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Inventory Manager
Overview

See and Understand the State of Frontline Assets

When you first deployed those frontline devices, you knew how many you had, where they were located, and which applications had been installed. But time has gone by. Now, some of those devices are not where they are supposed to be, and some aren’t being used at all. Some are lost; some have been stolen. It’s difficult to know the exact status of all those frontline systems, all the time. But Afaria Inventory Manager makes this task manageable, by allowing you to scan and capture detailed hardware and software asset information from frontline systems and devices, like laptops, point of sale systems, and handhelds. It gives you the functionality needed to:

  • Maintain accurate inventory records: In any given month, how many devices go missing? How many users change devices? How many applications are added, or deleted? With Inventory Manager, you’ll know what hardware and software is deployed in the field.

  • Monitor device state: With Inventory Manager, you’ll know precisely which applications have been installed on devices; details about the status of the hardware itself (such as the amount of hard disk space or memory left); and whether or not the devices are being used at all. Inventory Manager can alert HQ staff to system changes, such as whether an unauthorized application has been installed. Inventory Manager provides a snapshot of each device’s systems file and directory structure.

  • Update applications with targeted deployments: Inventory Manager works with Software Manager to create targeted software deployments based on inventory attributes. For example, you could use Inventory Manager to find all the Windows XP laptops running Microsoft Office 2003, resulting in a group of specific laptops in need of an update.

  • Provide fast assistance to frontline employees with hardware or software problems: When frontline employees call the help desk with questions about their devices, help desk employees can easily access a snapshot of a device’s systems file and directory structure to spot file or directory problems without involving the user.

  • Guarantee that corporate security policies and procedures aren’t compromised when devices are lost or stolen: The audit trail provided by Inventory Manager lets you ensure that the device is password protected and loaded with the appropriate security software.

  • Find and lock down lost devices: As soon as a user reports a lost device, Inventory Manager provides the information necessary to implement a device lockdown channel. This can disable the device from connecting to central systems in the future and automatically wipe the data from the device if necessary for security purposes. Scans can also be performed on a scheduled basis, using a scan engine that leverages Desktop Management Interface (DMI) or Windows® Management Instrumentation (WMI) Standards. Information gained can help reunite users with misplaced devices. Scans can also be performed on a scheduled basis, using a scan engine that leverages Desktop Management Interface (DMI) or Windows® Management Instrumentation (WMI) Standards. Information gained can help reunite users with misplaced devices.

This detailed asset management data is centrally stored in an Afaria SQL Anywhere database, Oracle database, or Microsoft SQL Server database for easy access and reporting, both via standard reports provided with Afaria and via third party tools such as Crystal Reports. In addition, Inventory Manager can integrate with Microsoft® Systems Management Server (SMS). Frontline hardware and software inventory information can be included in the SMS database and can be viewed through the SMS Resource Explorer.

Inventory Manager makes it easy to see what is happening— from a hardware, software and usage perspective—with systems on the front lines.