Best IT Asset Management Software

IT assets are indispensable for operational needs in digital workspaces. Modern organizations want to make sure they are able to provide IT assets to new hires, existing employees, and third-party business partners in a cost-effective manner. Unorganized, unauthorized, and unoptimized assets are difficult to identify, allocate, deploy, track, and also cause a surge in IT costs for organizations. Thus, IT asset management is critical to ensure that organizations are able to provide the right assets to the right end-user at the right time. This is where organizations can use technology to manage their IT assets and related functions. Organizations can also unleash significant cost savings by deploying an IT asset management software solution. ITAM software manages every aspect of the asset lifecycle and mitigates all challenges that IT admins face in handling their assets. 

However, the selection of the right ITAM tool is imperative to successful IT asset management. With plenty of ITAM software available in the market, IT leaders and managers may find it overwhelming to pick the most appropriate tool for their organization. This buyer’s guide intends to provide a reliable solution to this dilemma by providing the most accurate and relevant analysis of all aspects related to IT asset management software. Businesses can use this guide to gain insights that will lead them to make the most profitable investment in ITAM software technology. 

IT asset management comprises the strategic, contractual, and financial decisions that organizations make to support their IT environment. It involves inventory functions, IT asset life cycle management, and IT infrastructure management. With efficient IT asset management, organizations can increase the life span of their assets, increase their productivity and performance, and ensure optimal IT stock levels throughout the organization. 

For instance, an IT admin receives a requirement of 100 new CPUs for a newly set up department. The IT administrator wants to know:

• How many CPUs are currently in stock?
• How many CPUs are already ordered but yet to be received?
• Are there any other CPUs that are approaching their lifespan end and will require disposal? 
• Has any department requested extra monitors/PCs for a project and will submit back the PC shortly? 
• What are the current configurations on the existing CPUs, and what configurations are required in the new request? 
• Are there any remote working requests? How many will be used? 

With answers to the above questions, the IT administrator can easily know how many CPUs and in what configurations he/she needs to order and how many can be provided from the current inventory? Such data would certainly help the IT admins in the quick fulfillment of the request. 

IT asset management provides organizations with complete visibility into their IT infrastructure, current systems and components in use, their costs, and license expiry dates, etc. It also helps organizations determine the accountability of asset usage.

Various Functions in ITAM

• Stock Management: ITAM functions to manage, optimize and rationalize the inventory levels for the IT infrastructure. Also, the new devices are entered into the database and tracked through their life cycle. 
• Configuration Management: Organizations work with thousands of computer systems, network-connected devices, virtual machines, IoT-enabled devices, etc. Configurations for these devices vary according to usage and functions. One function of ITAM is to ensure the right configurations are available for the devices. 
• Service Management: This module helps organizations solve IT service-related issues. With self-service portals, employees can raise tickets for repair, updates, etc. 
• Incident Management: In urgent situations, employees can reach IT admins via chat, email, call, etc. ITAM categorizes and prioritizes ticket resolution based on urgency and possible impact. 
• License Management: This function brings all licenses under one head. It triggers automated notifications and alerts for license renewals before expiry dates. 
• Requisition Management: This module manages purchase requests, purchase contracts, approval tracking, and allotment of purchased assets. 
• Disposal Management: IT assets need green disposal for compliance and environment-related reasons. This module manages the assets that are lined up for decommissioning. 

Asset Hoarding: However rare, but there are instances in organizations where managers, departments, or employees hold onto assets that they seldom use. This brings unnecessary costs as organizations keep buying more devices even when they have the unused ones lying around. 

Lack of Systematic Approach: Without efficient IT asset management, organizations lack vital information about their IT assets. Lack of organization culminates in chaos and poor visibility of the IT assets and networks. For example, admins may fail to keep track of IT devices of leaving employees or those who migrated to new departments. 

Procurement Issues: When IT administrators have poor knowledge of their existing infrastructure and network assets, it becomes difficult for them to order new stocks in optimum quantities. 

