3 Benefits of Automating IT Asset Management

Businesses everywhere are boosting productivity by adding technology. But simply having an IT Asset Management (ITAM) program isn’t enough. Find out why you should be applying automation to your ITAM program.

Every day, you probably see, hear, or read about one more company that’s incorporating technology into every fiber of its being to boost productivity. It’s precisely why automation has become such a popular IT buzzword. If you can figure out how to reap the array of benefits automation provides, you’re a hero.

Especially if you inject its impact into your organization’s IT Asset Management (ITAM) initiatives. Hardware and software asset management has become a must-have for any tech-savvy team – and, if anything, its importance will only continue to grow. As devices penetrate deeper into mission-critical business strategies, the needs of IT are increasing.

Automation-driven ITAM is your opportunity to satisfy all of them. To eliminate the hassle of time-consuming manual updates and give IT more hours in the day. To replace unreliable spreadsheets with verifiably accurate data. And – most importantly – to make your technology more strategic.

By 2025, the value of managed IT assets globally will exceed $145 trillion, meaning all eyes will be on you to innovate and evolve how business is done. While there are a virtually unlimited number of ways you can go about it, applying automation to your multi-faceted ITAM effort is worth looking into.

Unless you don’t need more efficiency, security, or profitability, of course…

How Automated ITAM Grows Your Efficiency

The world of ITAM is big. And getting bigger. There are multiple features and functionalities you can apply automation to if your goal is to get more efficient. But knowing exactly where, when, and how to make the most of your investment gives you the best chance to increase productivity, ensure smoother IT processes, and make connectivity more reliable.

Using automated ITAM software to replace spreadsheets, for example, is an easy place to start. Manual data entry makes spreadsheets cumbersome to update and manage – not to mention creates serious potential for missing and/or inaccurate data. In fact, nearly nine out of 10 spreadsheets contain errors today.

Another way automation drives greater efficiency throughout ITAM is that it makes any device, service, or software product instantly accessible once it’s connected to your network. In real-time, you can dive into granular details about device ownership, usage, and more – making it possible to track inventories and streamline change management through tech such as barcodes and RFID tags.

Plus, maintenance checks can be routinely scheduled and performed. That means every asset is guaranteed to be operating at peak conditions, preventing the potential for downtime. So you can stay focused on the IT projects and initiatives that truly matter.

Automated ITAM makes troubleshooting considerably faster and simpler, too. Asset information can be pulled, updated, and reported in seconds from anywhere – minimizing workflow disruption and giving you the data you need to make more informed business decisions.

A robust automation suit even makes it possible to integrate ITAM with third-party apps to custom your asset management platform without creating a need to swivel-chair between multiple software products. And faster turnaround times make both your customers and your employees happy.

How Automated ITAM Upgrades Your Security

When automation is introduced into your ITAM environment, your company instantly upgrades its IT security. The combination gives you greater control over your assets, as well as they data they generate, communicate, and store – and, in some cases, can even help you prevent security breaches. At the very least, automated ITAM delivers a new level of insight to your security team so that whenever something goes wrong, you can react as quickly as possible.

Automated ITAM enables you to configure custom user roles so that access to certain assets can be limited – ensuring that you’re not exposing sensitive information to anybody that shouldn’t be seeing it. Tools like Single Sign-On also boost security by implementing a protected, easy-to-understand login procedure that prevents anyone from outside your organization to access your network.

Beyond strengthening asset access points, automation-fueled ITAM lets you build trackable audit trails so you see who is using which what, where they’re using it, when they’re using it, and what an individual asset’s current security status is. That way, lost or stolen devices can be tracked down, the disparity between planned and actual inventory is eliminated, and your users can be held accountable for any bad behavior that puts your business at risk.

You can even carry out compliance checks to ensure your IT assets meet relevant operational standards and aren’t one breakdown or malfunction away from exposing your most valuable data to malicious actors. You gain insight into how attacks happen, which assets are affected, and how a similar attack can be avoided going forward.

How Automating IT Asset Management Cuts Your Costs

The cost of automating an ITAM initiative is typically what scares businesses away. After all, buying new software tools or hiring more IT experts isn’t cheap – but the positives outweigh the negatives in the long run. When it comes to automated ITAM, the potential savings make this investment more than worth it.

Real-time asset information decreases your procurement costs and eliminates the potential for inventory shrinkage caused by excess devices. You’ll be able to stay on top of which assets are due for disposal at every step so you can plan ahead. And more efficient ITAM also reduces the financial burden of audits by giving you the tools to track and manage data that prevents non-compliance penalties down the line.

By tracking a comprehensive IT asset inventory and knowing everyone who owns a device, automated ITAM also deters employee theft and redundant software licensing purchases. And that leads to time and money saved for your department. At the end of the day, the greater level of transparency automation gives your ITAM initiatives reduces the risk of unplanned costs – so you can make the most of every dollar your IT team spends.

As your company grows, acquires more assets, and manages a bigger workforce, ITAM will only get harder to control. So, why wait any longer to adopt automation? While automating your ITAM environment may seem like a daunting task, the risks of not doing so are even more potentially disastrous.

If it’s time to step up your ITAM game to deliver greater efficiency, security, and savings to your organization, schedule an engineer-led demo of our platform to see how we can help you make it happen!

Ready to boost your IT team productivity?

Contact us to find out whether FileWave is a fit for your team. Request your 30-day free trial now.

Scroll to Top