What is IT Asset Management (ITAM)?

IT assets are any software, hardware, or valuable information stored within information technology systems. It is important for businesses to track the use of such IT assets in a fast and efficient way. This allows businesses to adapt and overcome potential challenges. Let’s discuss the effects of asset management on enterprises’ IT strategies.

What is an IT Asset Inventory?

An IT asset inventory is a comprehensive list of all the hardware, software, and other IT assets that a business owns or uses. An IT asset inventory is important knowledge for managing an organization’s technology resources, tracking their use, and ensuring that any changes or upgrades are recorded. It helps IT departments to stay organized, make well-informed decisions, and ensure that the organization is using its resources in the most efficient way possible.

IT asset inventory ensures that the company's IT structure is visible. Having an inventory of companies prevents duplicate IT purchases and provides cost optimization. An IT asset inventory includes applications, hardware, integrations and systems. It is used to track and manage assets, ensure compliance with licensing agreements, and plan for future IT investments. Also, having an IT asset inventory helps organizations to maintain compliance with applicable laws and regulations, such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX.

Definition of IT Asset Management

IT asset management (ITAM) is a “framework" for strategically managing the financial, physical, licensing and contractual aspects of IT assets through their life cycle” (Gartner). In simple terms, IT asset management aims to track valuable assets throughout their lifecycle to maximize business value. IT Asset Management (ITAM) is the process of tracking, managing, and maintaining all the IT assets within an organization. This includes all physical and digital assets, such as computers, servers, software, and other technology-related items. The process typically involves inventorying, monitoring, and reporting on these assets in order to identify potential risks or areas of improvement. Additionally, it can help organizations optimize their IT investments and ensure that all assets are being used effectively.

The ITAM Framework helps organizations to identify, document, and monitor their IT assets and ensure that they are secure and compliant with relevant regulations. It also provides visibility into the organization’s IT assets, enabling more strategic decisions to be made. Additionally, the ITAM Framework enables better resource and cost management, as well as ensuring that assets are used in accordance with the organization’s policies and procedures.

Why is IT Asset Management Necessary?

As of the 21st century, the digital transformation movement in businesses has gained momentum. Businesses aimed to improve their IT operations by investing in technology in order not to be left out of the game in the competition in the business world. Of course, not all companies have achieved this. While the technology portfolio of companies is growing day by day, companies that cannot manage this inventory have failed in digital transformation.

In order for a digital transformation process to be successful, it must be carried out on the basis of needs and priorities. Here, the need for IT asset management emerged. ITAM shows what businesses have in their inventory, increasing their IT visibility. IT asset management helps companies optimize IT costs and create a more efficient IT environment.

What Are the Types of IT Asset Management?

IT asset management types vary according to the type of asset. Since the critical points are different in each asset type, their processes are also different. If companies want to manage their IT structure end-to-end, they should adopt a management process based on the type of all assets in their inventory. These are generally;

• Application Portfolio Management
• Hardware Asset Management
• Integration Inventory Management
• Software Asset Management
• Network Asset Management
• Endpoint Asset Management
• Cloud Asset Management
• Mobile Asset Management

Application Portfolio Management

Software is the technology solution that accelerates our manual processes both in the business world and in our non-business world. In order to speed up business processes in companies, the amount of software purchases has increased significantly in the last 20 years. The increase in the amount of applications in the application portfolio necessitated a new management mechanism to prevent application complexity.

Application portfolio management (APM) represents the business processes performed to manage on-premise, cloud, SaaS and other applications within the company throughout their lifecycle. The first step of APM is the creation of an application inventory. Afterward, applications are evaluated according to their costs and the IT value they provide. In this process, companies aim to increase the efficiency of their application portfolio and to save on application costs.

Application Portfolio Management Best Practices

Hardware Asset Management

Try to compare a company's office 30 years ago with its current office. While 30 years ago, companies had limited hardware assets, now they are too many to track. If computers, laptops, mobile devices, servers, printers, routers and other hardware assets in a company cannot be managed effectively, various risks arise.

Hardware asset management is the business process to monitor and manage all hardware assets, which are the responsibility of IT teams, throughout their lifecycle. An effective HAM shows information such as hardware assets purchase dates, maintenance dates, warranty end dates, hardware locations, and more. The asset management process for a piece of hardware continues from purchase to disposal.

Integration Inventory Management

Yes, the number of application and hardware assets has grown rapidly. But more than that was needed to automate business processes. The companies' technology assets needed to be integrated with each other. With the development and diversification of integration methods, most companies started to manage their operational processes as a whole.

Integration inventory management enables the management and monitoring of hundreds/thousands of integrations that take an active role in the operational processes of companies. Integration inventory management shows the criticality level of integrations and which integrations are linked.