Discovering Assets: When IT managers keep manual entries in registers or excel sheets, it is challenging for them to know exactly the current status of assets. Also, without the automatic discovery of new devices, networks, components, etc., accurate listing of such assets in the inventory database is not possible. 

Problem Solving: Employees often contact the IT admins or raise tickets for service support, troubleshooting, device replacement, etc. Without sufficient data about the software or hardware, IT admins may not be able to provide a quick redressal for the problem. 

Audit and Compliance: Maintaining consistent and accurate records of current assets, service histories, patch summaries, procurement data, usage reports, and downtime info is critical to pass audits and ensure IT compliance. 

Collaboration: Without ITAM, it is difficult for organizations to maintain a free flow of information and equitable distribution of IT assets and resources. Also, the collaboration between departments, senior management, cybersecurity teams, service providers, employees, and third parties is unimaginable without healthy sharing of  IT resources. Every individual in an organization should know how to procure IT resources, usage policies, penalties for unfair usage, Dos and Don'ts, etc. 

Enforcing asset policies: Companies determine and disseminate policies concerning IT assets fair usage by employees. However, due to the distributed nature of assets in the organization, it is difficult for companies to enforce the policies. 

Renewals: Without ITAM, organizations may keep using expired software, outdated applications and forget to renew crucial licenses in time. 

Fueling the Mobile / Remote workforce:  Admins may also forget to update configurations, align networks, install new patches, etc. It can be challenging to allocate, install, and maintain assets for a remote workforce. 

Real-time Visibility: Without ITAM, businesses cannot have full visibility of every asset that belongs to their organization. Real-time visibility is crucial for managing critical incidents and for disaster recovery. 

IT asset management software is an application that consolidates the IT infrastructure into one system and allows organizations to create a standard process to manage their IT assets, stay compliant and reduce IT spendings. An efficient IT Asset Management software leads to better procurement plans, improved IT service quality, cost optimization, better resource allocation, and smooth installation and maintenance of IT assets.

Top Benefits of IT Asset Management Software are: 

Helps IT admins discover and list all assets: 

IT admins can deploy the ITAM system to discover their IT assets over entire networks and operating systems. The software scans your websites, OSes, and networks to identify all connected hardware devices and software applications. It scans Windows, Linux, and Mac operating environments, Virtually hosted machines, routers, and even connected printers. It also discovers your IT assets that are connected to your network via third-party vendors, or agent-based workstations, BYOD or remote devices, etc. 

Provides full-visibility of asset lifecycle: 

IT admins can get a complete view of any IT asset's lifecycle from procurement to current usage. IT asset management software has real-time records about various stages that an asset moves through in an organization--request for procurement, approval, purchase, deployment, usage, maintenance and upgrades, expiration, and disposal.  ITAM software can also integrate with modern technologies such as GPS, RFID, etc., to track the real-time location of the assets in and outside the organization. 

Centralizes information of all assets:

With ITAM software, IT managers can centralize all critical information about their IT assets. They can securely store all software licenses, virtual keys, encryption keys, passwords, hardware and software contract copies, etc. 

Get real-time reports and analytics: 

IT asset management software provides real-time reports and analytics that help organizations in assessing their IT assets’ performance and usability. In one click, IT admins can get reports about the average costs of buying desktops, licenses, average depreciation rates, average repair costs, audit reports, etc. 

Saves IT asset management costs: 

It helps companies manage and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) by enabling optimal usage of IT resources. Quick tracking and availability of IT assets improves performance and increases return on investment. 

Ensures Effective Deployment of IT Assets: 

ITAM software keeps track of previous configurations, maintains an audit trail, and uses a systematic approach to ensure effective deployment of newly commissioned IT assets. It also makes sure all protocols and set policies are followed during deployment. 

Implements Proactive Threat Management System: Organization's hardware and software assets are constantly under cybersecurity attacks and also threatened by privilege misuse by employees. ITAM software deploys effective mechanisms to protect IT assets from all types of security risks. 

