Get Started with Multi-User Audits within AssetTrack for ServiceNow

Now available to existing AMI customers, AssetTrack for ServiceNow 3.0 delivers many new capabilities, including the first-of-its-kind multi-user audit function.

Multi-user audits are a giant leap forward in data collection. Instead of a single field tech laboriously scanning every piece of equipment in a stockroom, data center, warehouse or other location, teams can divide up the work, scanning as a team, and uploading scans automatically. So, it’s much faster and easier. With no limit on how many employees can participate, it’s perfect for large-scale audits. 

Multi-User Advantages

This capability gives asset managers and field technicians more flexibility and on-the-spot information, increases productivity and makes it easier to carry out regular audits. More frequent audits help ITAM teams uncover trends or gaps so you can improve and then maintain a very high level of accuracy for better compliance and security.

With AssetTrack for ServiceNow’s multi-user audits:

• Field techs can audit at the same time or at different times.
• Field techs can use any scanning devices, including handheld barcode and RFID readers and smartphones. 
• If they work simultaneously, field techs receive real-time data on their smartphones updating the entire project’s status, not just their data. Everyone working on the project can see which instances are still open and access ongoing results – how much scanning remains, missing, unexpected and newly discovered assets. 
• Field techs can start their part of the audit, stop, then pick up where they left off without any overlap or duplication because the multi-user function ties all scanning together. 
• Because data uploads in real time, asset managers can monitor auditing to answer questions, spot missing scans and resolve issues, also in real time.
• When field techs finish scanning, they notify the asset manager. When all auditors confirm they have completed scanning, the asset manager closes the audit. 

Backward compatible

If you have a single-user audit in process, no need to worry. Multi-user audit does not break any existing single-user audit operations underway. In fact, multi-user audit takes advantage of standard AssetTrack audit forms, so users will be instantly familiar with how to use the new system.

Six Steps for Conducting Multi-User Audits

1. Determine your audit requirements. 

You need to consider:

• Compliance requirements – Are there explicit metrics that must be achieved by your auditors? What levels of accuracy are required for the business to make effective decisions? 
• What you need to track – end user computing, data center, network, facilities, fleets or other asset categories can carry different data field requirements.
• Where you need to track it – stockrooms, data centers, campus locations, retail locations, home offices, and other areas can require different data collection technology
• Over which time period – every three months, six months or other frequency to maintain compliance and confidence.

The goal in setting these parameters is to track data accuracy for each essential asset category at each location over time, in a way that satisfies internal or external audit requirements.

2. Assign field users and teams. Determine the groups and/or users you will need to capture your audit data. 

3. Start the audit. Initiate the audit manually or via a schedule.

4. Carry out the audit. Team up on audit scanning with groups of users who can pop in and out of data collection efforts at any time.

5. Close the audit and get results. When an audit instance is closed, the software automatically merges data from the various users. The audit results, including calculated accuracy percentages, user activity and exceptions are logged.

6. Analyze the trends. AssetTrack records audit accuracy trends over time, enabling asset managers to report confidence in asset data to the business, to get alerts when certain audit thresholds are missed and identify locations that need more assistance and training in asset tracking. Proactive awareness of declining asset accuracy at a specific location, and progress made toward greater accuracy, are key to maintaining confidence in hardware asset data. 

We’d love to help you capitalize on multi-user audits. Please contact us at [email protected]. And in our news section of the newsletter, please check out the press release describing more new features in AssetTrack for ServiceNow 3.0. 

Would you like to learn more?  Contact Us