Overview of key functions

HOW DOES CASM WORK WITH CONTRACT MANAGEMENT?

At the root of CASM’s functionality is contract management. CASM puts you in control by linking all contracts with their assets, working as a central repository for all contractual paperwork, including the original/ master contracts and subsequent addendums. This simplifies the entire contract management process in the following ways:

  • The linking of contract addendums to assets verifies that the assets are still in your organisation’s possession and your company is not paying rentals on assets that are no longer in use or not on site.
  • You can align costs related to each asset and it’s lease contract and thereby eliminate being billed for ghost assets or maintaining evergreen contracts relating to assets no longer in use.
  • You can validate and streamline the billing process by ensuring the contracts you are paying for are directly related to functioning assets – this is especially critical in organisations with many branches across multiple locations.

HOW DOES CASM WORKS WITH NETWORK ASSETS?

In order to understand the relationship between costs and operations, it is essential your business is able to track all the assets connected to your network including laptops, PCs, video cameras, phones, security cameras etc. These network assets need to be tracked across offices, branches and off-site locations. Their lifecycle and maintenance status needs to be constantly monitored.

In addition, hardware and software upgrades need to be performed in a timely manner and all relevant data needs to be updated in real-time. This is all possible with the CASM Site Manager, which currently provides two advanced software tools to help manage and track your network assets. These tools are:

1. PRINTER DISCOVERY
2. PC AGENT

1. PRINTER DISCOVERY

The CASM Site Manager module discovers all printers and electronic assets (eg switches and desktops) on the network and centrally managers the status and maintenance schedule of them.

The Printer Discovery tool sync’s (at a specified pre-defined time) to the cloud to perform scheduled services including:

  • Scan subnets for new printers;
  • Query printers for information eg
    – Life counts
    – Consumable levels
  • Generate alerts for consumables eg toner levels
  • Generate technical reports specific to printer information including:
    – Utilisation reports
    – Meter reading reports
    – Consumable reports
PRINTER DISCOVERY
CASM | Printer Discovery

2. PC AGENT

PC Agent is installed on all windows workstations whether they are PCs or laptops. PC Agent works like a detective, tracking and reporting on these machines. The data is logged on the central CASM site so your IT team is kept updated on all aspects of these physical network assets. PC Agent is used to track:

  • Information regarding the PC/laptop’s hardware and software;
  • Where the machine is currently being used via geo tracking;
  • Alerts if the device does not report back at a specified (pre-established) time;
  • If any hardware or software has been added or removed from the machine.
Hardware that is monitored includes:
  • Hard drive information
  • CPU information
  • Processor information
Software that is monitored includes:
  • Product name and version
  • OS installed
PC AGENT INFORMATION

CASM is scalable and secure, allowing for unlimited users, roles, locations, actions, permissions and customisable fields, or reporting requirements. It’s not just a flat, one-dimensional system limited to bar coding. It keeps your asset data live in real-time.

HOW DOES CASM WORK WITH FIXED ASSETS?

Fixed assets (also called physical assets) can be office furniture, computer monitors, machinery or real estate. CASM identifies fixed assets as assets that cannot be automatically detected by the networked tools of CASM’s Site Manager. All fixed assets must be registered in the CASM solution within relevant categories and with identifying meta data details.

The fixed assets are grouped into categories and each category has its own measurable fields, which can be tracked and analysed. A category could be something like video cameras, desktops or tables. You can add custom fields to each category (eg video cameras or security video cameras) as well as Alert Notifications to email assigned users that certain tasks need to be completed or that a dead lined action has not been met.

CREATING META DATA

When you create meta data, remember you are recording all the necessary information needed to identify, track and assess each asset – for example:

  • Location
  • Serial number
  • Contact person
  • Insured or not
  • Financed
  • Purchase and depreciation information
  • Categories
  • Supplier and manufacturer

Assets are tagged with a unique barcode that is then registered and associated with relevant categories and meta data for identification and tracking. The barcoded asset can be captured in CASM through the mobile app, manually, or in bulk (eg through a spreadsheet).

HOW CASM REPORTING WORKS

CASM reports allow you to manage business expectations and get status and relevant data on your assets. Detailed or summary views are designed to provide either a quick snapshot or a thorough transaction view of the assets.

By understanding your company’s asset demands through reporting data, you are able to setup alerts and notifications to improve asset lifecycle management.

REPORTING DETAILS ARE COVERED BY:
  • ASSET REPORTS on the location and status of all your assets;
  • CONTRACT REPORTS will identify the best asset renewal or replacement terms and establish the best contractor for the job – helping to reduce maintenance costs;
  • FINANCIAL REPORTS deliver business critical KPIs to improve decision making based on total cost of ownership and depreciation data;
  • OPERATIONAL REPORTS can be generated with a full audit trail on any asset or user in the system.
  • TECHNICAL REPORTS which query the status of your software assets including networked printers and laptops. Get real-time reports on billing information, toner status and general utilisation in order to optimise and reduce operating costs.
  • TASK REPORTS report on all aspects relating to the asset’s maintenance and usage.
  • FINANCIAL REPORTS will cover off depreciation elements and total cost of ownership for all your assets.
CUSTOMISABLE AND TAILOR-MADE

Customise your reports simply and easily by pivoting information, moving fields and columns, adding filters and grouping data to ensure your reports reflect your workflows.

If a specialised report is required, CASM can incorporate standard and customised reporting and forecasting templates, to allow for the quick access and extraction of data.

IF YOU NEED TO DRIVE AND IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCIES OF YOUR ASSETS, CONTACT THE CASM TEAM TO SEE HOW WE CAN HELP YOU.