AMI is making strides in enterprise barcode asset tracking technology, expanding our reach internationally and increasing the number of implementation and technology partner companies in our network.  To date we’ve increased our backend support to include:

• CA Asset Portfolio Management
• CA Service Desk
• HP AssetCenter
• HP Asset Manager
• Provance IT Asset Management
• Other third party systems via Text/XML files

We are also supporting additional barcode scanner hardware, including:

• Motorola
• Intermec
• Honeywell

We are now offering free weekly demos of AssetTrack, where I will show AssetTrack in action.  I’ll discuss the benefits and features of the product, and show live scanning of asset data, reconciliation of that data and seamless publishing to an enterprise ITAM repository.

So far we’ve had a lot of attendees and great feedback from the demo.  You are welcome to come to the next one.  We do it every Wednesday at 10AM Pacific.

Register here.  It’s free.  Just sit back and watch the show.  We think you’ll like what you see.

Cheers,

Tom

AMI/CA Joint White Paper – Striving to Achieve 100% Data Accuracy

As I’ve called out before in this blog, AMI’s reason for being is to enable enterprises to maximize the value of their asset management solutions by maintaining accurate data.  Millions of dollars are spent on IT management solutions, and without accurate data, the reporting and business intelligence coming from these systems is meaningless.  You need a robust and repeatable process for tracking rapidly changing asset information, and this white paper outlines the technology and processes you need to achieve this goal.

Enjoy.

Intermec is a close neighbor of AMI. They are based in Edmonds, a short distance from AMI’s headquarters in Seattle. We look forward to working closely with Intermec to improve our software and offer our customers a greater selection of mobile computer hardware choices in the near future.

Intermec’s product offerings are top quality and we are excited to have them as a new partner.

You can read the press release here.

Cheers,

Tom

Before AssetTrack, the customer was spending way too much time trying to update their asset database using spreadsheets. At one point they said, “There has to be a better way,” and shortly thereafter they discovered AssetTrack.

It took just three days to install the software, integrate it with Service Desk and provide end user training. No more manually keying in asset data as they try to keep up with their expanding business and rotating lease schedules. Now everything is point-and-shoot, extremely fast and accurate, and the customer can’t be happier with how easy it is to capture and update their asset data.

Read the full case study here.

And stay tuned for more happy AMI customer case studies in the near future!

Cheers,
Tom

We’ve been working hard on this new release, while simultaneously implementing the software at customers like the CA, the General Services Administration (GSA), the Container Store, Western Union, PA House of Representatives and a number of others.  This has kept me away from my blog, but I’m back and ready to announce the upcoming show.

We will be putting out a number of press releases and email marketing information over the coming weeks, so stay tuned for more about the upcoming AssetTrack 3.1 release! 

Speaking Engagements at CA World 2008

At CA World I will be giving two presentations on asset tracking solutions with Unicenter, focusing on barcode-based asset tracking solutions and outlining the roadmap for the next few years.  There will be two presentations, one discussing best practices for barcode asset tracking, and another joint presentation with CA where we will discuss the implementation of AssetTrack within the new CA ITAM program.

• Enhancing Asset Tracking with Barcode Technology
  Tues Nov 18th at 4:00pm in Sands MR101-102
• Implementing Barcode Technology at CA
  Wed Nov 19th at 9:45am in Marco Polo 701

I look forward to seeing you all in Vegas next month.  It’s going to be a good and informative show.

Here’s how to do this:

1. First, each assignee must have unique Assignee code values set in each Assignee record on the server.  This should be an employee number or code that identifies the Assignee.  If you don’t have a unique code for each employee, you cannot select an assignee using a barcode scanner.
2. Synchronize your device with the server so that your Assignee codes are downloaded to the device.
3. Next create a barcode that contains that code with a ET$ prefix. In other words, if the Assignee code for you is “1234″ then you need a barcode with the value ET$1234. The prefix tells the device that the barcode is an assignee code.
4. Open an AssetTrack form that has the Assignee control on it and scan the barcode you just created.  The value 1234 will be placed in the Assignee field.
5. When your record is saved and uploaded, AssetTrack will find the matching Assignee by matching the code, and you’ll see the first, last and code values in the AssetTrack upload Queue.

Using Assignee codes is a much nicer way to select end users with your barcode scanner then searching by last name and will increase the efficiency of your data collection efforts tremendously.

Free Barcode Font

This free font will let you create barcodes using Microsoft Word or any other text editor.

Laser Scanning or Digital Imaging: Which Bar Code Scanning Technology Is Right for Your Application?

They agree with me that you need to look at your own requirements in order to choose the right scanner technology option.  One technology is not better than the other: they are different and there are pros and cons of each choice.

Happy scanning.

To access, fill out a quick contact form here and you’ll get access to the PDF immediately. 

Happy Tracking,

Tom

I don’t really have anything cooler to say today. 

Imagers vs. Lasers

For those of you who don’t know, there are two types of barcode scanners: imagers and lasers.

• Lasers work by shooting a laser on the barcode and sensing the reflection that comes back.  These have been around forever and work really well for 1 dimensional, standard barcode labels.
• Imagers work like a camera by basically taking a picture of the barcode and interpreting what is in the picture with software.  These are new and have the benefit of working with 2 dimensional tags like the ones you see on UPS boxes.

I took some heat from people responding to my blog when I said I don’t like imagers.  Well, I still don’t.

Headaches with Imagers

The problem we are seeing is that imagers don’t work well with long 1 dimensional barcodes.  The serial number barcodes on Dell monitors, for example, cannot be read using an imager.  At least not the ones on the Symbol devices we typically sell, even the high-end MC9090G which are about $3K a piece minimum.

This is causing a big problem for some of our customers who use primarily 1 dimensional barcodes.  You get the flexibility of supporting 2D barcodes with imagers, but if you don’t use 2D barcodes, this is of little value.  In exchange for 2D support, you have less performance with 1D barcodes and often can’t even scan the 1D barcodes in your environment.

Frustrating.

Your Priorities Should Guide your Decision

If you have high volume scanning needs and use 1D barcodes, you need a scanner that will read these tags very quickly.  If you have to press the scan trigger and move the device around for five seconds to get the device to read your tag, you will quickly become frustrated and tired after a few scans.  And if you’re performing inventory in a warehouse or receiving dock, this will be very frustrating.  In this scenario, I recommend a laser scanner.

If you require support for 2D barcodes, you have to use imagers.  Laser won’t work with 2D barcodes.  In this case, I would demand an evaluation unit from your hardware vendor before you invest a lot of money.  Test the scanner and make sure it works for your needs before spending a ton of money on hardware.