Improves IT service management (ITSM) capacities: ITSM is a redressal unit of organizations for IT assets-related issues and complaints. ITAM software brings down the resolution time and enhances the service satisfaction quotient for companies. This leads to unhampered work, no productivity gaps due to assets unavailability, and increased employee satisfaction.  

Other Benefits:

• Organizations can ensure full compliance with audit requirements and IT regulations
• ITAM software leads to better and rational decisions about IT infrastructure 
• Organizations gain more control over their IT assets and resources 
• Increased operational efficiency with aligned IT assets
• Better forecasting leads to timely acquisition of new assets

Inventory Management: 

Track, evaluate, and record all IT assets, virtual IT stocks, and inventory in one place. 

Auto-discovery:

ITAM tools can auto-discover all software and hardware assets in your network. The auto-discovery tools can scan window domains, networks, assets, and VMs. 

Asset Record: 

The ITAM software records the existing inventory and keeps updated lists and catalogs of legacy systems and IT stocks. The records include critical asset parameters such as current version, configurations, cost of the asset, name of manufacturer or vendor, etc. 

Planning:

Organizations can plan the maintenance, replacement, or upgrade of existing hardware and software assets. 

Tracking:

IT admins can track maintenance history, patching information, and version histories. Admins can also track warranties, license expiry, renewal dates for subscription-based software applications, etc. 

Retire: 

Hardware assets have a life span. Outdated or worn-out devices need disposal. With ITAM tools, admins can keep track of hardware that needs disposal. 

License Reports: 

ITAM software provides complete information about software licenses, including SKU data, entitlement, procurement date and time, vendor details, etc. 

CMDB: 

Configuration management database (CMDB) records and reports all types of predefined configurations.  

Procurement:

ITAM software manages purchase contracts, request orders, and procurement reports. 

Mobile Application: 

Native mobile application with comprehensive features to manage and track your IT assets from anywhere in the world. 

Alerts and Notifications:

This feature keeps IT administrators in the loop of every new incident with real-time alerts and notifications for new changes, device discovery, new requests, malfunction, etc. 

Integrations:

ITAM software comes with integrations with other software solutions such as RFID technology, network monitoring software, patch management software, RMM software, etc. 

Maintenance Management: 

IT admins can schedule, manage, track, and record maintenance-related activities for IT assets and resources.

Utility Monitoring:

Tracks the usage, performance, and capacity utilization of IT resources.

Roles and Permissions:  

With IT asset management software, IT admins can assign roles, set permissions, and control access for resources. 

Other Features: 

• Contract management for IT resources procured on lease and agreement tracking.
• Automated updating of the asset inventory database
• Depreciation tracking on hardware assets
• MACD (Modify, Add, Change, and Delete) features for Asset management
• Tracking of financial impacts of assets 
• Anomalous activity detection and vulnerability scans

Organizations that use proven IT asset management techniques and established processes using technological tools are better positioned to manage their IT assets. Evaluating ITAM practices can achieve cost savings of 10% to 20%. Well-defined processes, documented policies, and technological assistance can help companies to create a robust IT asset management program that improves productivity and decreases maintaining costs of IT infrastructure. 

Some of the best practices for IT asset management are: 

• Automate: Most of the regular ITAM processes should be automated, and manual tasks should be reduced to minimum levels. 
• Monitor: Organizations should have a continuous monitoring method that tracks all assets for performance, risks, appropriate usage, and unauthorized access. 
• Update: Keeping all logs up-to-date always pays. When your asset data is timely updated ( preferably in real-time), it prevents all possibilities of discrepancies, misuse, mismanagement, and usage errors. 
• Secure and Prioritize: Firms should identify their most valuable IT assets and protect them with access control features, 2-factor authorization, and cybersecurity defense mechanisms. 
• Use Tools: Technological tools augment the asset management processes and lead companies to successful and effective IT asset management programs. 
• Quantify:  The improvement in performance, utilization, and ROI should be quantified to demonstrate the viability of tools and investments in the ITAM. 
• Document: Documentation is critical for compliance and regulatory purposes. Right from procurement to disposal practices, everything should be well-documented to avoid regulatory penalties. 

