Migrating to the Cloud? Asset Tracking is a Match Made in Heaven

More businesses are moving critical business functions to the cloud, reaping the benefits of accessible-anywhere data. The cloud is particularly beneficial for businesses relying on remote and mobile workers, allowing everyone in the organization to access the most up-to-date data from any office or field location. This saves tremendous amounts of time that would otherwise be spent dialing in to the main office and relaying information from the field to the central office, or vice versa. While the cloud gains prominence among businesses in every industry, more companies are realizing that their asset tracking needs are a perfect fit for the cloud.
Asset tracking makes sense for businesses capitalizing on the cloud
When you benefit from having all or most of your company’s critical data readily accessible from remote locations and the field, doesn’t it make sense to have the ability to instantly add and update data related to your assets to the cloud as well?
Asset tracking is well-suited for businesses already using or migrating to the cloud. Adding the same portability to your asset management processes allows your asset data to merge cohesively with your company’s existing data and applications. For example, if a remote worker scans field equipment in order to update maintenance status, that data is instantly readily available to other remote workers, as well as the home office, making it possible to optimize scheduling and avoid duplication of efforts.
Asset management software often makes use of the cloud
Many asset management and asset tracking software applications are cloud-based. Many software programs come with accompanying mobile apps compatible with popular barcode scanners or even apps that enable workers to scan barcodes with their mobile devices, including both smartphones and tablets.
Whether you invest in barcode scanners with certain capabilities to meet your scanning requirements or repurpose company mobile devices as barcode scanners with barcode scanning apps, cloud-based software facilitates a fully integrated asset management process. The combination of apps, the cloud, and scanning devices makes it possible to record and track assets company-wide, providing full visibility into your company’s assets, their condition, and the precise location of every asset owned or controlled by your organization.
Additionally, these cloud-based software applications combine

• Asset inventory
• Inspection forms and data
• Maintenance schedules
• Task management and staff scheduling
• Equipment and parts databases

into a single platform.  This places an abundance of critical data at your staff’s fingertips whether they’re in the field, on location, in transit, or in the home office. This also means that asset data and other information is automatically populated across departments, databases, and forms, reducing hours of manual data entry and reconciliation.
Asset tags are the foundation of automated data collection and recordkeeping
When you equip your moveable and fixed assets and equipment with asset tags and bar code labels, you’re laying the foundation for an efficient, streamlined asset management system that’s fully compatible with the cloud. Add a comprehensive, cloud-based asset management software application, and you’ve laid the groundwork for your organization to go mobile, empowering your in-office and in-the-field staff with the data they need to work efficiently and effectively.
With asset tags and bar code labels running the gamut from durable foil asset labels to Metalphoto^® asset tags, two-part asset labels, and tamper-evident labels for added security, your organization can gain visibility into every aspect of operations and take control over asset management.