can you benefit from technology audit...

CAN YOU BENEFIT FROM TECHNOLOGY AUDIT AUTOMATION

White Paper Examining the necessity of conducting a technology audit and exploring cloud-based automation solutions

Can You Benefit from Technology Audit Automation3

Introduction

What is a technology audit Simply put it is the process of identifying and confirming the status and location of all of an organizationrsquos information technology assets

Why conduct technology audits There are a number of significant benefits for your school district or higher education institution

bull Assess your progress against goals and objectives set forth in your technology plan

bull Assess your technology program against national and state standards

bull Raise awareness about the successes and challenges of technology in the schools among all constituencies ndash school boards and superintendents university administrators technology directors principals and teachers department chairs and faculty students parents and community members

bull Advocate for the funding necessary to meet established goals

bull Examine the attitudes and perceptions of technology users

bull Measure user satisfaction

bull Examine student and teacher use of technology and the skill levels of all users

bull Determine whether the infrastructure meets the needs of end-users and uncover urgent priorities that need to be addressed and funded

bull Develop recommendations for improvement

bull Determine whether the investment being made in technology is really improving teaching and learning1

From Tech Readiness requirements to managing software licenses hardware and other computer assets and from capital planning to inventory audits are important Knowing what assets you have how theyrsquore used and who is using them is critical to efficient and cost-effective asset management especially when budgets are tight


Not surprisingly most respondents in a recent survey of K-12 IT professionals conduct audits for internal purposes only with 68 percent indicating they conduct annual audits and 14 percent indicating they audit their assets twice per year2

Although these numbers are positive some organizations still donrsquot conduct audits at all When comparing the numbers of respondents (6 percent) who donrsquot conduct audits at all with the number of respondents (11 percent) that do not have a software-based asset management system in place it may be simply too overwhelming to perform cost-effective audits without using a software-based asset management system Preparing for Tech Readiness BYOD and capital planning will not be an easy task without such a solution in place

School districts colleges and universities must manage all IT assets not just Windows-based PCrsquos Such assets include individual desktops notebook and tablet computers including Apple products and Linux-based computers as well as their component parts along with server computers including those running Linux Windows Server and Novell and the components used in their configuration Other hardware and accessories also need to be audited including printers networking equipment and presentation equipment such as projectors and electronic whiteboards In some cases assets such as telecommunications equipment and security systems can also be included in an IT audit

Confirming proper software licensing is also a significant part of a technology audit Examples of software assets covered in an IT audit include operating systems productivity applications such as word processors and spreadsheets databases and the data they contain security applications such as anti-virus and firewall software and other software products It is essential to ensure all installed software on every computer is licensed not only from a fiduciary stand-point but from a legal one as well Unlicensed software installations can expose your organization to expensive fines and even civil litigation Installed software which has not been licensed or approved for use by your organization can not only violate licensing agreements but can place the security of your network and your data at risk

Technology audits can address many key concerns of school technology directors A survey of IT Directors IT Managers technicians and administrative staff found that

bull 886 percent reported concern about software license compliance and would greatly benefit from an automated system

bull 857 percent required technicians or contracted help each year to spend several days conducting an audit of IT assets

bull 80 percent reported assets sometimes disappear and are gone for a while before anyone notices

bull 743 percent encountered problems with unauthorized software being installed on computers

bull 714 percent said it is difficult to plan hardware and computer replacement and upgrade programs for the next three years

TABLETS

DESKTOPPCs

PROJECTORS

COPIERS amp SCAN-

NERS

MONITORS

LAPTOPS

11

K-12 IT ASSET MANAGEMENT

Despite the proliferation of technology in schools 22 of K-12 IT professionals

surveyed do not audit annually and 11 do not have a software-based

asset management system in place


Regular technology audits can improve compliance protect assets minimize unauthorized installations and provide a blueprint for future upgrades and replacements However conducting these audits manually can impose a significant additional burden on your already thinly-stretched staff

The primary motivator to have an IT audit function is the need for assurance and internal control With huge investments in technology IT auditing can provide assurance for school and university administrators and Boards of Education that risks are being managed and if losses should occur that they will be minimized An IT audit can help your district determine whether or not it has a risk of significant downtime security threats or other vulnerabilities Regulations and compliance requirements are another key reason to regularly audit IT assets3

Challenges of manual auditsA manual audit of your IT assets conducted by in-house personnel typically requires technicians to walk through all buildings and sites finding and confirming each individual IT asset This is a very inefficient process wasting many man-hours of valuable technician time each year This inefficiency amplifies the challenges already faced by technology departments in an economic climate where they are expected to accomplish more than ever before while having fewer resources available to devote to the tasks at hand