Software Asset Management

Software Asset Management (SAM) is an important IT management strategy that enables organizations to use software efficiently and effectively. It aims to help organizations track their software licenses and usage and optimize their software investments. The SAM process includes inventorying and tracking software assets, managing software licenses and usage rights, and ensuring compliance with legal and contractual requirements. SAM also helps maximize return on investment by ensuring that software is used correctly and is not over or underused. SAM increases business efficiency, reduces costs, and increases the value of an organization's software assets.

Network Asset Management

Network Asset Management is a process that involves the organization, maintenance, and tracking of all of a company's technology assets, such as servers, computers, and other hardware and software. Network Asset Management helps companies keep track of the value of their technology investments and the current and future costs associated with them. It also helps to ensure that the technology used is secure and up to date, as well as maintain a high level of performance. Additionally, it helps organizations plan and budget for future technology needs and provides the ability to quickly identify and react to changes in the organization's needs. By implementing a comprehensive Network Asset Management system, businesses can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their IT infrastructure, while reducing costs and improving the overall security of their systems.

Cloud Asset Management

Cloud Asset Management is an increasingly important business process for businesses of all sizes to adopt and implement. It enables organizations to manage and monitor their physical and digital assets in the cloud, providing better visibility and control over their resources. With Cloud Asset Management, companies can monitor and optimize the usage of their assets in the cloud, automate workflows and facilitate the monitoring of asset lifecycles. In addition, this process can be used to monitor warranties, repair costs and maintenance schedules, increasing operational efficiency and reducing costs. Cloud Asset Management also offers enhanced security and compliance that helps organizations meet industry standards and protect their data. All in all, Cloud Asset Management is a powerful framework that can help businesses manage their assets efficiently and reduce costs.

Mobile Asset Management

Mobile Asset Management helps organizations keep track of their physical assets, such as computers, vehicles, furniture, and other items. It can systematize the tracking process, helping to ensure that assets are used efficiently and are in the right place at the right time. It also provides visibility into the condition of assets, enabling companies to repair or replace items before they become a problem. By using MAM, companies can reduce their asset losses and maximize their return on investment. In addition, MAM can be integrated with other business systems, allowing for more efficient operations and better decision making

What does an IT Asset Manager Do?

An IT asset manager is the employee responsible for monitoring, managing and reporting IT assets in companies. IT asset managers often work closely with CIOs, technology leaders and IT managers. Apart from these, IT asset managers need to work in coordination with all teams in the company in order to carry out the ITAM process effectively.

The responsibilities of the IT asset manager include creating an inventory of applications, hardware, systems and integrations owned by the company, detailing this inventory and providing data and insights to optimize IT costs. IT asset management is a culture transformation process in companies and this process is not a one-time process. For this reason, ITAM managers have to take an active role in the management of IT assets throughout their lifecycle.

Importance and Benefits of IT Asset Management

You’ll Know What You Have

We know for a fact that thousands of businesses retain their data on spreadsheets. And sadly, they have thousands of assets. Maintaining inventories the old-fashioned way is no longer an option. If you don’t know what you own, how will you leverage it to your advantage? And how will you keep IT spending in check?

Loggle provides a unified source of information for all your software assets. Regardless of how many offices or departments your enterprise has, Loggle is a singular source of truth that you can rely on.

You will Cut Out Needless Complexity

Assuming that you’re a spreadsheet god and swear by its practicality, here’s another question: Can a spreadsheet show you how your assets are connected? What about the criticality of these connections?

Loggle’s integration inventory module displays the information flow within your IT landscape. Select an application to see its connections, the direction of information, and the criticality of its integrations. A highly visual integration map will show the effect each asset has on your system.

You’ll Minimize Technology Risk

The unknown is scary. This also applies to technology! Shadow applications, outdated applications, or user accounts that belong to former employees… all these are often overlooked in the absence of an up-to-date inventory.IT asset management enables regular internal audits for identifying and eliminating potential risks.

You’ll Maximize Operational Productivity

ITAM’s contribution to operational efficiency is no joke. By understanding the value and relationship of your assets, you’ll gain a holistic view of your IT landscape and craft better business strategies. You’ll easily identify ineffective elements that need upgrades or replacements. In fewer words, you’ll optimize your application portfolio.

What is IT Asset Management Software?

Using a software application to manage your IT assets seems to be more functional than relying on nothing. IT Asset Management Software will increase productivity, enable fast and accurate decision-making and prevent any risks.

Loggle can make your ITAM strategy a lot easier. Check out our features page to see how Loggle can fix problems that you didn’t even know you had! (Or maybe you did.) If you need personalized information, feel free to drop your contact details and we will get back to you!