Many managers have many unanswered questions about their networks.  They complain that they are working in the dark, making decisions based on limited and sometime out of date information.

But, how good is your IT intelligence?  More specifically how detailed and accurate is the information you receive regarding the software and hardware on your company’s network?

Well, before you answer take the quiz below. For each question that you can confidently answer give yourself one point.

1.  ‘How many’ questions:

o How many laptops, PCs and network devices are deployed?
o Where are they located, or being used?
o How many of each type are in use?
o How many devices are surplus to requirements, or can be re-deployed?
o How do actual numbers compare with inventory estimates?

2. Licensing questions:
o What software is installed?
o What software is not being used?
o What licences are unnecessary?
o What software is unlicensed, or under-licensed?
o What software is being downloaded by users?

3. Cost questions:
o How many licenses do we need to purchase for our global agreement with Microsoft/Symantec/etc?
o Are we paying support for more machines that we are using?
o Are we paying leases on any machines that have been retired?
o Are we buying new machines when old ones can be re-deployed?
o Is the book value of IT assets appropriate?
o What levels of deprecation are appropriate?

4. Performance questions:
o Which PCs, or servers are good candidates for virtualization?
o What machines need to be upgraded, or retired?
o What hard disks are reaching capacity?

5. Security & Compliance questions:
o Which machines do not conform to desktop standards?
o Are all of our laptops running encryption software?
o Have all windows security patches been installed?
o Which machines have out of date virus software?
o How many hand-held devices are deployed on the network? Are they secure?
o What MP3 or other files are being down-loaded?
o Are there any trojans or other viruses on machines?

6. Support questions:
o What is the state and status of the PC for a help desk caller?
o Which machines are struggling to run newer and larger applications?
o What unsupported software is on the network?
o Are we paying for support on any software, or hardware that is not in use?

7. Green questions:
o What machines are operating and consuming power?
o What machines are inefficient power-wise and out of date?
o Which machines are active, but not in use?
o What machines can be virtualised?
o What machines can and should be powered off at night, or at weekends?
o What energy management settings are in place?
o What machines are ready to be recycled?
o What machines can be re-deployed?

8. Organisational Questions

o  If your company merged with another company tomorrow, how quickly can you complete a full audit of their network?
o  Are some parts of your network, departments, or divisions less compliant than others?

So, what is your organisation’s score for IT intelligence. Count up all the points you got (one for each of the questions that you confidently answer yes to).

The maximum number of points is 40. Here is how your score stands up: 30-40   Top of the class 20-30 Middle of the class 10-20 Bottom of the class 0 – 10 Flunking out.

However, it is not just about stars on a copy book, how good your organisation’s IT intelligence is a major determinant of cost, risk and compliance.  In particular, with most IT inventories being out by up to 20%, costs can be out by every bit as much.

Want to improve your score?

Need faster and more accurate IT intelligence?  iQuate network audit and monitoring tools are the answer.

Our tools enables organisations to discover, scan and track all PCs, software and devices in real time, pin-pointing; licensing, utilisation, compliance and other issues.