IT asset management (ITAM) is the set of processes and tools an organization uses to manage, control and protect all of its IT assets over time. Enterprises recognize it as a key part of IT strategy and a decision-making tool for how hardware and software are used, purchased and redistributed.
The Benefits of IT Asset Management
ITAM helps organizations manage their IT assets more efficiently. Cost transparency is only one of its benefits:
- Lower costs: avoiding duplicate or unnecessary purchases and reusing software licenses where appropriate saves time and money.
- Reduced audit risk: an effective ITAM solution helps you prepare for software audits by knowing exactly what you own, where it is and what it is worth.
- End-of-life management: tracking hardware through retirement reduces the risks of aging equipment, saving money and protecting the enterprise.
- A more stable environment: the insight from a complete ITAM tool gives IT teams the information they need to manage incidents and changes.
- Better service: combined with incident management and request fulfillment workflows, ITAM provides full transparency and traceability, and supports knowledge management that improves service quality and customer satisfaction.
With visibility and control of IT assets throughout their lifecycle, enterprises can drive down costs, optimize assets and make sure end users and customers get better value from their investment in IT.
How IT Asset Management Relates to Telecom Expense Management
ITAM doesn’t happen overnight. It is also difficult to meet the true needs of large enterprises when telecom and IT products and services promise 100% ROI, or simply cost a lot, without real proof for the business units that pay for them.
Technology costs are enormous, and they keep growing as enterprises shift from a capital expense (capex) to an operating expense (opex) model. Gartner expects worldwide IT spending to reach $6.31 trillion in 2026. Yet in many organizations, telecom and IT costs are not charged back to the business units that use them, or are charged back incorrectly or without detail.
This is where IT asset management and telecom expense management (TEM) intersect. Today’s CIOs need to bring telecom and IT asset management together on a single platform to achieve full cost transparency.
That allows telecom and IT to operate as a service provider, with:
- A catalog of products and services aligned to business needs.
- A defined cost model for each service.
- A process to track and charge back business units based on their actual consumption.
To meet this growing need, CIOs must adopt the right technology and business processes for full cost transparency. That is true technology expense management.
An Easy Decision for IT Leaders
Investing in ITAM should be one of the easiest decisions an IT professional makes. By understanding your assets, you can balance quality against cost, improve customer satisfaction and reduce risk.
Asignet’s ITAM solution is built on robotic process automation (RPA) workflows that automate the full lifecycle of your IT assets, and it manages IT and telecom assets on one platform.
Contact Asignet to learn more about our ITAM platform.
