What is IT asset management (ITAM)?
IT assets have a limited usage span. In order to maximize what an organization can get out of them, the IT asset lifecycle can be actively managed. Every organization can have different stages of that lifecycle, but they typically encompass planning, procurement, deployment, maintenance, and retirement.
A crucial aspect of IT asset management is the application of process throughout all phases of the lifecycle so that the total cost of ownership can be known and asset utilization can be maximized.
Previously, IT administrators could manage assets within their own sphere. Today, an organization’s asset management practice goes far beyond hardware that comes with an official IT seal of approval.
Subscription software and employees’ expectation to personalize the tools they use through marketplaces and app stores pose new asset management challenges. The nature of working in today’s teams means IT teams must be agile and evolve their asset management process to maximize the business’s ability.
As different teams strive to utilize the tools that suit them best, asset management is a more critical component of an organization’s overall strategy and offers real-time information to minimize risks and expenses. An asset management process develops a single source of truth while optimizing budgets, facilitating lifecycle management, and making decisions that affect the entire organization.
As teams outside of IT begin to adopt service management, asset management has become increasingly critical in a range of areas. We’ve heard of businesses utilizing asset management software to manage everything from fleets to fish, insurance, and musical instruments.
Why is ITAM important?
Providing a single source of truth
Too often, assets are tracked in multiple locations and by multiple personnel. Nobody owns anything, and nobody has any tool to gather and consolidate the information. Of course, disorder and unreliability ensue. It’s hard to make decisions. There are even businesses where individuals are being hired solely to monitor IT assets. Systems ought to do this job.
Without the need to dedicate time and brain space to managing artifacts, monitoring usage, and comprehending dependencies, IT staff can concentrate more on what is most important to the organization. Asset management introduces order, and provides one source of truth for IT teams, management, and ultimately, whole organizations.
Enhancing utilization and minimizing waste
Asset management maintains data current, so groups reduce waste and enhance utilization. It saves money by preventing unnecessary acquisitions and reducing licensing and support expenses. Greater control also enforces security and legal policy compliance and minimizes risks. The favorable effects on costs and productivity accrue to the entire organization.
Facilitating productivity without sacrificing reliability
As digital transformation reshapes the organization’s operations, today’s asset management is so much more than simply monitoring laptops and mice. Teams are adopting DevOps and SRE concepts, and require asset management processes and tools in order to deliver new functionality and services efficiently without sacrificing reliability at high speed. In the “Prepare Your IT Asset Management for 2020” report, Gartner observes that as the platform and infrastructure services have become more dependent, good asset management can allow organizations to control and govern their use of “on-demand services.” Greater control, visibility, and allocated responsibility can help teams avoid unnecessary spending by minimizing excess consumption such as overprovisioning, and idle instances.
Facilitating ITSM practices and empowering teams in organizations
IT asset management is essential to enable ITIL processes such as change, incident, and problem management. IT facilitates the rest of the organization to become more innovative and deliver faster value. With the correct information at hand, teams can proceed with agility and anticipate the change impact before it occurs. By giving everyone access to insights, the organization achieves competitive advantage, delivering faster value. Any organization attempting to keep in lockstep with the rhythm of contemporary innovation must get strategic about managing, monitoring, and ruling IT data.
The IT asset management process
IT asset management is not a project. You don’t do it one time and have it complete. ITAM is a process that teams run repeatedly or when assets, goals, and tools are changing.
- Inventory assets – The initial step in the process of IT asset management is to maintain a proper inventory of all the IT assets. Your inventory consists of what assets you possess, where they are kept when you bought them, and how much you paid for them.
Compute lifecycle costs – Step two is to compute lifecycle costs for each asset in your inventory. Over the course of an average asset’s lifespan, there are numerous chances for additional costs, such as maintenance, capital, and disposal expenses. Computing lifecycle costs makes your asset inventory realistic and useful. - Tracking – The third step is tracking using an asset management tool. Your objective is to keep monitoring IT assets throughout their lifecycle with a keen eye on items such as contract, license, and warranty expiration. Tracking also enables you to get ahead of the fourth step, maintenance.
- Maintenance – Maintenance is the repair, upgrade, and replacement of assets. All maintenance operations must be recorded in an ITAM tool so that the information can be utilized to know the overall performance of the asset.
