IT asset management (or ITAM) is a set of processes used to track, manage, and govern an organisation’s IT estate. ITAM Software is a digital tool that collects, stores, and analyses the data from ITAM processes and enables CIOs to optimise the IT assets on their network (known as IT infrastructure).
ITAM is covered in the service transition lifecycle stage of the ITIL framework. It incorporates the management of hardware and software IT assets, license renewals, upgrades, requests, patch management, relationship mapping, and more.
The use of ITAM Software benefits organisations by:
With LAN asset discovery integrations and network monitoring tools, ITAM Software provides a single source of information for organisations to track, monitor, and manage their IT inventory - as opposed to storing data in multiple spreadsheets.
The use of ITAM Software is particularly handy for offices that are spread across multiple locations, meaning businesses will have more than one LAN.
A single source of information keeps track of assets that are allocated to various places such as local and global offices, home offices, warehouses, and other places of work. This helps to reduce the risk of IT equipment going missing, keep software assets up to date, and meet compliance requirements. Data includes:
A main function of ITAM Software is the ability to build out a catalogue of your IT infrastructure. The data collected to produce an IT asset register ensures that efficient lifecycle management can take place, which is where IT managers can identify unnecessary expenditures. Costs can be drastically reduced on:
Through auto asset discovery and having a holistic view of the entire IT infrastructure, IT managers can identify risks such as rouge devices and outdated assets. For example, data will show when a software application was last updated and if an update or security patch is overdue, alerting IT teams. It’s important to then carry out that update to reduce cybersecurity and data-breach risks.
IT managers can also see if employees are using approved-only applications, which, with some staff working from home or away from the office, is a major security concern. An ITAM system can be set up to alert personnel of any unapproved applications or foreign downloads to a company device. This is ideal for companies that adopt a Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) practice, where employees use their personal mobile devices for work purposes.
By gaining complete visibility of your IT estate in one platform, CIOs can understand the IT asset relationships within a business's network. Relationship mapping provides a visual representation of how certain IT assets and service are linked and how they react to each other.
A greater understanding of how your IT assets are connected to each other improves change management and helps to anticipate issues. ITAM Software correlates data such as asset ID, usage, license, stakeholders, services, and more.
Most medium-to-large software vendors routinely audit the licence conditions of their software usage, including organisations such as Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, and Adobe. By using network-based monitoring tools, they can identify how their licences are being used.
IT teams, therefore, need to know who is using each software license and how. ITAM Software allows IT managers to review a business’s software licences by usage and users, making them aware of their compliance requirements and contractual agreements.
IT Asset Management Software is designed to replace manual and error-prone tools such as spreadsheets. By doing so, dynamic relationships are maintained between IT assets, workflows, and employees.
The word dynamic is important, it highlights the difference in how a business deals with IT inventory for C-level staff. Businesses will generally need a different configuration for each type of employee. For instance, a support team may require two monitors, whereas a sales team may only require one. Alternatively, remote employees may require a VPN or cloud-based access to store data on servers.
The ability to track IT hardware assets is a key component of ITAM Software. Tracking IT hardware in real-time provides up-to-date data on location, user, condition, and security.
Through the use of barcodes, RFID, and NFC Tags, tracking hardware reduces the risk of assets being lost or stolen and ensures the availability of equipment. IT hardware includes monitors, servers, storage/memory devices, routers, mobile devices, printers, scanners, and more.
The benefits of hardware asset tracking with an ITAM system include:
ITAM Software enables the ability to consolidate all software licenses into one system. This helps to track software usage and distribution throughout a company as well as mitigate risks such as compliance with licensing agreements.
By tracking software licenses, organisations can see who has access to applications (which helps when it comes to offboarding processes) and which software licenses are being used or wasted - of which 36% of desktop software is estimated to be underutilised.
Types of software licenses included Named License (user-based), Client Access License (CAL), open-source, proprietary, shareware, and subscription.
