For the last five years, technology pundits have been talking about how cloud computing, big data, and security will reinvent IT architecture and thinking. But companies move at different rates than pundits do, so while IT architecture has changed, change has often come about informally and incrementally—and not as part of any long-range strategic plan.

However, IoT—with its reliance on edge computing—is a different story, because edge computing takes you away from the central data centers and data repositories that characterize traditional IT architecture. Corporate security governance must also be extended in new ways to the edges of the enterprise and different types of clouds and on-premises systems must be able to seamlessly and securely exchange information.

In this new world, strong middleware that can automate integration between systems, clouds, and on-premises systems is critical. So is awareness of all your company’s IT assets and the ability to fail over systems if disaster recovery becomes necessary.

How can IT leaders ensure that they’re covering all the bases when they implement IoT? Here are five best practices.

1. Manage your assets

As many as 65% of companies today do not have fully developed IT asset tracking and management systems. This comes at a time when shadow IT, where end users are purchasing and installing systems and devices without IT’s knowledge, makes up 30% to 40% of enterprise IT spending, according to Gartner.

If no one is actively managing these assets, they become vulnerable to security penetration and breaches.

IT asset management software can detect new appliances and systems as they enter IT networks and can provide a way for logging and monitoring these assets. If your company lacks such a system, now is the time to consider acquiring one. Knowing every piece of technology that is in your enterprise, and the data it contains, is vital to developing a comprehensive and totally inclusive IT architecture.