AMS Behavior: IT Enablement

Asset Management System Behavior Miniseries

This Asset Management System (AMS) Behavior miniseries article is an extension of the last article on Processes.  In today’s connected world, information technology (IT) enablement is a necessity.  ISO 55000/1 based AMS is a robust means to generate value from and through assets.  The accompanying Asset Management (AM) Framework, shown below, raises decision making capabilities to new heights that can be easily scaled using IT to generate value across enterprises.

This enterprise view is a practicable representation of an AMS that introduces new frontiers for advancing decision making that is well suited for IT enablement.  In practice, IT enablement is about making things easier to do, and the best place to do this is at the working level, that is at the process level.

What is IT Enablement

Before going further, it is valuable to introduce the following terms related to IT enablement.

• Digitization – the process of translating processes, data, and information into formats and structures that can be stored and performed with computers.

• Digital Transformation – the process of organizational change that encompasses integration of digital technologies and solutions.

• Digitalization – the process of applying digital transformation to discover new and improved ways to make decisions and get work done.

These terms are related and build on one another like a crawl, walk, run continuum.  IT enablement means first putting things into a digital format.  As data, information, and root processes are digitized organizations begin to evolve the way they do things and become more versant, trusting, and dependent on databases, access to data, and IT interfaces to do work.  This leads to a higher level of understanding called digitalization where new approaches and pathways are discovered to not just do things better, faster, cheaper, it also means doing things differently.

IT Enablement and the AM Framework

This IT enablement continuum gives insight on how to digitize the AM Framework, digitally transform the organization’s AMS, and digitalize its asset management capabilities as follows:

• Digitize the AM Framework – Digitizing the AM Framework starts with making sure the data used in decision making is available in digital form.  This process focuses on data life cycle management to include data acquisition, validation, accessibility, security, usage, and disposition. 

• Digitally Transform the Organization – As more AM Framework defined processes are digitized, the organization will need to develop additional skills and competencies.  These include database architecture, data management, cloud and platform configuration, cybersecurity, application development, and many more.  With greater access to data and digital workflows, opportunities will present themselves to work more efficiently.  This includes faster more robust monitoring, recall, analysis, forecasting, and modeling.

• Digitalize the Organization’s Asset Management Capabilities – Reaching a crescendo, as the organization develops competencies in digital transformation it will be able to evolve the AM Framework to be more powerful and responsive to the organization’s needs.  In this way, digitalization does not focus directly on improvements to the AM Framework, but on improvements in asset management competencies and capabilities to realize value.