IT asset discovery helps businesses to improve the visibility of their network infrastructure. This is possible by actively searching for assets within a business’s IT environment and inputting them into an ITAM Software solution.
As infrastructures frequently change, asset discovery helps to provide a regular up-to-date view of all IT assets, reducing any unexpected changes to asset ownership, compliance, or costs.
To eliminate any possibility of security risks with software assets, patch management is deployed. Patch management ensures timely updates are applied to software and firmware assets before they become vulnerable.
The use of an IT asset management system for patch management helps to reduce manually tracking what updates are required, instead automating - and subsequently streamlining - the process.
ITAM systems provide the capabilities to track and manage all open contracts that have been taken out for the purchasing of IT hardware and software. This is particularly handy for companies that have multiple contracts from different vendors.
A holistic view of contract details such as start date, expiry date, condition terms, warranty conditions, and length of contract, is provided.
There’s also the function of setting alerts and notifications for when contracts are coming to an end, meaning quicker and more efficient decision-making when renewing or ending contracts.
Handled through an IT asset management system (or a warranty management system), warranty management is the process of keeping tabs on warranty information relating to your IT assets. This enables IT asset managers to know when warranties - covering a period for faults, damages, and repairs - expire.
ITAM Software can be used to track changes to digital files such as type, size, archived, users, and updates. Version management/control is typically used in the management of digital assets (images, videos, audio files, PDFs, etc.). It ensures staff are using the correct digital file while also allowing dedicated users to locate and restore files when needed, with each version of a file being stored within an ITAM system along with a timestamp and unique ID.
An IT asset manager is responsible for the management and maintenance of a company's IT assets. Such as securing data-sensitive spreadsheets and providing software licences for multiple access. An IT asset manager's workflow tasks are vast and typically consist of planning and procurement. As well as project management, technical support, and tracking assets.
Depending on the structure of a business, the roles of an IT asset manager can regularly change. Typical roles that an IT manager include:
Using IT equipment and infrastructure assets means an IT manager must have versatile skills. Especially when it comes to asset management. They must ensure network security across a business’s cloud-based applications and software licences. As well as planning maintenance for computer monitor defects. Essentially, an IT asset manager's tasks can be broken down into four actions:
Sometimes, a spreadsheet is a better solution. This is particularly true if you’re a team of fewer than 10 people with less than 75 IT Assets. In this case, a spreadsheet-based IT asset register can be practical and value-effective. But, for IT teams who manage more than 250 IT assets, ITAM Software is the right option.
One main reason why organisations begin searching for an ITAM tool is to start the migration from using error-prone spreadsheets. 87% of the companies (analysed based on 641 leads on Comparesoft) looking for new ITAM Software typically migrate from spreadsheets.
It‘s common for businesses to view an ITAM system as the only solution to their IT problems. But, an IT tool only has the power to automate processes using the data you already have. This means, that if your data is not optimised for your IT needs, then it will be just another tool that collects data.
Your decision to invest in IT Asset Management Software is a decision to invest cash and time. But it should also be an opportunity to focus on improvements, such as:
Below, is a basic example of the targets you should set for your ITAM tool:
| IT Inventory | Quantity | Current IT Spend Per Year | New IT Spend With ITAM Software Per Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitors | 500 | £100,000 | £90,000 |
| Desktops | 430 | £301,000 | £270,900 |
| Software licences | 350 | £126,000 | £100,800 |
| Servers | 90 | £13,500 | £12,150 |
| Total | 1370 | £540,500 | £473,850 |
Deploying an ITAM system increases the chances of a more secure and less fragile network, which reduces cyber risk. The fundamental concept is that with ITAM Software you will know how many IT Assets you have, their status, location, and users. Using this information, you can:
The ITAM tool you choose should include features that are critical for your IT processes. This will ensure you benefit from your chosen tool and see a great return on investment.
