Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

Managed Service Providers are responsible for an increasing proportion of their customers' cloud infrastructure. For many MSPs, Microsoft 365 has become one of the most important parts of that responsibility. Email, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Entra ID, Intune and Microsoft 365 licensing can all sit within the same customer environment. Add security configuration, Microsoft Secure Score and user lifecycle management, and there is a considerable amount for an MSP to monitor.

Most IT asset management conversations happen in software. Spreadsheets, ticketing systems, asset tags, audit trails. None of it accounts for the fact that a lot of asset management failures start somewhere much simpler: a spare drive stored badly enough that it's damaged before anyone gets to use it.

Inventory problems can develop when stock moves through receiving areas, storage locations, sales floors, production spaces, and shipping points without dependable visibility. Missing items, inaccurate quantities, and outdated location records can disrupt fulfillment and leave employees searching for stock that should be readily available. Automated identification provides detailed item and location data that helps inventory teams maintain accurate operational records.

When businesses look at how healthy their operations are, they often zero in on the most obvious costs: rent, salaries, and marketing. Inventory usually falls into this category too, with its costs simply seen as the price of goods and warehouse storage. But this narrow view misses a whole network of hidden expenses that come from managing inventory poorly. These less obvious costs can quietly eat into profits, stretch resources thin, and slow down growth, affecting much more than just the bottom line.