An automated technology audit solution can save 17 minutes or more per audited device A hypothetical example offers some insight into the expense of a manual audit in a 20-school K-12 district

Technician audit expense saved Hypothetical example Manual audit in a 20-school K-12 district

TECHNICIAN AUDIT EXPENSE SAVED

$19618

Average technician annual salary = $48000

Average hourly rate (salary2080) = $2308

Devices per school = 150

AUDIT HOURS SAVED PER SCHOOL

425 X $2308 = $98090 X 20 SCHOOLS


In addition to technician salary this example does not account for the savings of lost productivity incurred when technicians are unavailable to provide service to end-users nor does it account for software license management savings which can be as much as 30 percent In K-12 school districts and higher education institu-tions engaged in 11 technology initiatives where devices are owned and main-tained by the school the potential for savings is enormous

The potential cost of human error is also significant Many organizations have been criticized or noted in previous audits as failing to meet the financial fiduciary requirements for managing and maintain assets in the IT area Automating this process using technology audit software greatly reduces the time required to enter into compliance for auditing purposes

Why use software for a technology auditIT asset management has become more complicated especially now with technology readiness requirements set forth in the new Common Core standards schools must prepare for The survey of K-12 IT professionals explored IT asset management to learn the trends in K-12 education

Fifty-four percent of respondents indicated they have a software-based IT asset management system and 15 percent are pursuing one (either developing or purchasing) Fifty-nine percent of those with an IT asset management software solution purchased it while 29 percent developed theirs in-house3

Using software to manage IT auditing offers benefits in a number of areas

AUTOMATIONThe most immediate benefit to automating your technology audit process is the amount of staff time and resources which can be devoted to other needs In fact 77 percent of the survey participants reported that their IT budget was less than needed in order to meet the overall expectations of the school board and district leaders with 41 percent stating that their budget was severely less than needed to meet expectations4 Automating your IT audits will free up significant amounts of staff time while enabling you to manage the districtrsquos IT investment effectively

SOFTWARE MANAGEMENTOrganizations have a major investment in software that should be financially managed well and must manage compliance with licensing agreements An automated technology audit solution can discover and monitor all the software on all computers within the organization then provide the tools for optimum software management

Your IT audit solution should also provide visibility into the actual use of purchased software As an example individual software applications can be monitored for frequency of use If software is not being used in the volume anticipated at the time of its original purchase future additional software license purchases may be avoided by simply removing unused software


Another benefit of an automated technology audit solution is easily maintaining software licensing compliance by automatically monitoring the actual installs against the license agreement The system should immediately notify an IT manager if and when a software license agreement violation occurs As noted earlier savings of up to 30 percent can be achieved through automated software licensing management

PROACTIVE IT SUPPORTUsing an automated technology audit solution can improve customer service Such a system can provide a help desk technician with complete visibility of the BIOS hardware and software of the IT asset without requiring a technician to be dispatched By diagnosing and resolving minor issues remotely your help desk is able to serve end-users quickly keeping them happy and productive In addition technicians are able to focus on more substantive issues and concerns instead of being diverted to fix relatively minor problems

An automated technology audit solution can also monitor the districtrsquos IT assets and warn technicians of potential issues before they become clear problems or slow down operations for users For example a rule could be established to moni-tor all hard drives and flag any hard drive that reaches a predetermined percentage of its capacity When the rule is triggered the system should automatically gener-ate an incident report and alert a technician to resolve the problem before the hard drive becomes full enough to impede the computerrsquos performance

ASSET SECURITYEffective technology audit automation software will identify all the PC hardware on the client network and then monitor it daily to assure it remains there Since some hardware is expected to be removed from the network at times such as notebook computers the system should allow for ldquosecurity tuningrdquo which simply means you determine how long an asset is removed from the network before you trigger an alarm Based upon your set security tuning the asset can be placed on a list of potentially missing equipment alerting management that action may need to be taken

The system should be able to monitor equipment down to the component level For example education clients have noted that students removing a memory module from a computer is a common problem Since the ldquoboxrdquo remains in place such a theft isnrsquot immediately apparent Your IT audit solution should be able to identify missing RAM hard drives and other components and issue a notification if system components are removed without authorization

Like shoplifting technology a strong technology audit automation solution will act primarily as a deterrent to theft but also serves as a power agent in dealing with a theft when it occurs Initial shoplifting technologies focused on generating evidence of thefts rather than deterring them As a result the number of thefts was not significantly reduced

