A few years ago I used to work for Fujitsu as a Field Engineer. While most days I enjoyed traveling around New South Wales to install new servers or conduct roll-outs, one of the worst jobs included conducting audits of a companies IT property. This painstaking task involved making a note of all the asset labels and barcodes on each item in the office. Now this may seem like a simple task and yes it can be if the company has less than 10 staff members. However, when conducting an audit of a company with a workforce in excess of 300, it can be a long and time consuming process.
Luckily these days I don’t have to worry about undertaking these mundane tasks, but one thing I have learnt is to add a barcode to all of the equipment in my home office. I then input this information into a database that allows me to keep track of all the equipment I own and when their leases run out. As my company grows, this kind of equipment tracking can be extremely useful when upgrading certain components or renewing new equipment.
Presently, I have a small workforce but by the year end I hope to have doubled in size. I’ve discovered that one of the most important things about running a company is to keep track of tasks, equipment and to constantly share this information. This way, people are aware of their role and how they individually contribute to the company’s success.