IT Asset Management Best Practice for 2024

IT asset management is an integral part of running any company or industry and affects all members of the workforce. With the IT asset management market being expected to double by 2026, every business should be able to find the best practices to help them with their operations. This article aims to act as a guide helping you find the best IT asset management practices based on your industry, company size, and availability of different tools.

1Top IT Asset Management Best Practices

IT Asset Management (ITAM) refers to the business processes used for controlling all the IT assets, these practices can include identifying, tracking, and managing these assets. Well-developed IT asset management practices will affect employees at all levels of a company.

In this section, we will introduce the eight best IT asset management practices including automation, asset identification, lifecycle management, control of asset inventory, management of costs, software and license asset management, regulatory compliance, and finally the procurement of assets.

1Automation

Automation is considered one of the best practices in ITAM. It describes all the technologies and processes that a company implements to eliminate the need for user intervention in the processes and actions. It can affect a company's functions and offload the work of the IT team. Some of the top examples of the usage of IT asset management automation include:

2Asset Identification

Asset Identification is key to efficient ITAM for any company and is often the first step to any ITAM practices. By identifying and creating an inventory of all the hardware and software assets that a company already owns, business managers can know the deadlines of the assets for updates as well as set up regular maintenance appointments to avoid having a device breakdown.

3Lifecycle Management

Another essential ITAM best practice is Lifecycle management. Lifecycle management refers to an organization's ability to completely track an asset's lifecycle within the company. This covers the request for procuring an asset, approval, procurement, asset deployment, management and usage, expiration, and finally the disposal of the asset.

This can be an important process when dealing with both software and hardware that a company is using. Lifecycle Management is particularly crucial when relating to updating different hardware and software for a company to continue being compliant with international law, and competitive in the industry.

4Control of Asset Inventory

One of the best ITAM practices for companies relates to inventory management. Managing the items on the asset inventory can include renewing licenses and software agreements, procuring and disposing of hardware, and managing the usage of each asset.

The management of the asset inventory will often fall on the IT department, and an unorganized inventory can result in them needing more billable hours to complete a task.

5Costs Management

Another essential part of IT asset management relates to monitoring the usage of different software, licenses, and hardware to ensure that the company only procures assets they require. This can help reduce unnecessary costs for assets that are not essential to the business. Apart from giving a company full control over its expenses, it can also be essential for ensuring compliance with industry and legal standards.

6Software and License asset management

A crucial ITAM practice relates to software and license asset management. Studying and understanding software and license agreements a company already has. Knowing the expiration date and contract details, choosing the proper licenses, and reconciling licenses. In many cases, this is essential for ensuring regulatory compliance. Cases of Software and License asset management include:

7Regulatory Compliance

A key aspect of ITAM best practices relates to regulatory compliance. This includes implementing rules and policies that allow a company to comply with national, international, and industry-wide rules and laws regarding the handling of data, software, and licenses.  Compliance failure can result in excessive fines and other repercussions harming a company's position in the industry. Some of the main areas of compliance in ITAM relate to:

8Assets procurement

Finally, asset procurement is a key practice in ITAM. This relates to the process of requesting and acquiring new IT assets that could be useful for a company, including hardware and new software or advanced license agreements. Asset procurement is essential for ensuring a company will continue to be competitive in an ever-evolving market.

2 Specific Needs and Practices of ITAM in Various Industries

ITAM can serve a purpose in multiple diverse industries. To help you understand the needs that can be addressed by ITAM, we have provided you with some of the best examples of ITAM usage.

Manufacturing

The manufacturing industry requires ITAM for the asset management of not only digital assets but also heavy-duty hardware, which includes everything from simple computers to unique and heavy-duty physical machinery. Some of the best practices of ITAM in the Manufacturing sector include:

● Inventory Management: Inventory management helps ensure that companies know exactly what hardware they need to procure, update, or maintain to keep their production line running smoothly. Any machinery breaking down due to poor maintenance scheduling could cost thousands of dollars.

● Automation: Automation and integration with other operational technologies can help streamline processes and align the synchronization between IT systems and manufacturing equipment.

Retail

The retail industry moves high volumes of stock and inventory in short timeframes, which requires a lot of management and tracking. Some of the best practices of ITAM in Retail include:

● Inventory Tracking: Managing stock levels and tracking different shipments to retail stores and individuals.

● POS System Management: Ensuring that POS machines are updated and can be used to receive payments.

Government and Public Sector

The government and public sectors have to deal with high volumes of data and hardware devices spread across different locations. Due to the sensitive data in storage, they are particularly susceptible to cyberattacks and need to ensure the security of all data. Some of the best practices of ITAM in the Government and Public sectors include:

● Data Security: In the public sector securing data from possible data breaches is essential. ITAM can help track the usage of software and hardware to ensure that no data will end up in the hands of third-party unauthorized users.

● Licensing Tracking: Ensures that all licenses are up to date, helping eliminate the possibility of compliance issues or data breaches.

Transportation and Logistics

The Transportation and Logistics sector requires assets to be tracked across vast geographies while ensuring that all vehicles are constantly in use and transporting goods to avoid millions of dollars in losses. Route optimization, stock management, and real-time tracking are essential in these industries.Some of the best practices of ITAM in the Transportation and Logistics sectors include:

● Management of Fleet and Equipment: ITAM is used to monitor vehicles, cargo, and shipping containers and ensure their proper maintenance to pass all required inspections. This allows the process of shipping goods to continue seamlessly without any stops.

● IoT (Internet of Things) Integration: IoT is used to enhance asset tracking and provide real-time data and information on the location and status of different vehicles and shipments.

3 Potential Risks in IT Asset Management

While following the best practices in IT Asset management can help mitigate possible risks, there is no way of completely eliminating them. The most important risks in IT asset management currently include:

4 Future Trends in IT Asset Management

IT Asset Management continues to evolve with the emergence of more cloud asset management tools, AI Integration, IoT integration, and other improvements in the field. These tools have allowed companies to implement more remote practices in IT management, including optimizations with the usage of new operating models. It is expected that IT Management will improve in many ways over the next few years including through:

1Integration with AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has also been increasingly used in IT Asset management as it allows for further automation in the identification, management, and updating of IT asset inventories. AI can also identify possible security threats while creating modeling strategies for managing ITAM and company data more securely.

2Integration with IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) has started to be increasingly integrated with IT asset management, allowing for increased control and management over assets. One of its key components is that it allows for real-time visibility, thus gathering vast amounts of data for monitoring asset performance. This leads to a more responsive and connected IT environment.
Benefits of IoT integration:

3Cloud-Based Asset Management

Organizations are increasingly using cloud-based solutions for their operations as they allow for greater flexibility and scalability. Cloud-based solutions also allow for IT assets to be managed at all times from anywhere, not just from within company premises.

4Sustainability and Green IT initiatives

Sustainability has become a primary consideration regarding IT asset management as an increasing number of industries and countries have been introducing green laws and practices. These help reduce energy, manage e-waste, and promote energy efficiency.