The Dangers of a Homegrown Asset Management System at Your School District

If you are using a homegrown software system to manage your technological devices and other assets, you know a lot of time and effort went into it. You may have built it because your district didn’t find existing software that met your unique needs.

However, while the advantages of a custom-designed system can be alluring at first, the risks and costs over time can exceed the initial benefits.

Many districts today are replacing their homegrown asset management systems in favor of an application that is developed and supported by a third-party vendor. Delaying the implementation of a solution can be detrimental to your district’s operational efficiency, costing your staff time and your district thousands of dollars every year.

Here are four reasons to reconsider using that homegrown asset management system.

1. Staff Turnover Causes a Lapse in Knowledge

   There are only a few people in your organization who know the ins and outs of your homegrown system. What happens when one of those staff members leaves?

   Either that person will be replaced by someone who doesn’t know the system or — worse — the position may be eliminated altogether. In both scenarios, the knowledge it takes to maintain, enhance, and support the system will have left the district. Without trained staff who have the intimate understanding of how to maintain your homegrown solution, consider what could happen:

   The system could go down.

   The database could become corrupt.

   Current backups may not be available.

   Critical business functions may not work correctly.

   These place your district’s asset management program at risk of failure.

   Enterprise-level solutions do not require the same level of technical oversight. The technology footprint in the district is limited to only firewall access and system integrations. Routine and repetitive tasks like keeping up with the latest hardware requirements, database backups and application hosting, and monitoring system performance and reliability become the responsibility of the solution provider.

2. Software Development Is Not a School District’s Core Competency

   As an instructional institution, your business is education and helping further the knowledge of your students. Resource allocation is a key in figuring out the balance between managing the operations of a district and identifying the skillsets in staff that are going to best support the district’s mission. Implementing an asset management solution designed for K-12 allows you to focus more on employing staff for the purpose of educating students without sacrificing operational efficiencies.

3. Your District Might Not Have a Dedicated User Support Team

   In-house asset management systems consume a lot of district resources to keep them running effectively.

   The developers will have to act as the front line of support whenever a problem strikes or someone needs help using the system. Having them in this role while also working on maintenance and system upgrades can decrease the quality of support service. Your team will have to re-prioritize their tasks in order to make the updates, which can take them away from your district’s mission.

   A software company that specializes in K-12 asset management solutions will have teams of experts, from project managers to customer support, who can assist your district with inventory best practices, guidance, and options to help take your asset management program to the next level.

4. Hidden Costs Add Up

   Many districts think developing an in-house system will save money because their own programmers will be cheaper than going with a third party. However, factoring in the costs associated with design, development, continual upgrades, and support, the software may end up being more expensive and a greater risk than if purchased from a solution provider that specializes in asset management for school districts.

   Hardware and software upgrades are also costly and can lead to unintended consequences. An operating system upgrade may render your software useless until proper updates have been applied. Additionally, in-house feature upgrades cost money, and you’ll likely be competing for district technology resources with other departments. While you may see one feature as a priority, others may not. By working with a third-party solution provider, you are likely to see more frequent releases and new features.