Why is Hardware Asset Management (HAM) Important?

What Is Hardware Asset Management?

Hardware asset management is a business process that provides visibility into your entire IT infrastructure. It helps you monitor and manage assets by tracking them throughout their lifecycle. This enables you to make better decisions about where to invest, and how to allocate resources for optimal performance.

Hardware Asset Management (HAM) is the management of physical components (desktops, laptops) and computer networks from procurement to retirement. HAM is a major part of IT, so, HAM must be part of the overall scope of businesses and work in harmony with other IT processes. Hardware assets in IT management refer to tangible assets and include assets that are in use and stored.

Hardware, like software, needs to be properly managed to ensure that the business gets the best out of its assets. The right processes must be in place to manage assets from the point of demand until it is retired.

Importance Of Hardware Asset Management

Effectively managing hardware assets also affects the time it takes to resolve hardware problems. With properly executed HAM processes and good training on this process, the time required to fix, request, or supply hardware is greatly reduced. This allows the IT team to turn to other areas.

Organizations that successfully implement Hardware Asset Management as a discipline often experience enterprise-wide improvements in their operations and ultimately their profitability. In addition, organizations need to have the right processes and policies to manage hardware assets is important.

Benefits of Hardware Asset Management:

Hardware asset management is a system that can help you track and manage your organization's hardware assets. It provides a centralized location where you can inventory all your equipment and software products, set up service contracts, create reports, and more.

Hardware asset management helps increase operational efficiency as it tracks assets throughout their lifecycle. This means you'll be able to know when items need repair or replacement and when to schedule preventative maintenance before an item breaks down unexpectedly. It also allows for better forecasting of future budgets by providing visibility into current costs, which is helpful when planning capital purchases.

Hardware asset management improves your ability to make data-driven decisions about your IT investments. You can use this information when making purchasing decisions so that you're not buying more than what's needed or duplicating systems unnecessarily. It also helps ensure that all devices are being used efficiently, which allows you to optimize productivity and reduce costs associated with idle equipment or unused software licenses.

• Increases the life of assets.
• Increases operational efficiency.
• Prevents asset theft.
• Allows you to increase security and compliance.
• Improves business agility.
• Allows you to reduce your overall management, maintenance, hardware, and software expenses.
• Saves time and money identifying the need for new pieces of hardware assets.

10 Benefits of Hardware Asset Management (HAM)

Lifecycle Of Hardware Asset Management

Hardware asset management is also known as Hardware Lifecycle Management (HLM). Here are key processes of hardware asset management:

• Procurement: Procurement is the first step in the asset lifecycle. It covers the purchase of the asset to meet the needs of the business and the budget. Purchasing takes place after the needs are determined based on the collected data.
• Deployment: The asset begins to act at this stage of its life cycle. Preliminary checks are performed to assess for physical defects, engineering issues, design problems, and whether the asset has been installed securely. Then it finally becomes available for use.
• Maintenance: The wear and tear of an asset are normal. Therefore, the maintenance of the asset is very important. The first goal should be to maximize the efficiency of the asset. Therefore, it should be constantly monitored for problems that may arise suddenly during use.
• Support: To prolong the life of an asset, it is important to increase maintenance and support. At this stage, updates are made for asset streamlining and overall IT efficiency.
• Retirement: When the hardware asset reaches the end of its life, it is decommissioned and then needs to be disposed of. Because it has completed its useful product life. The asset is reviewed before disposal. This stage includes removing all business-critical information about the asset.

HAM and SAM Must Contain Each Other

Hardware Asset Management (HAM) and Software Asset Management (SAM) go hand in hand. A SAM project will not run efficiently and as intended without HAM processes.

SAM processes must include HAM. One cannot be maintained effectively or efficiently without the other. The software has effects on hardware and hardware has effects on software. Keeping the two disciplines linked and having an overall IT process that takes into account both hardware and software issues ensures compliance and efficiency while ensuring successful and accurate management of IT assets.

Most important point is to make sure that hardware asset data is also available for software asset management (SAM). This allows the business to maintain license compliance and save money for both desktop and data center enterprise software.

Hardware Asset Management Tool

Hardware asset management is a tool for IT departments that allows them to track the location, use and condition of all their hardware. This is especially important when you have a lot of assets or when it's difficult to physically locate them.

Hardware asset management solutions also help improve security by providing visibility into all devices connected to the network so you can quickly identify unauthorized devices or users accessing sensitive data. Additionally, hardware asset management software often includes features that allow you to track warranty coverage and configure policies based on specific criteria such as location or device type.

Loggle is basically an IT Asset Management software. Loggle offers Hardware Asset Management, Software Asset Management, Application Portfolio Management, License Management, and Integration Inventory Management modules. Do not hesitate to contact us to manage your IT Asset Management processes as a whole and provide maximum benefit.