IT Asset Management Software

What is IT Asset Management?

IT asset management is one of the modules under ITIL framework that provides a set of best practices that would enable an organization to manage all their hardware and software assets. In other words, IT asset management, provides the visibility, ensures compliance and enables control of the assets, thereby helping an organization save time and money.

What is IT Asset Management Software?

IT asset management software (also called asset management tool) is a dedicated software tool that provides the necessary tracking, monitoring and control elements to efficiently maintain the hardware and software assets in an organization, throughout its lifecycle. It provides information such as:

• The location of the assets
• In-depth information about the assets including cost
• Details about the person using the assets
• Details about asset usage, contract expiry date etc.

Why it is better to select a service desk tool that includes IT asset management software?

Ideally, the IT asset management software should be included under IT service desk tool but they are also available as a separate software. There are many advantages of selecting a service desk software that includes IT operations along with IT Asset Management (ITAM). Some of the most common advantages include:

• Easy to link incidents/problems occurring from assets
• Easy to view historical incidents/problems related to a particular asset
• More cost effective and better resource optimization
• It provides better context in terms of understanding asset details such as asset owner, impact, configuration details and interdependencies between assets
• Better risk control
• Reduction in number of incidents

Capabilities of asset management software

There are a set of necessary features that every IT asset management software should contain, in order to be useful in an organization. Below are some of the most required feature checklist for IT asset management software.

Inventory Management

Asset tracking is a very complex process. All hardware and software assets purchased in an organization has to be tracked for which a large repository has to be maintained. This is not only expensive but also difficult to link back to the assets. With the inventory management capability of an IT asset management software, assets in stock and in use, such as hardware, software, contracts and any other configuration items, can be easily tracked and evaluated. Also, inventory management capability of IT asset management enables an organization to plan asset purchases by considering up-to-date information on existing assets.

Below are some of detailed information on inventory management capabilities that a good IT asset management software should have:

Asset tracking is a very complex process. All hardware and software assets purchased in an organization has to be tracked for which a large repository has to be maintained. This is not only expensive but also difficult to link back to the assets. With the inventory management capability of an IT asset management software, assets in stock and in use, such as hardware, software, contracts and any other configuration items, can be easily tracked and evaluated. Also, inventory management capability of IT asset management enables an organization to plan asset purchases by considering up-to-date information on existing assets.

Below are some of detailed information on inventory management capabilities that a good IT asset management software should have:

Single repository to track all assets in an organization

A good IT asset management software would have inventory management capabilities that can keep an extensive record of asset information (both in stock and in use). This will provide the user with visibility on all asset data. In addition to this, current ownership of the asset and its previous ownership has to be recorded. By getting information on an asset’s availability or capacity, decisions on an asset’s stock replenishment can be taken easily. Additionally, the threat of asset theft can be avoided with proper records.

Value of the assets can be evaluated easily

IT asset management software’s inventory management capability should also be able to provide insights on the value of all the assets in the organization throughout its lifecycle. Critical decisions regarding the expenses for the assets can be easily made because of these insights. Also, the information gained from these insights can be used for budget planning and to understand the expenditure made for IT and non IT assets.

Capability to monitor purchases

With the help of inventory management capability of IT asset management software, accurate asset data for an organization can be accessed from a single system in the service desk. Spending pattern and wasted resources can be analyzed to improve asset management.