Keeping an accurate catalog of all company hardware—in use as well as in storage—makes it easy to track equipment and identify missing hardware. Asset tagging, assigning ownership, and tracking the asset’s location give organizations the information they need to mitigate risks associated with incomplete asset knowledge. It also allows HAMs to identify which assets are idle and thus more likely to be targeted for theft.

Without an established hardware asset management strategy, the responsibility of handling and keeping track of equipment often falls to employees. Without established HAM best practices, these employees may rely on inefficient, ineffective, or time-consuming processes. Proper asset management not only ensures accurate cataloging and distribution of essential equipment, it also frees up employees to make more efficient use of their time—predicting asset issues before they occur, and allowing organizations to automate many asset management processes.

Hardware management best practices and well-organized maintenance and upgrade schedules helps ensure that employees are using company equipment properly, and are getting the most out of it. At the same time, accurate asset inventories protect organizations from overspending, reducing overall spend and getting more for their hardware investments.

It’s difficult for security teams to protect what they can’t see. Effective HAM provides a complete listing of all hardware assets accompanied by relevant version information. This allows security teams to create complete coverage strategies, while also identifying assets that may be vulnerable to emergent threats. Working in conjunction with ITAM, hardware asset management can also identify unapproved hardware assets and ensure compliance with established policies and regulations.

Perhaps most importantly, HAM gives businesses complete visibility and control over the asset lifecycle. For every piece of equipment, asset managers have easy access to product and vendor details, usage history, current ownership and tasks, and more. Relying on this data, HAMs can then make more-informed decisions related to vendor contracts, servicing, replacements, and more.

Taken all together, these benefits provide a clear advantage for organizations that invest in effective hardware asset management. Top-quality HAM systems and strategies quickly pay for themselves, both in terms of time and money.