IAITAM Member Digest The IAITAM Member Digest is a monthly publication that was created in order to keep members of IAITAM up to date with current issues facing the industry.  In this newsletter you will find upcoming knowledge events, articles on key industry issues, success stories from your peers, new members, hot forum topics, survey results, Provider Member(s) of the month, the prior month's Certified Course Attendees, updates for the 2008 Annual Conference & Exhibition and Members Only Specials! Contact info@iaitam.org if you would like to share ideas for future newsletters. You must log in as an IAITAM Member in order for the links to become available.   December 2008 With the passing of every year, there comes a time to reflect on memories made, goals achieved, and those who have touched our lives. We at IAITAM are proud to be among friends and colleagues within the ITAM community.  The world is not the same as it was when IAITAM began in 2002.  Technology has revolutionized the way in which we orchestrate our existence from day to day.  Not long ago, books were kept in pen on ledgers, and filed away in storage rooms for safe-keeping.  Now you can access documents from years past with the click of a button (with the proper Documentation Management System, of course - that’s where you come in!).   Read More...   November 2008 User Group Sign-ups Are Still Going On!  IAITAM is proud to announce a new feature in 2009 to our Membership Program -Focused user groups around the globe! IAITAM is looking for interested parties willing to lead their local ITAM community to expand their asset management awareness and assist in bringing educational-based  content to the masses through this new program.  Hide Under A Rock or Take Advantage of The Current Economy - You Decide.   You would have to have been hiding under a rock the last few months not to be aware of the faltering economy. It’s impact is being felt all around the world and with the exception of a few industries, everyone is either being hit or getting prepared to be affected is some way.  However, according to some analysts and the news agencies, Information Technology will still experience growth, albeit near flat, for 2009. As Asset Managers we can do one of two things – hide in hopes we won’t be part of the cut or take advantage of the current circumstances and benefit from it.   Read More...   October 2008 It's All About the Conference!  Announcing the IAITAM 2009 Annual Conference & Exhibition and What Happened at the 2008 Conference in Marco Island, FL.  The IAITAM 2009 Annual Conference & Exhibition kicks off Tuesday evening, September 29th in Las Vegas, Nevada at 6:00pm with the Pool Party at "The Beach", Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa & Casino's famous sand-bottomed pool!  IAITAM will treat you to entertainment and the best cuisine Las Vegas has to offer. This opening night promises to be filled with music and networking while dining in preparation for the vigorous, education-packed days to follow.  Read More...   September 2008 Are you Covered? Insurance for First-Party IT Risk This article provides an overview of how a company can transfer first-party privacy risk. Almost all companies face various IT systems failures, network security breaches, and privacy incident exposures (collectively “IT and Privacy Risk”) based on their daily business operations.  It may surprise even the best managed company, however, just how much first-party IT and Privacy Risk it sometimes retains.   For example, although during the course of engaging outside vendors, a company can sometimes offload some privacy risk to their vendors by way of contractual indemnification and insurance requirements.  Such safeguards have no impact on risks caused by a company’s own employee negligence or wrongful conduct.  And, what if the vendor’s coffers or choice of insurance policy is weak?  Or, even going forward with a strong vendor insurance clause that is backed by an equally strong insurance policy, what about first-party loss exposures such as IT systems failure due to human error or reputation injury, internal forensic costs, or the expense of credit monitoring that results from a privacy breach?  Read More...   July 2008 Is Your Disaster Recovery Plan Ready? Goodbye and good riddance Dolly, but how’s your Disaster Recovery Plan? As of this writing, it looks like North America survived yet another hurricane as Dolly makes its way onto land and heads west across the United States and Mexican border. So what does this weather report have to do with IT Asset Management you ask? Well it should remind us all of how solid our Disaster Recovery (DR) Plan is, or should be. Just in case you’re wondering what DR has to do with IT Asset Management, the answer is plenty.  Read More...   June 2008  Announcing the New IBPL Advanced Training Courses With the release of the IAITAM Best Practice Library (“IBPL”), it became evident that in order for organizations to quickly incorporate the IBPL components into their enterprise, IAITAM would have to provide curricula that would enable the IT Asset Manager to integrate the knowledge provided in the IBPL volumes. Read More...   May 2008 Announcing the New CITAM Course Contest Winners IAITAM is offering a select few the opportunity to attend the new CITAM course for free! The CITAM Contest was announced in the last issue of this newsletter.  The only catch was that past CITAM graduates, which are also members of IAITAM, needed to write a short essay explaining why they should receive the brand new CITAM training for free and email it to us. Several members submitted wonderful essays making the decision for a single winner very difficult.  So difficult in fact we chose four, two Individual Members and two Corporate/Provider Members.  Read More...   April 2008 IAITAM Introduces New Certified IT Asset Manager Course The Certified IT Asset Manager (CITAM) Program was originally developed by professional Software and Hardware Asset Managers to codify a number of existing IAITAM professional development programs.  IAITAM’s Certification in IT Asset Management has evolved over the years to accommodate the changes in the profession and therefore the course has evolved as well.  IAITAM now introduces the new CITAM, intended to guide individuals within the profession and align the needs of the organization with IT for the benefit of the organization.  This new hands-on course will allow professionals to review existing infrastructure and plan a real world IT Asset Management Program - one that is applicable to the global work place and inclusive of a widely dynamic range of issues as well as properly managing IT assets across their organizations.  Read More...   March 2008 Introducing the IAITAM Best Practice Library™ (IBPL): The Global  Prescription  IAITAM is very proud to announce that  the IAITAM Best Practice Library (IBPL) has shipped. The following are excerpts from ITAK Volume 3 Issue 2. President’s Letter: The president’s letter this month will be in a little different format from prior letters. I have decided for this month not only to include a letter but also a full series on the IAITAM Best Practice Library™ (IBPL).   Read More...   February 2008 Focused Musings It seems strange to me to write about acquisition whether it be a type of asset or another company while there is so much press being given right now about the possibility of an up-coming recession. If you are working in many of the areas of the financial industry not only is there a possibility but you may already be right in the middle of a serious downturn. For this months’ column, I’m going to introduce some new ITAK features, talk about the Association and the industry and discuss how you have even more opportunity to validate your program with a downturn in the economy.  Read More...