- Financial Planning – The fifth and last step is financial planning. With a clear picture of your IT assets, their lifecycle phase, and their expenses, you can plan for the future effectively. One of the objectives of financial planning is to establish the budget required to sustain or enhance the “levels of service” your staff delivers for your most valuable assets. An asset that was well managed with a high level of service, such as a service desk and dedicated staff, will require that level of service in the future. Assets that performed poorly might require more service in the future, and that will be more expensive.
How to start with ITAM
Starting IT asset management might sound like a chore, but by adopting the ITIL 4 principle of “Start where you are,” you can ensure success. Rather than attempting to change your whole system all at once, start by assessing and examining your existing processes and infrastructure. This will enable you to recognize areas for improvement and make incremental changes to improve your asset management strategy. Make rapid gains by concentrating on the most important elements of your business and solving your greatest pain points first.
You’ll want to select software and a method that suits your needs today and can expand with your organization. As your needs change, you’ll require a versatile solution that can evolve with developing needs.
Having a culture of transparency and collaboration is critical to effective IT asset management. Ensure the correct individuals have access to the data they require at the right time. This will create a more productive and efficient working environment.
For more in-depth information on how to start IT asset management, feel free to review our free Asset and Configuration Management Handbook, or find out more about IT asset management best practices.
How to select IT asset management software
Why do you require asset management software
When you start evaluating various asset management software vendors, begin by determining why you need to enhance your asset management strategy. Following are some of the typical indicators that indicate you’re ready for asset management software:
You want to save money
As dependence on software, infrastructure, and platform services grows, one of the secrets to reducing costs is maximizing expenditure on these services. Based on Gartner research, “many organizations can reduce expenditure on software by up to 30 percent” through best practices for optimizing software licenses. This is not a simple task to do manually. According to Gartner, “optimizing complex licenses manually is labor-intensive, requires specialized knowledge, and does not scale.” Larger businesses will require a Software Asset Management (SAM) platform. A SAM tool can automate, accelerate, and enhance manual operations. It can pay dividends over manual alternatives and frequently pays for itself.
You’re relying on spreadsheets
Spreadsheets continue to be one of the most popular tools for businesses to begin managing their assets. Do they remain accurate for very long? No. They become inaccurate or cumbersome very quickly. In fact, Sage Accounting discovered that a $2 million business that was using spreadsheets to manage their assets could be spending up to $50,000 annually on “ghost assets,” or assets that they are paying and accounting for in their general ledger but that do not actually exist. Yikes.
It is challenging to keep up with the rate of change in your firm.
Five new headsets were received today. Four employees’ laptops were taken at a restaurant in Tuscaloosa. In a month, ten printers are being replaced with new ones from the leasing firm, and the following month, 14 laptops. If you require an employee – even part-time – to monitor everything, then you require a minimal system to simplify the work.
“Shadow IT” is on the rise
Increasingly, applications, licenses, and other IT assets are being bought, maintained, and utilized in “the shadows,” unbeknownst to the central IT staff. Collaboration software that brings IT into the loop can keep other teams productive, while sidestepping risk and unnecessary expense.
After you have determined that the time is appropriate, planning out what adopting a new method of asset management will entail for your company will serve to further define which software will best suit your requirements. In our experience, an asset inventory is the initial step in order to gain a better understanding of where everything is and your expenses. From there, one can chart asset lifecycles and compare costs with your finance team.
Further, IT asset management does this step plus step and automates repetitive asset management work. As an example, a worker might utilize a self-service portal to request access to a shared software subscription. Employing existing rules, the request can be automatically approved with an email sent for a link that grants access to the subscription to the requestor. This cuts down on how much effort the IT teams invest in support activities, leaving them free to engage in higher-level work.
Collaboration is also a key component of good asset management. Rather than purchases being done behind the scenes, a collaborative tool allows it to be simple for employees to request and for other groups such as procurement to comment and approve purchases. And, if you can integrate your asset management tool with services employees already utilize, even better. For example, integrate it with Slack so a worker can send a request with a couple of keyboard taps. Enhancing the intake process for asset requests goes a long way toward enhancing the visibility of the IT staff.
It is notable that an underlying service desk is a good starting point here. It provides a simple mechanism for staff members to request support, and in addition, allows IT personnel the means to automate and report back on requests. A service desk integrated with asset management software provides IT teams critical context to enable them to perform better. Take the case when a user will request a fix for a laptop. Some generic information is presented automatically: like purchase date, past problems, etc. The IT staff can also view any tickets associated with that laptop. This instant and full context equates to quicker resolution of customer problems.