Focus on ITAM Metrics:

Analysis of key ITAM metrics keeps business initiatives, goals, and objectives aligned with the benefits of ITAM.  The current ITAM focuses on crucial KPIs such as inventory accuracy, cost savings, risk reduction, compliance, efficiency scores,  etc. 

Regulating Third-party Usage: 

Today, organizations’ IT assets are not exclusively used by internal stakeholders only. Contractors, temporary employees, subsidiaries, guests, and even visitors may use IT assets for various purposes. Organizations, therefore, focus on carving out guidelines and mandates for the third-party usage of their IT infrastructure. With an increase in the work from home culture, organizations face more challenges to protect and secure their data with remote workers. 

Increased Adoption of ITAM tools: 

The growth drivers for ITAM software include increased cloud computing, ITSM, acceptance, and proliferation of SaaS-based applications, and automation of IT functions. The market for IT asset management is expected to cross USD 2086.59 million by 2026, at a CAGR of 11.4% over the forecast period 2021 - 2026.

Before investing in IT asset management software, businesses should carefully evaluate the following factors and seek answers to questions such as:

• What is the current IT asset management policy of your organization?
• What information and databases are currently available about your IT landscape?
• What is the IT asset management lifecycle of your organization? 
• What features are required for your IT asset management for your organization?
• Whether the vendor that you have chosen provides robust customer support, free trial, or demo of its services?
• Whether the vendor has positive customer reviews, a free training program, and implementation assistance?
• What types of integrations are required by your organization?
• What are the costs, hidden charges, and registration fees, installation costs, etc.?
• What type of deployment and pricing model suits your organization? Whether there is a need for a subscription model, a licensed model, or one-time buy plans?
• Can IT asset management software provide secure data vaults and required data storage capacity? 
• Is the ITAM software user-friendly and easy to navigate?
• Is the ITAM solution accessible on all devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones? 
• Will the vendor provide free updates, upgrades, or cost-free plan migration? 
• Can it work smoothly with low bandwidth internet connectivity?

Businesses should also evaluate the complexity of their IT infrastructure. Businesses spread across geographical locations or conglomerates have highly distributed IT assets. Companies that have gone through recent mergers or acquisitions have more complex IT infrastructure. Choosing cloud-based IT asset management software can be a better choice for such companies. Some companies may not require very high-end functionalities. Such companies must plan to buy starter plans with basic functionalities.  

The average costs of IT asset management software depend on factors such as features, deployment, training support, vendor quality, customization required, number of admins and users, the scale of IT devices and resources to be monitored, and many more. 

These variations alter cost estimations for ITAM software. 

ITAM software such as Atera will cost $79 per user per month for its Pro Plan, $119  per user per month for the Growth Plan, and $149 per user per month for the Power Plan. EzOfficeInventory software has pricing based on the number of devices you need to manage. Its plans start from $35 per month for 250 devices. The cost increases with additional devices. For 500 devices, you need to pay $49.70.  

If you are looking for free IT asset management software, check out the free versions of Reftab, Spiceworks, ManageEngine AssetExplorer, xAssets ITAM, itemit, Belmanage, Open-AudIT, CMDBuild. If you need free and open source IT asset management software, then go for SNIPE-IT or GLPI. For other ITAM solutions such as Teqtivity, Lansweeper, Remedy Asset Management, and many others, you need to contact the software vendor for detailed pricing information. Get the updated list of ITAM software solutions from the product section.

GoodFirms has been empowering businesses by providing them actionable insights to make the best IT investments. Currently, GoodFirms houses a massive list of 60000+ software products and services. GoodFirms has also collected 30000+ reviews of these services and products from genuine users. With GoodFirms' highest quality research, B2B software seekers can make a flawless decision to select the best ITAM software for their business. Keeping the needs of small, medium, and large scale organizations in mind, and after making an in-depth analysis of the features, utility, benefits, costs, and many more aspects relevant to ITAM software, this list includes only the best IT asset management software available in the market.