Case Study - New Mexico Department of Health
Cloud based Software Asset Management with Integrated Asset and Service Management
Network Discovery and IT Asset Management for over 15,000 Assets State-Wide

New Mexico Department of Health

In late 2007 the New Mexico Department of Health determined that it had a need for a comprehensive automated IT asset management (ITAM) system, capable of working in a network of consisting of approximately 15,000 computing assets and 1500 licensed software titles. The state’s primary requirement was that the system be fast and light, utilizing low network bandwidth in the discovery process and the ability to quickly discover the assets across a large network. The system had to discover computers, workstations, software, printers, switches, hubs and other networked hardware. The selected solution also had to have the capability to accept manually entered non-networked assets. Reports needed to provide a holistic view of all IT assets, and meet established reporting requirements.

The New Mexico Department of Health initially performed a software evaluation using a well known on-premise ITAM solution, which required agents be installed on each device. After a preliminary trial the state determined that the software agents caused problems across the network. In addition, the agents negatively impacted the performance of the devices upon which they were installed, disrupting daily end-user operations.

Consequently, the New Mexico Department of Health returned to the market place in search of a solution that met the earlier stated criteria, and which also required no installed agents and which enabled the help desk users to quickly rediscover a single computing device to help resolve end-user or server issues. In addition, the NMDOH required that the tool generate a series of predefined management reports.

High Security in Hospitals

Key System Requirements

The predefined management reports were to include:

  • Management reports following a New Mexico
  • Department of Health -established format
  • Computers with antivirus software missing or not
  • functioning
  • Computers not patching correctly
  • Computer assets with minimum specifications
  • Proactive detection of computers low on disk space

After a comprehensive evaluation of several solutions, New Mexico Department of Health selected the xAssets hosted Discovery Service for implementation across its network. xAssets offered the state a free 3 month trial of the service, during which the state was able to discover the entire network and develop a complete inventory of the networked assets. The solution met all of the state’s key requirements, plus all of the desired functionality. xAssets enabled the state to infer the location of an asset from its IP address, insuring that assets are correctly assigned to the correct location. In addition, the xAssets service provided the NMDOH with flexibility in its licensing, permitting any growth of the asset base over a 3 year period without renegotiating the license or paying additional fees. Finally, xAssets enabled the state to perform a complete, ongoing software inventory, as well as discovery of all printers, whether they were networked of locally connected.

Engaging the xAssets service also assisted the New Mexico Department of Health in its annual IT budgeting. Instead of paying a significant one-time software license fee which would be due in full upon acceptance, and an annual maintenance fee, the state pays a manageable annual fee for each year the service is in use. It also avoids the overhead costs necessary in operating a complex software tool in-house.

Currently, the xAssets service is an integral component of the New Mexico Department of Health IT operations, and is routinely used to augment the help desk operation, track installations, moves, adds and changes, manage software and hardware configurations and to provide data for new purchasing

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