Technology rental company RentWorks today announced the signing of its agreement with NetTrace, a company that allows customers to easily and accurately track and manage computer assets.
The agreement sees NetTrace providing RentWorks` customers with a managed service enabling them to monitor remote, mobile and desktop computers. The NetTrace Lease Manager Service is a secure asset tracking and inventory management solution that is powered by the Computrace technology platform and based on the Absolute Software Corporation`s ComputracePlus solution.
NetTrace Lease Manager will be provided to all new RentWorks customers going forward and the technology will also be rolled out to RentWorks` existing customer base on a systematic basis. The financial benefits of leasing computer equipment are evident and many organisations are adopting this model in an effort to reduce total cost of ownership. "However, in order to maximise these benefits, organisations need to track and manage assets effectively," says Stuart Lewis, general manager: channel and account development, RentWorks.
"Many organisations find the management of their equipment, whether owned or leased, a financial and administrative nightmare," adds Lewis.
Having an effective measure in place to monitor where leased equipment resides becomes crucial when the need arises to locate equipment that is due to be returned. NetTrace Lease Manager provides IT managers with access to Web-based reports that simplify the management of equipment leases, change management, hardware upgrades and device ownership. Its architecture enables it to control asset loss as a result of theft and detect tampering with hardware on the system.
How it works
NetTrace Lease Manager is a low-level software programme that resides on the hard drive of every computer asset. The software makes a daily call via the Internet to a central database (the Monitoring Centre) to report information about where the asset is, who is using it as well as software and hardware specifications. The monitoring servers do not need to be hosted by the customer.
Through NetTrace Lease Manager, RentWorks customers and authorised administrators are able to track all leased computers, be proactively notified of lease and warrantee deadlines and link lease premiums to actual computer assets. Lease Manager simplifies maintenance, as the system automatically detects any equipment problems or faults. Customers are therefore able to rectify errors while equipment is under warranty.
Financial and operational benefits
NetTrace offers customers a Web-based view of assets, allowing them to link the lease premium to the actual computer asset. The lease premium can furthermore be attributed to a specific user or department. Computers may also be linked to a financial cost centre and tracked as the asset moves or changes.
Organisations are therefore able to attribute costs to computers and the utilisation of the asset, thereby enabling a reduction in the total cost of ownership. Furthermore, the ability to track assets significantly reduces the loss of hardware and sensitive corporate data. Downtime is avoided through accurate anti-virus, operating system and service pack reports.
Other NetTrace services can be used as diagnostic and maintenance tools, which reduce the demand placed on help-desk staff. Knowing the status of computer assets, aids organisations in planning and budgeting and allows for a more streamlined upgrade process. Software compliance can also be ensured, as IT administrators are able to track the status of different computer licences.
Aiding corporate accountability
As the value and accountability of IT assets rise to the strategic priority lists of many organisations, so too does the need for industry accepted best practices and management disciplines for dealing with the assets. To ensure maximum benefits, these assets need to be deployed effectively.
"Through its agreement with NetTrace, RentWorks customers are better positioned to determine exactly what assets are deployed, ensure software licence compliance, manage lease returns easily and better plan and budget for machine upgrades and retirement," concludes Lewis.
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Established in 1997, RentWorks Africa provides rental finance solutions directly to customers and through the development of vendor finance programmes for technology manufacturers and large resellers. RentWorks has developed an extensive suite of flexible rental solutions that assist customers to make financial sense of technology and has grown to become a leader in the rental finance industry. RentWorks South Africa has over R3 billion worth of assets currently under management. Its rental solutions allow customers to redirect their capital towards investment in assets that appreciate rather than assets that drop in value quickly.
RentWorks helps organisations to avoid equipment obsolescence and large up-front payments, while at the same time spreading the cost of the rental equipment over its useful life. In 2003 Shanduka, a black owned and managed investment holding company chaired by Cyril Ramaphosa, purchased a controlling share of the South African RentWorks operation. The partnership re-positions RentWorks Africa as a fully black empowered entity. Priding itself on comprehensive industry knowledge and as an innovator of flexible rental solutions, RentWorks provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of both corporate and government users.
For more information on RentWorks, visit http://www.rentworks.co.za.
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