As IT becomes more advanced, dependence falls more and more on SaaS providers for mission-critical services, and it’s required to monitor changes in more dynamic cloud environments, asset management is evolving. It’s crucial that you select the tools that can best facilitate collaboration and support your service management practice.
Each organization is unique. Perhaps you must trace complex dependencies throughout an enterprise. You may want to track intangible assets such as licenses and regulatory documents to minimize risk. Your needs may be less complex and involve monitoring an inventory of computers.
Blessedly, asset management software is available in all shapes and sizes, from lean and inexpensive integrations, to full-featured, high-priced systems that can even automate the discovery of all IP-based equipment on the network, clean the dishes stacked in your office’s kitchen sink, and so forth. No matter if you opt for a light weight tracker or an enterprise class system, the key concern is identifying which option will best suit your specific use scenario.
5 Top IT Asset Management Tools for 2025
IT asset management (ITAM) software market will reach USD 2.9 Billion by 2032, according torecent studies. The study illustrates how sophisticated IT infrastructures (with a combination of software and hardware assets) are the primary driver to the market growth.
Organizations have soon come to understand the significance of maximizing assets throughout their whole lifecycle to enhance their productivity at a cost they can manage. Fortunately, latest developments in AI are making a number of aspects of IT asset management easier.
Envision AI reminding you automatically when software licenses are near expiration, or highlighting unused assets that can be redeployed. With an AI-based ITAM tool, you can automate routine monitoring and tracking tasks, saving significant efforts and expenses for your organization.
In this guide, we will examine the best tools leveraging AI to assist you in managing assets efficiently in 2025 and beyond.
1. Atomicwork
Atomicwork provides enterprise asset managementcapabilities for IT organizations to monitor and control assets’lifecycle end-to-end–purchase through disposal.
Main features:
Configure your own asset attributes and store detailed hardware and software asset information
Visualize asset connections with users, requests, andincidentsto easily limit asset impact
Automate asset lifecycle processes from procurement through retirement
Integrate seamlessly with Microsoft Intuneto import assets and have one service record
Review in-depth asset reports to make asset planning decisions based on facts
2. IBM Maximo
IBM Maximo is a top enterprise asset management solution with rich functionality and scalability. Their AI-driven monitoring identifies issues before they arise using condition-based maintenance.
Major features:
Companies can select and manage their license capacity
A single platform offers an end-to-end view of assets enterprise-wide
Maximo is extremely flexible and can be installed on any cloud
3. ServiceNow
ServiceNow Asset Management system offers end-to-end visibility into assets, enabling organizations to maximize asset utilization and minimize costs. They also enable employees to use their mobile devices to request assets, view assigned assets, and report incidents—anytime.
Key features:
Manage assets and access asset information on the go through mobile apps, enhancing field service efficiency
Real-time visibility into asset performance, utilization patterns, and maintenance requirements
Control a variety of assets such as hardware, software, facilities, and consumables across their entire lifecycle
4. SolarWinds
SolarWindsAsset Management provides automated asset discovery, inventory management, and software license management.
Key features:
Improve efficiency by unifying business processes across assets, enterprise, and networks
Customizable asset details forms enable businesses to monitor critical details such as purchase orders, warranty data, configuration information, and assigned users
Integration with other SolarWinds IT management products to have a complete picture
5. Asset Panda
Asset Panda is a cloud asset tracking and management software that various industries can utilize to keep track of various kinds of digital assets. They have strong integrations and logging capabilities that can be utilized by IT teams to manage assets in an efficient manner.
Key features:
Asset management workflows that are customizable
- Audit trails to be able to see asset history
- Automated notifications for improved asset planning
How to select the appropriate asset management tool?
While choosing an asset management tool for your company, keep in mind the following:
1. Relevancy:Know whether the tool is appropriate for your specific business and industry. The tool must match well with your company’s needs, compliance levels, and laws.
2. Scalability: Your organization is most probably going to increase more with time. Therefore, it is best to acquire a tool that can support your company’s future expansion; whether with the quantity of assets, various software and hardware, additional geographies, etc.
3. Integration: All great B2B tools have great integrations. When searching for an IT asset management tool, look for compatibility. Select a tool that can be integrated easily with your existing systems and software.
4. Security: It is better to be safe than sorry. When searching for the tool, prioritize those that offer robust security measures. Learn in detail about their licenses, updates, data protection policies, and regulations related to third-party sharing.
Choosing the optimum asset management solution for your organization needs to be a thoughtful exercise based on your own particular requirements, budget, and long-term vision. Of more importance than the number of features is relevance. A proper tool fits like a glove to your business.