Once those failures became apparent technology shifted to a prevention approach with the systems proudly displayed at the front door There was a drastic reduction in the number of thefts that occurred AND the technology supported


action against dealing with the thief when theft did occur A superior IT audit solution will use this approach to provide security of IT assets When users know that technology assets are continually monitored temptations are largely kept in check As a result school districts and college campuses can save as much as $80000 per year in equipment losses and theft5

NETWORK AND DATA SECURITYMany technical problems and the related costs occur as a result of unauthorized software being installed on institutionsrsquo PCrsquos An effective IT audit automation tool allows software to be blacklisted gray-listed or white-listed If someone installs unauthorized software or unapproved software an incident report is immediately generated and routed to appropriate personnel for evaluation and corrective action

In addition viruses and malware which can compromise network security are quickly identified Incident reports notify technicians promptly allowing them to take immediate action against the threat By protecting the integrity and confidentiality of your sensitive data a technology audit automation solution can yield untold savings

STRATEGIC PLANNINGEMERGING TRENDSHaving an excellent and accurate database of all PC hardware and software assets is a critical foundation for short and long-term planning Your technology audit automation should provide excellent support for planning next yearrsquos budget as well as multiyear technology plans Both short and long-term plans gain credibility when supported by high quality information about the current state of district or campus IT assets This data will also help with determining how to approach and manage the demands of emerging trends such as bring-your-own-device policies 11 computing initiatives and Common Core-driven tech readiness

Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD)A recent survey shows that in both K-12 and higher education BYOD has been widely adopted More than 85 percent of institutions surveyed allow BYOD to some extent The types of devices range from smartphones and tablets to gaming consoles and internet TV and they are increasingly being integrated into student learning Security is a key concern as questionable security practices have created network vulnerability for many creating uncertainty and constraining the benefits of BYOD6

An effective IT audit solution will allow you to monitor BYOD use on your network as well as identify sources of viruses malware network compromises and other intrusions

11 Computing InitiativesIn both higher education and K-12 educators recognize the impact on learning that technology can provide As a result initiatives which place technology into the hands of every student have grown exponentially across North America in recent years Typically this technology is mobile such as notebook and tablet computers

$80000SAVE

DISCOURAGE EQUIPMENT THEFT

School districts and college campuses can save as much as $80000 per year

in equipment losses and theft with a closely monitored asset management program


A technology audit automation solution can monitor every device owned by your district or institution Alarms can be set to notify appropriate personnel if a par-ticular device has not connected with your network within a specified time range minimizing potential losses due to theft or lost equipment

Tech Readiness and Common Core AssessmentsStretched IT departments are falling short when it comes to integrating technol-ogy into classroom instruction In a 2013 survey over 70 percent of respondents indicated they have inadequate staffing to integrate technology into the classroom and implement new technologies into their schools This percentage has remained relatively constant for the past few years but this statistic is particularly concerning in K-12 education given the changes in online assessments which K-12 districts must implement by the 2014 school year 3

Online student assessment is replacing traditional pencil-and-paper tools for measuring student achievement The development and widespread implementation of the Common Core curriculum is accelerating the pace of change and advancing the definition of technology readiness IT departments are under pressure to develop and support the technology infrastructure needed to facilitate this change

School districts will need to ensure that they can implement and administer Common Core assessments which will be delivered online Having an online system to manage IT resources simplifies the process of evaluating and determining technology needs and infrastructure upgrades needed to deliver these new online assessments For longer-term planning such a system will help facilitate planning and development of equipment refresh cycles to support future assessments

With the need to reach new technology readiness standards as part of the new common core online assessments the ability to assess and evaluate the quality quantity and location of IT assets becomes crucial A technology audit automation solution makes it possible to generate a device and systems inventory with just a few mouse clicks using a wide range of selection criteria

The Tech Readiness Tool (TRT available at wwwtechreadinessorg) supports school district efforts to plan their transition to the upcoming assessments It also assesses the districtrsquos current technology capacity and compares it to the level of capacity which will be needed to administer these assessments in four different areas

1 Devices

2 Device to tester ratio

3 Network infrastructure

4 Staff and personnel

Along with the ability to organize and manage your districtrsquos equipment and system inventory a tremendous benefit of an online IT audit system is that its data can easily be exported into the TRT The asset management system makes it possible for you to manage and track the equipment necessary for online assessments and testing and the ability to export data anytime to the TRT will allow you to monitor the progress of your tech readiness when equipment is added or replaced


How to get started with audit softwareIf yoursquore convinced that technology audit automation will benefit your district or campus you may be wondering where to begin the process of selecting the right product

