap installed investments.
AMS's user interface logically divides hardware and software. An application metering capability provides insight into which applications have been installed, which have been paid for and which are being used. Such information makes this a real cost-cutting tool for IT.
Administrators can calculate total cost of ownership by factoring in discoverable data such as purchase costs, monthly maintenance fees or chargeback costs. It's possible to customize AMS to include fields specific to an organization and also add non-discoverable information to an asset, such as an additional cost center.
It's also possible to designate who may view asset information by groups, which proves useful for security. For example, IT staff can limit asset visibility of a branch office to authorized people in that office.