Computrace Provides a Powerful, Cost-Effective Solution for Val Verde USD
As part of its commitment to an enriched education environment, Val Verde USD provides mobile and desktop computers to its staff and students. The school’s basic auditing program limited the District’s ability to accurately audit its computer inventory, while at the same time challenging IT to effectively plan for hardware and software purchasing and ensure the most efficient use of a limited budget.
Val Verde turned to Computrace® by Absolute® Software – a computer theft recovery, data protection and IT asset management solution - to help streamline purchasing, increase cost-efficiencies, and ultimately, provide staff and students with a fleet of optimally running devices. Since installing Computrace across 3,600 laptops and desktop computers, the District has achieved 100% accurate auditing, and saves an estimated $40,000 per year in licensing costs.
Limited Auditing, Limited Efficiency
Prior to Computrace, Val Verde did not have a comprehensive IT asset management (ITAM) system in place. Although several systems were considered, the budget was unable to accommodate the cost of implementation. The District therefore relied on a basic auditing program to keep track of their computer inventory.
Jake Miller, the District’s IT Manager for Network Services, notes that it was difficult to maintain an accurate picture of the computer population as the program required changes in inventory to be input manually. For example, retired or unfixable machines had to be individually removed from the directory. This procedure was not always followed however, as administrators were often preoccupied with high-priority tasks. As such, the auditing program frequently provided an over-inflated depiction of the working computer population, which, when used to guide purchasing, translated into over-buying licenses.
In addition, a limited view into hardware configuration made it difficult to determine which machines required hardware updates. In some instances, the need for refreshment was not apparent until a difficulty arose; in others, additional hardware requirements were determined through educated estimates. As a result, the number of updates purchased was not always consistent with the amount required.
Computrace Provides a Powerful, Cost-Effective Solution
The need to enhance auditing accuracy and, moreover, guide cost-effective purchasing, led Val Verde to Computrace. Embedded in the firmware of many Dell computers, Computrace offered a rapidly deployable solution via a software-as-a-service model that required no additional IT infrastructure. Miller explains that the product not only provides the tools to effectively manage the District’s computer inventory, but further - and unlike other ITAMs – offers a powerful solution within a limited budget.
Enhanced Auditing Accuracy
Val Verde has since utilized Computrace to optimize management of its computer inventory, enhancing auditing capabilities and streamlining software and hardware purchases.
As Computrace provides up-to-date asset reports for every computer with an internet connection, IT can obtain an at-a-glance view of each computer’s location, username, installed software, and hardware configuration. Administrators can quickly identify what software is in use, if it meets compliance guidelines, and when each license is set to expire. Device readiness reports identify those machines that do not meet a user-defined level of hardware, software or operating system conditions. The District can therefore easily keep track of computers that require updates, refreshment, or retirement.
These comprehensive audit reports have allowed Val Verde to increase its auditing accuracy by over 25%. “Our previous auditing capabilities provided 75% auditing accuracy at best,” Miller notes. “With Computrace, we can maintain a 100% accurate picture of our entire computer fleet.”
Computrace Helps Achieve Considerable Cost Savings
Improved auditing capabilities have increased Val Verde's IT purchasing efficiency, and, as a result, achieved considerable cost-savings. Because Computrace lets IT determine the exact number of licenses required and avoid over-buying, Miller estimates that the District now saves $40,000 per year in software purchases. Additionally, a comprehensive view into each computer’s configuration has helped the District proactively plan for hardware upgrades and ensure that machines maintain the requirements necessary for optimal use.
“Computrace pretty much paid for itself within a year,” Miller explains, “and the cost savings since have been substantial. We have a much better handle on our computer fleet - we now know exactly what we have and exactly what we need”.
About Absolute Software
Absolute® Software is the leader in computer theft recovery, data protection and secure IT asset management. Absolute provides organizations with the ability to accurately and securely track their computing assets, manage leased computers, ensure software license and regulatory compliance, deter computer loss, protect data and recover stolen computers. For more information about Absolute Software and its Computrace suite, visit: www.absolute.com.