Not that long ago multiple systems were required in order to get the full functionality of an IT audit automation solution Each system had a different interface information was not readily shared between systems and the total cost was very high and often prohibitive In contrast a modern IT audit system offers a comprehensive solution for IT asset management To find the best product and experience success with your automated solution follow these five steps

STEP 1 LOOK FOR A SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SAAS) SOLUTION THAT LOWERS TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP AND PERMITS MULTIPLE USERSSaaS also known as cloud-based computing has increased in popularity in recent years for several reasons Widespread high-speed connectivity lower data storage costs and the explosion in mobile computing have combined to make SaaS solutions an excellent choice for K-12 school districts colleges and universities of all sizes In fact the 2013 survey cited previously notes that 90 percent of K-12 IT professionals are familiar with SaaS an increase of 21 percent since 2010 3

While lower upfront costs are a well-known benefit of SaaS systems when that is combined with a low price the total cost of ownership makes a SaaS system a very efficient and effective investment Upgrades occur seamlessly without the need for downtime patch installation or other intervention from your IT department Without hardware to install or maintain system complexity is greatly reduced In addition the learning curve for SaaS systems is frequently much smaller compared to expensive standalone systems

Ideally your vendor should make their product available to an unlimited number of your staff This provides you with maximum flexibility in determining who will have access rather than being hemmed in by an arbitrary licensing count

STEP 2 WORK WITH VENDOR TO ENSURE ALL ASSETS AND IP ADDRESSES ARE IMPORTED INTO SOFTWARE TO AUTOMATE AND STREAMLINE AUDITSEnsure that your technology audit automation vendor can import your existing data as well as work with you to collect any asset information that may not currently be accurately tracked In addition to current asset information your vendor should collect and import any and all ranges of IP addresses used in your district or on your campuses If additional addresses are added your vendor should provide a user-friendly means for adding them to your system

The Path to Success

1 Look for a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution

2 Import all assets and IP addresses

3 Appoint an audit champion

4 Conduct audits regularly

5 Analyze results and continually improve


STEP 3 APPOINT AN AUDIT MANAGER OR CHAMPION TO MANAGE THE PROCESSFor your implementation of technology audit automation to succeed an internal project manager should serve as the liaison between your district or campus and your vendor This person should also serve as the main internal advocate for the project They must constantly raise the projectrsquos profile be a fierce supporter and continually emphasize the benefits of technology audits and the automation process to your stakeholders As the projectrsquos primary ambassador the project champion gains trust engagement and support from districtcampus administra-tion faculty and other stakeholders

To select a project champion find an administrator who will clearly and directly benefit from the implementation of technology audit automation Show your potential project champion how security tech readiness and other areas will be positively impacted by the implementation Ensure that the project champion you choose will have adequate amounts of time to devote to overseeing the process

STEP 4 CONDUCT AUDITS ON A REGULAR BASIS TO MONITOR HARDWARE SOFTWARE LICENSES AND OTHER DEVICESAfter selecting and implementing your technology audit automation solution develop a technology baseline by conducting audits in all departments These audits will establish current capacity across the district or campus and provide support when additional resources are needed Areas operating with sub-standard or outdated hardware can be quickly pinpointed and targeted as refresh strategies are developed

Audits can also determine if software is being used in accordance with district or campus licensing agreements Software usage can be monitored to identify seldom-used and heavily-used products providing data to justify increases or decreases in licensing In addition audit trails can be established for mobile devices owned by the districtuniversity as well as personal devices which individuals use to connect with the district or campus network

STEP 5 ANALYZE TIME SAVED THROUGH REPORTING FUNCTIONALITYmdashASSESS EVALUATE AND IMPROVEAfter your baseline has been established review the reports provided by your system They should offer a blueprint for areas which you can target for improve-ment Whether you are on the lookout for unlicensed software attempting to head off potential hardware problems or working to comply with regulatory requirements your IT audit management solution should provide you with reports that are easy to generate and full of actionable data

Throughout the process your vendor should be available to provide guidance and assistance They should provide help with establishing best practices and offer access to a community of users who can offer additional support


ConclusionClearly your K-12 school district college or university can benefit from technology audit automation It can eliminate the expense and errors of manual audits automatically manage your software licensing and hardware deployment improve the security of your technology investment and help you comply with applicable fiduciary regulations In todayrsquos technological and budgetary climate a technology audit automation solution is an essential element of your technology plan

