What is Hardware Asset Management and How is it Essential For Business?

What is Hardware Asset Management?

Hardware Asset Management is a thorough process in which all IT equipment undergoes a comprehensive audit as part of maintaining the IT estate of a business. It’s an essential task, although it can be overlooked by businesses as they don’t realise how crucial it is that all IT equipment is functioning at full capacity. 

It can help prevent hardware problems from happening, and allows businesses to understand how well their IT estate is working. Hardware asset management looks at the full end-to-end lifecycle of all pieces of equipment, including computers and their accessories, and integral server towers, right from procurement all the way to their retirement. 

Why Does Your Business Need It?

Every business should keep on top of their hardware audits. In 2022, every single organisation depends heavily on their hardware. This is more relevant as lots of people continue to work from home after the pandemic and organising replacement hardware can be trickier to manage than it was when everyone was in the office. 

It’s vital to your day-to-day functioning to carry out regular hardware asset management, and allows you to schedule the integration of new equipment, and make plans for retiring devices too. 

Conducting hardware asset management should be carried out by experts who understand the immensity of this important task, and carry out the job efficiently. Outsourcing it to specialists is a cost-effective method of keeping on top of your hardware and software.

Keep IT Equipment at Peak Performance

All the equipment that runs on a company networks need regular hardware auditing in order to keep them working at peak performance. Over time, hardware will degrade and eventually need to be retired as technology moves on. Running regular HAM audits allows you to keep IT hardware running smoothly and efficiently, it also means the equipment will need to be replaced less. 

Decreases Downtime

Carrying out regular Hardware Asset Management and audits will help to identify any weaknesses in the systems, and can allow you to plan for what equipment may need replacing or updated. That prevents it from suddenly failing and requiring a 

When equipment fails you risk systems going offline, or the entire network going down which stops staff members from doing their jobs properly, and can directly affect your bottom line and daily operations. 

Better Awareness of IT Estate

Even small companies and start-ups can have vast IT estates that are difficult to manage. Conducting regular hardware audits allows you to have an in-depth understanding of exactly what IT hardware you own, and what’s missing. You won’t accidentally duplicate an order and get equipment that you already had, since you’ll be able to track and manage all the hardware. 

Prevents Theft

Monitoring your IT estate regularly can also help prevent asset theft. Unfortunately, IT hardware equipment is sometimes stolen – it could be a targeted attack, or a disgruntled ex-employee who doesn’t hand their laptop back in. But these items are all costly to replace, and take time to do so. Keeping better track of all your IT hardware, and their locations, helps to prevent the likelihood of someone stealing it and getting away with it.