SmarTrak AI for Simplified Cisco Management
Managing the sheer volume of devices, contracts, software licensing, and other subscription services that comprise the totality of your IT environment is no easy task; in fact, due to the fragmented nature of many of these assets, those efforts can often prove downright arduous.
This challenge especially rings true for organizations who employ any degree of Cisco infrastructure within their ecosystem. As powerful and transformative as Cisco solutions inherently are, there’s often no good way to stay on top of all the disparate management considerations that continuously demand your attention.
Not, that is, without a solution like SmarTrak AI.
What is SmarTrak AI?
Designed to ease the administrative burden of IT leaders, SmarTrak AI is an intuitive, all-in-one management platform that consolidates an organization’s entire Cisco portfolio into one centralized, always-current source of truth. The benefits of which are truly immense. Rather than remain scattered across dozens of separate Cisco tools (from CCWR, Smart Accounts, and Install Base Reports to the more archaic, ever-dreaded internal team spreadsheet), critical asset data is compiled instead beneath a single pane of glass, with only one required login.
Embedded within the platform are several intuitive tools that tackle distinct aspects of the management process. SmartMap, for example, enables organizations to clearly visualize their full stack of Cisco infrastructure in real time, including the identification of upcoming renewals, end-of-life hardware, and any pending subscription expirations. SmartBudget, meanwhile, grants deeper visibility into an organization’s spending patterns, forecasts future expenditures with pinpoint accuracy, and aligns infrastructure planning with strategic business goals. Additionally, SmarTrak’s assortment of Planning Ahead tools allows for proactively scheduled upgrades and renewals, leading to performance optimization and minimized downtime.
As its name would suggest, the platform also features an in-house AI assistant, from whom customers can receive practical, in-depth answers to any questions they might have regarding their Cisco environment. With it, they can pull detailed executive reports—both for individual entitlements and for the entire ecosystem—that are rendered in the format that fits them best: whether that be in a helpful pie chart, graph, or presentation-ready slide deck.
Finally, it’s worth noting that SmarTrak AI is remarkably secure, with built-in enterprise-grade security and compliance protocols woven into the platform. It is SOC 2 compliant, demonstrating strict adherence to GDPR and HIPAA, and is continuously monitored with regular security audits. Meaning streamlined management doesn’t have to come at the cost of additional risk.
Continuous Visibility, Proactive Management
To demonstrate the value of SmarTrak AI in action, let’s now examine a few of the key challenges Cisco customers typically face when managing their environment—and how the platform provides a solution for each.
Tracking Devices to Actual Locations
Organizations often struggle to match their devices to where those units actually live. In one customer environment, for instance, 1,300 of the 2,700 total products could not be identified by serial number until reconciled. That’s an enormous hindrance, and one SmarTrak AI solves by tying install base data directly to the real-world location.
Contract Expirations and Various Renewals
Fragmented renewal dates often lead to surprise gaps or unexpected costs that seem to crop up out of nowhere. The SmarTrak platform, however, centralizes renewals into one clear timeline, from which clients can make more informed, proactive decisions.
Spreadsheet-Heavy Inventory Management
Manual methods of inventory management (such as spreadsheets) waste time and effort, not to mention that they routinely invite errors during the transcription process. To alleviate this hurdle, SmarTrak automates the task, importing the entire data load in only two to four minutes.
Limited Visibility into Enterprise Agreements (EAs)
Another challenge holding organizations back is the fact that many clients possess an incomplete view into their EAs and, as such, have difficulty tracking their overall consumption and coverage with any degree of accuracy. SmarTrak AI remedies this by providing user-friendly dashboards that clearly outline EA utilization and optimization in real time. To demonstrate this point, consider a case in which a customer discovered a 200% EA over-consumption and reversed it with Cisco before they were hit with a costly true-forward charge.
Mergers and Acquisitions + Large-Scale Environments
The consolidation of disparate inventories often proves both messy and risky, with a high potential for error. By efficiently merging distinct environments into one accurate view, the SmarTrak platform mitigates these concerns before they even begin.
“Too Much Noise”
Unfortunately, many organizations tend to get bogged down in the challenge of sifting through all the “noise” of their Cisco management. There’s no end to the vast flood of data with which IT leaders are constantly bombarded; much of that data, too, is irrelevant—only serving to obscure true, actionable insights. SmarTrak, however, filters all of that noise while bubbling up what matters most. For example, the platform once surfaced $146K in unclaimed rebates a customer wasn’t even aware they qualified for. And that’s just the financial implications; just as valuable are the strategic infrastructure management considerations that the platform brings to light.
Refresh Planning
Planning refreshes without lifecycle clarity is not only inefficient but also expensive. SmarTrak highlights refresh opportunities as they emerge, delivering true clarity at the ideal juncture. One public sector client experienced this firsthand, as they secured a $200K tech refresh within a week of seeing their data clearly laid out, thus illustrating the power of on-demand lifecycle intelligence.
As you can see from the above, the burden of managing your Cisco infrastructure is, with SmarTrak AI, an obstacle of the past.
Turning Complexity into Clarity with Sterling and SmarTrak AI
At Sterling, we’re proud to partner with SmarTrak AI to help our clients streamline the management of their Cisco ecosystem. Together, we’ll deliver you automated asset tracking, proactive lifecycle alerts, increased operational efficiency, better positioning to meet sustainability goals, and enhanced collaboration.
Getting started is easy, too: a 30-minute, no commitment walkthrough of the platform with the Sterling and SmarTrak team, using data from your actual Cisco environment. In the demo, you’ll see:
- Each of your Cisco assets auto discovered
- Your Last Day of Support (LDoS) risk scored and prioritized
- Alerts that are configured to your thresholds
- A costed refresh plan for your fleet
- And, an executive report that’s ready to present
Tired of guessing and ready to start knowing? Reach out to Sterling to learn how the SmarTrak platform can turn your organization’s complexity into clarity. Book an insightful 30-minute demo today.