ABOUT ITAMDIRECT As the leader in facilities and technology management software for education SchoolDude offers ITAMDirect a technology audit automation solution specifically created for K-12 school districts and higher education institutions By providing a technology tool that helps educational institutions meet audit requirements and expectations ITAMDirect greatly reduces the time required to comply with an audit ITAMDirect monitors the IT assets on the network and identifies issues when they occur and often before they occur As an option ITAMDirect is integrated with ITDirect so incidents can be created for tracking and reporting purposes This streamlines the total IT management process reduces administrative burden and provides for excellent record keeping and accountability

ITAMDirect and ITDirect are sold on a subscription basis which means no large and prohibitive upfront costs ndash just one low annual subscription ITAMDirect and ITDirect offer risk-free low cost management tools that outperform all comparable products on the market Learn more about ITAMDirect

ABOUT SCHOOLDUDEFounded in 1999 SchoolDude has served as the market leader in education enter-prise asset management for the past 13 years with over 1 million education professionals using our applications We deliver Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications to help both small and large institutions better manage their facilities IT and business operations We help clients save time and money by managing support services effectively and efficiently allowing institutions to provide a safe teaching and learning environment Today wersquore the 1 provider of SaaS solutions for public and private schools colleges and universities


Copyright 2013 copy 18778683833 | salesschooldudecom | wwwschooldudecom

Rev

723

13

______ FOOTNOTES

1 ldquo10 Reasons to Conduct a Technology Auditrdquo Tower J K12EduBuzzcom httpk12edubuzzcom10-reasons-to-conduct-a-technology-audit

2 ldquoThe Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in K-12 Educationrdquo SchoolDudecom httpwwwschooldudecomPortals0public percent20contentreports percent20and percent20presentationstechnology percent20managementsr-2013-it-surveypdf

3 ldquoFive Ways that an IT Audit Adds Valuerdquo Abelow S Yahoo Voices httpvoicesyahoocomfive-ways-audit-adds-value-7567404html

4 ldquoThe Unique Challenges Facing the IT Professional in K-12 Educationrdquo SchoolDude amp The Consortium for School Networking 2013 httpwwwschooldudecom Portals0Public percent20ContentReports percent20and percent20PresentationsTechnology percent20Managementsr-2013-it-surveypdf

5 ldquoThe Cost of a Lost Laptoprdquo Ponemon Institute 42209

6 ldquoBYOD in Education New Survey Reveals Widespread Use and Some Security Surprisesrdquo Godfrey J httpwwwbradfordnetworkscombyod-in-education-new-survey-reveals-widespread-use-and-some-security-surprises


Introduction

What is a technology audit Simply put it is the process of identifying and confirming the status and location of all of an organizationrsquos information technology assets

Why conduct technology audits There are a number of significant benefits for your school district or higher education institution

bull Assess your progress against goals and objectives set forth in your technology plan

bull Assess your technology program against national and state standards

bull Raise awareness about the successes and challenges of technology in the schools among all constituencies ndash school boards and superintendents university administrators technology directors principals and teachers department chairs and faculty students parents and community members

bull Advocate for the funding necessary to meet established goals

bull Examine the attitudes and perceptions of technology users

bull Measure user satisfaction

bull Examine student and teacher use of technology and the skill levels of all users

bull Determine whether the infrastructure meets the needs of end-users and uncover urgent priorities that need to be addressed and funded

bull Develop recommendations for improvement

bull Determine whether the investment being made in technology is really improving teaching and learning1

From Tech Readiness requirements to managing software licenses hardware and other computer assets and from capital planning to inventory audits are important Knowing what assets you have how theyrsquore used and who is using them is critical to efficient and cost-effective asset management especially when budgets are tight












TABLETS

DESKTOPPCs

PROJECTORS

COPIERS amp SCAN-

NERS

MONITORS

LAPTOPS

11












$19618





425 X $2308 = $98090 X 20 SCHOOLS


























$80000SAVE











1 Devices












The Path to Success




















Rev

723

13

______ FOOTNOTES


















TABLETS

DESKTOPPCs

PROJECTORS

COPIERS amp SCAN-

NERS

MONITORS

LAPTOPS

11












$19618





425 X $2308 = $98090 X 20 SCHOOLS


























$80000SAVE











1 Devices












The Path to Success




















Rev

723

13

______ FOOTNOTES














$19618





425 X $2308 = $98090 X 20 SCHOOLS


























$80000SAVE











1 Devices












The Path to Success




















Rev

723

13

______ FOOTNOTES
































$80000SAVE











1 Devices












The Path to Success




















Rev

723

13

______ FOOTNOTES














1 Devices












The Path to Success




















Rev

723

13

______ FOOTNOTES














The Path to Success




















Rev

723

13

______ FOOTNOTES





















Rev

723

13

______ FOOTNOTES







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