Barret Kruse

Barret Kruse, CSAM, CHAMP, ITIL v3 Certified

Barret Kruse understands that technology is not just about building systems or machines. At its best, technology empowers people to do what they love and accomplish what they want in an easier, more organized, and effective way. Upbeat and professional, Barret is known for his ability to understand, explain, and teach complex technical information to vendors, colleagues, coworkers, and customers.

That focus on making technology work better for people has been a consistent theme throughout his career. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, working from home became mandatory for almost all employees at Intuit, and hardware needed to be distributed quickly. Once the crisis receded, reclaiming that hardware became an unprecedented challenge. Using Power BI, ServiceNow, purchasing records, and data analysis, Barret's team increased the asset reclaim rate by 11% in one year—recovering more than half a million dollars in value while ensuring that invaluable data was retained.

His work in IT Asset Management has continued to combine data analysis with practical problem-solving. As an IT Asset Specialist at Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, Barret performs data analysis for discovery and data normalization in support of Software and Hardware IT Asset Management.

That same combination of technical knowledge and customer focus produced significant results during his work as a Software Asset Management contractor at Google, where his group increased CSAT from 70% to 98%. The team is now working to train the new SAM group in India.

Working with compliance and audit requirements has also been an important part of Barret's experience. At Whirlpool, he was a vital part of successfully navigating both external audits and a successful internal audit.

His experience managing large and complex environments continued at Comcast, where his group identified and mapped ownership of thousands of virtual and physical devices, increasing ownership KPIs by more than 20%. The team also identified and decommissioned several thousand orphaned servers, creating $3 million in savings through reduced power consumption, maintenance, and service agreements. Barret also worked closely with the Security and Vulnerability team to reduce risk and identify ownership.

Earlier in his career, Barret took on the challenge of developing an enterprise-wide Asset Management solution for Hamra Enterprises. Built from the ground up, the solution involved selecting an Asset Management repository, assessing the most valuable solutions, negotiating with vendors, and developing processes, procedures, and best practices.

His work at Coventry/Aetna similarly focused on improving both processes and the accuracy of asset information. By chairing a partnership with regional hub sites, he improved key performance indicators by as much as 80%. He was also instrumental in planning and executing a rolling "wall-to-wall" physical inventory, providing the accuracy needed for a migration from Remedy to HP Service Center.

Earlier still, at Walgreens' Roll Out Command Center, Barret worked on the Wellness Experience Project. The comprehensive point-of-sale (POS) makeover included creating installation documentation and processes and working with project managers and technicians throughout pilot installations. Through effective troubleshooting, timely process improvements, and creative problem-solving, the pilot project was completed on time for a national launch.