To be or not to be an Asset or CI, that is the question?

[Anon Anon]

Below are the official definitions as per ITIL v3 of an Asset and Configuration Item (CI).  In my experience, the interpretation and application crosses a vast range.  I'm interested to get your feedback on how you've defined assets and CIs and applied them in the real world (i.e. in your Service Desk/Management solution).

 

The ITIL v3 definition of an Asset is "(Service Strategy) Any Resource or Capability. Assets of a Service Provider include anything that could contribute to the delivery of a Service. Assets can be one of the following types: Management, Organisation, Process, Knowledge, People, Information, Applications, Infrastructure, and Financial Capital."

 

The ITIL v3 definition of a Configuration Item (CI) is "(Service Transition) Any Component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT Service. Information about each CI is recorded in a Configuration Record within the Configuration Management System and is maintained throughout its Lifecycle by Configuration Management. CIs are under the control of Change Management. CIs typically include IT Services, hardware, software, buildings, people, and formal documentation such as Process documentation and SLAs.

[Anon Anon]

My understanding is that the biggest differentiator between Assets and CIs is the financial component.   I use the following definitions:

 

Asset - A Component with a financial value with an attached depreciation rate.  Assets by themselves do not have relationships and their lifecycle lasts until the value=0.

 

Configuration Item - A component of an IT system treated as a self contained unit for the purposes of identification, Incident and/or Problem management, and Change control.  CIs may be hardware, documents, software, or a logical grouping of.  CIs have relationships and may not have a financial value. A CI’s lifecycle lasts until the component becomes obsolete and is removed from the environment by a Change Order.

 

A component could be an Asset or CI or both.   Finance defines an Asset as an Item >= $1000 initial value. So here are our examples:

 

Asset=YES, CI=YES :         Server, Switch, Plotter - all >= $1000 value

Asset=YES, CI=NO :           Furniture, Vehicle, Server Rack

Asset=NO, CI=YES :           Documentation, Cluster, Server < $1000 value, Workstation < $1000 value

Asset=NO, CI=NO :             Should not be in CMDB (Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor < $1000 value)

 

We chose to not include anything in the CMDB that is not a CI. Of course, if not managed the CMDB will become a substitute for all types of lists typically contained in Excel spreadsheets and this creates a lot of noise!   -fred SDM12.7