Have you ever wondered how to keep track of all of your tech? Between software licenses, hardware replacements, and compliance regulations, there’s a lot to manage.
IT asset management (ITAM) is designed to address this issue by helping you monitor, optimize, and maintain all your technology resources so that these and other tasks become simple and seamless. This guide will walk you through the basics of ITAM and how it can help you keep your tech on track.
What Is ITAM?
IT asset management is a strategic practice focused on the effective management, tracking, and optimization of an organization’s IT assets throughout their lifecycle. ITAM helps you make sure assets are being used and creates a plan for acquiring new assets and caring for and disposing of existing ones as needed.
These assets include hardware, software, licenses, and other technology resources that are critical for business operations.
How Does It Work?
Your exact approach to organizing and managing your technology will depend on the size, structure, operations, and goals of your business. Many asset management strategies, however, will follow this basic process:
1. Inventory Your Assets
Begin by cataloging all IT assets, including hardware, software, licenses, and cloud services. Include any information that can be helpful in tracking each piece, such as where and when you bought it, where it’s kept, how it’s used, how long its expected lifecycle is, etc.
2. Use a Tool to Organize Info
Organize your assets using a dedicated ITAM tool or software. This will help you keep track of when licenses or subscriptions will expire, when hardware needs maintenance or updates, and so on. Check out the next section of this blog for more information on finding the right software.
3. Take Care of Needed Adjustments and Repairs
Carefully analyze the data you collected to determine any changes you need to make in your technology. You may need to upgrade systems, decommission outdated equipment, reallocate resources, etc., in order to address underperforming or unnecessary assets.
4. Plan Ahead
Remember that ITAM is a process—continue tracking your assets through your software, reevaluating different tools, and making sure your technology is working for you. Develop a proactive strategy for staying on top of this maintenance, including future purchases, updates, and disposal of different assets.
What Does the Right Software Look Like?
The “right” software depends on your needs! The following guidelines are some basic features to look for in an ITAM program, but we recommend consulting with an IT professional who knows your business to determine which software will work best for you.
- Lifecycle tracking, including license expiration notifications
- Identification of underutilized assets
- Analysis and report generation
- Comprehensive overview of assets
- Clear organization and grouping of assets
- Compliance support
- Automated tasks
- Customizable features, such as asset attributes, license capacity, etc.
- Ability to track or manage a wide variety of asset types
- Seamless integration with your existing systems
How Can AI Automation Support ITAM?
AI automation enhances this tool by streamlining repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as inventory tracking, license checks, and data consolidation. With these processes taken care of, you can reduce human error and free up time for your IT team to focus on the more strategic side of IT asset management, like maintenance, optimizing usage, and planning investments according to business goals.
Optimize Your ITAM with AIS
When you partner with AIS, managing your technology becomes seamless. Between our automation services, personalized consulting, and wide range of experience and expertise, we have everything you need to handle all sides of ITAM with confidence. Send us a message, and stay on top of your asset management.