Before the pandemic, assets were managed through a spreadsheet or a register and were managed manually by the Asset Manager/IT Agent (in some cases). When the pandemic forced people to work out of their homes, assets management became complex. Manual allocation of assets, monitoring software licenses and upgrades, and keeping track of assets were tedious. It became impossible to manage remote assets without using an asset management solution.
An asset management solution aims to help you see assets as a part of the IT infrastructure. An effective asset management solution can help you with
- Improved asset visibility
- Asset tracking in terms of location, status, usage, etc.
- Reduce maintenance costs.
- License and compliance management
- Ensure optimized asset utilization
- Asset insights
Things you need to know before you invest
Before investing in a solution, it is imperative to understand the business needs and identify the resolution required to address the pain points. There are a few things to consider before purchasing an asset management solution on the internet. Below are a few points to help you decide.
- Examine your needs – Instead of examining what the solution offers, examine your needs. Compare your asset management needs and IT Infrastructure requirements. Ensure that they are in sync with the organizational goals. It is possible that your assets need a specific way of management, not the standard practices followed. If so, an customizable solution would fit you better than the popular one.
- Think ahead – It is not just enough for asset management solutions to match your current requirements. Think ahead. See if your asset discovery software is scalable to keep up with the growth over the next few years. Examine if the technology used isn’t outdated.
- Try it out – Most of the solutions have a trial period that you can use. Trying it out for a month or more will help determine the differences, advantages, and other nitty-gritty. The trial period also helps analyze the user-friendliness, training time and requirements, and the support options offered.
There are various asset management solutions in the market. Organizations provide a variety of solutions to meet a variety of needs. Some solutions are geared toward enterprises, while others are more focused on specific asset types. Compared to other products on the market, some of the products are specialized. Let’s look at some of the market’s niche IT asset management solutions.
- ServiceNow ITAM
ServiceNow has been one industry-leading IT asset management solution to manage software and hardware assets. ServiceNow helps with the complete Asset lifecycle from procurement to retirement and enables optimum utilization of resources.
While ServiceNow offers customizable reports and dashboards, integration with ITSM for managing incidents and change management, the downside is that this is not a full-fledged IT asset management software.
- Pulseway IT Asset Management
MMSoft Pulseway is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) software for assets. Pulseway is a mobile-first remote management software that allows users to complete all administrative tasks from their smartphone or tablet, making it the best mobile application for asset monitoring. Pulseway offers users a cutting-edge and intelligent user experience.
While the upside to Pulseway is in its instant connectivity, advanced diagnostic options like restart, logout, kill processes, etc., the downsides are with its reporting and remote connectivity options. Users must stick to the pre-built non-customizable reporting structures. However, Pulseway makes up for its downsides with its real-time asset updates on the app and detailed notifications.
- Asset Explorer (Manage engine)
AssetExplorer is a web-based IT asset management solution that lets you track, monitor, and manage your IT assets at all stages of their lives. AssetExplorer is a must-have asset management solution that includes a comprehensive toolkit, high-quality reporting, and support for all IT assets. They provide over a dozen pre-built reports that may be customized to meet specific needs, and these reports can be generated and emailed on configuration.
Though detailed, AssetExplorer’s initial set-up process proves to be daunting and overwhelming for new users. The lack of a mobile application is a significant disadvantage of ManageEngine AssetExplorer. While the application may be accessed using a mobile browser, the user interface (UI) is relatively sophisticated, making navigation on mobile devices more challenging.
- EZOfficeInventory
EZOfficeInventory is a cloud-based asset tracking software with a comprehensive log for all fixed assets – from procurement to retirement. It offers simplified workflows, asset tagging, access control, and availability assessments. Their mobile application supports iOS and Android, making on-site asset tracking quick and easy.
Adding assets onto EZOfficeInventory is pretty simple. However, new users find it tedious to keep up with the confusing user interface. Excel integration and mobile barcode scanner for assets are rated the best. The only con for EZOfficeInventory is that it doesn’t support IT Assets.
- Ivanti Neurons for ITAM
Ivanti Neurons for ITAM helps businesses consolidate IT asset information. It helps to track, configure, optimize, and manage your assets strategically through the complete asset lifecycle of all IT assets. The key features include lifecycle tracking, product catalog, barcode scanning, vendor management, etc. However, the highlight is their reporting capabilities.
Ivanti Neurons comes with a lot of pre-built reports for instant report generation. It allows customization of reports and workflows and a mobile app to manage assets on the go. Ivanti Neurons for ITAM stands out as the top choice for bespoke reporting.
- Freshservice ITSM
Freshservice is one of the most popular asset management software solutions. To begin with, it is effortless to set up and use, which helps businesses that are new to asset management. Freshservice offers streamlined workflows, tracking, reporting, and management of asset lifecycles.
Freshservice stands out as the best choice for small businesses seeking an easy-to-implement and competitive asset management solution. If firms are searching for an integrated solution, their only drawback is the lack of customization possibilities and the cost associated (compared to competitors).
Infraon Assets by Infraon Corp is a powerful asset management solution that helps businesses track software, hardware, and fixed assets. Infraon is a SaaS-based asset management solution that tracks and manages all assets from requisition to replacement and retirement. Infraon features include asset tracking, compliance management, license management, contract management, inventory management, barcoding, etc.
Infraon Asset Management comes with a user-friendly interactive dashboard that gives strategic insights in real-time. Infraon comes with integrated ITSM capabilities – customizable workflows, incident/problem/change/release management. The con here is the lack of mobile management of assets.
Conclusion
Pandemic or not, an asset management solution is an integral part of every organization’s IT infrastructure. Pandemic-introduced remote working and hybrid style of working is here to stay. This makes an asset management solution vital.
Choosing an asset management solution might sound complex. Reading more and more may seem overwhelming. However, it helps understand the needs and offerings better. There are multiple solutions out there to suit your needs and budget. Remember to analyze your needs. Make a list of must-have features and a list of features that are good to have. Consider pain points and add scalability options. Above all, choosing a solution must be based on the business goals and specific infrastructure needs.