Industry fit is also an important factor to consider, as every industry is different. However, the degree of similarities between two businesses in the same industry is high. Choosing ITAM Software that is widely adopted in your industry has two main benefits:
Free trials can be used a various stages of the product buying cycle. For instance, they can be used to gauge user experience, interface face design, and product experience at the very beginning of a buyer’s journey. Or they can be used once your requirements have been outlined.
Once you’ve highlighted key requirements and identified potential ITAM tools, free trials should be carried out using your data. This helps to get a better perspective of the tool and minimises the risk of choosing the wrong one.
It’s also recommended that other colleagues and users take free trials of the product, too. So that you can gauge how well the system can be adopted throughout the organisation.
Whilst a decision to buy a tool will be based on emotion, as it is largely based on the people who represent the vendors, we suggest scoring the logic used to make your decision and the competency of your product quantitatively. Take a look at the table below as an example:
| Product A | Product B | Product C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| User Interface | 8/10 | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Product Experience With Your Data | 6/10 | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Industry Fit | 20 customers | 27 customers | 16 customers |
| Discovery Capabilities | 7/10 | 5/10 | 6/10 |
| Total Cost | £100 per user | £120 per user | £180 per user |
Once you’ve shortlisted the right ITAM for your operations, now is the time to deploy it. But, keep in mind, that deployment of software throughout the entire workplace can vary in length based on several factors:
Your implementation and adoption roadmap should be clear. It should have buy-in from your peers and senior management, as well as your chosen software vendor. Lack of clarity and focus remains the number one reason for project failures, so this stage is crucial.
66% cost overrun, 33% schedule overrun, and 13% shortfall on benefits. Most IT asset management tools deliver about 10 to 15% in cost and efficiency savings. If the average shortfall is 17%, then there’s a real risk that your chosen ITAM solution can do more harm than good.
A cloud-based IT asset and subscription management solution that leverages HR, accounting, and MDM data to enhance IT asset visibility and spend.
Medium to enterprise-size organisations looking to manage assets, licenses and people
1,350+ organisations
Cloud-based
A platform that consolidates IT asset data and simplifies spend, usage and compliance workflows.
An integrated platform that simplifies IT estate spend, usage and compliance management.
3,000+ organisations
Cloud-based, on-premise, managed service
A deeply configurable IT asset tracking and management system with service management capabilities.
Organisations with complex IT asset tracking and management requirements.
1,000+ organisations
Cloud-based, web-based
A cloud-based IT service management product for medium and large businesses.
Organisations with 250+ employees.
40,000+ organisations
Cloud-based, on-premise
An enterprise service management platform for IT and non-IT service operations.
Medium to enterprise-size organisations with 25+ technicians.
100,000+ organisations
Cloud-based, on-premise
An enterprise ITAM platform that consolidates endpoint security, service management and IT operations processes.
Large to enterprise-size organisations looking for a security and service-focused ITAM solution.
45,000+ organisations
Cloud-based, web-based, on-premise
A highly secure, highly reliable solution for organisations with complex IT and fixed asset management requirements.
Organisations with complex IT and fixed asset management requirements.
100+ organisations
Cloud-based, web-based, on-premise
An easy-to-customise IT asset and service management solution that focuses on process automation.
Organisations looking for a customisable, quick-to-implement IT asset and service management solution.
10,000+ organisations
Cloud-based, web-based, on-premise
A SaaS-based, consolidated ITAM platform with modular components and flexible deployment.
Enterprise organisations looking for a consolidated ITAM platform.
250+ organisations
Cloud-based, web-based, on-premise
A SaaS-based ITAM solution with strong third-party integrations and rapid implementation.
Organisations looking for a quick-to-implement ITAM solution.
250+ organisations
Cloud-based, web-based
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See how IT asset discovery is the first step to gaining complete visibility of the assets that exist on your network & why it’s essential in ITAM Software.
Know the key difference between Proprietary and Open Source IT Asset Management Software when it comes to support, deployment, costs & usage.
Useful comparison between Agent and Agentless IT Discovery Options. Relevant for IT Analysts, Network Engineers and IT Managers.
