Inventory Management

In fact, system administrators spend most work time doing exactly this - walking. When there is a problem, it usually takes about half an hour to solve (reinstall software, update drivers, change software configuration, manage inventory). When a helpdesk person is away doing computer inventory management, other users can't get any help and the system administrator himself (or herself) has very little time to devote to real hardware inventory management and development. Some companies are blessed with PC-proficient users only, but I know of no system administrator who ever worked in one.

Fact is that most of the "problems" can be easily solved by users themselves because they require neither advanced knowledge nor presence of a system administrator. If only basic information like PC configuration, OS, software installed was available, system administrator would be able to give detailed instructions over the phone. While some walking would still have to be done, this approach works very well. Once people solve issues on their own, they don't ask system administrators for help when these or similar issues come up again. More over, they can help their colleagues as well. Plus, if there is a well-written inventory management software (it could be e-mailed when needed), users can solve a variety of "problems" without distracting system administrators.

Some lucky system administrators who implemented this approach now do only 1/3 walking they used to do. Most problems are solved in less then 15 minutes. A 1000-PC network requires inventory management software, 2 system administrators and 2 helpdesk persons who are less qualified to run. The key to this small IT miracle is to manage inventory, having information on every piece of network equipment, hardware and software included. This information has to be readily available to do IT computer inventory management.