10 Best IT Asset Management Software for Distributed Teams

What is IT Asset Management Software?

Think of ITAM as your organization's genie in a bottle, organizing and overseeing your technology assets. The goal is simple: prevent money waste, stay organized, and keep compliance in check. 

It's about taking ownership of assets, from their purchase to discard. Think about a tidy tool shed, where knowing what you have and where it's stored saves time and trouble. 

Examples of ITAM software include inventory management tools, asset tracking software, and license management tools.

Key Features of IT Asset Management Software

IT asset management software aids your organization in optimizing your IT investments, ensuring compliance, and eliminating risks, which ultimately leads to improved operational efficiency and reduced costs. Here are features to consider when looking for the right IT asset management platform.

1. IT asset tracking

IT asset management helps you track your IT assets through their entire lifecycle, from procurement to disposal. You can track their exact location via barcodes or GPS and also have access to their usage records. Moreover, with IT asset management in place, you gain a complete picture of your organization's total IT assets and their whereabouts, which translates to better inventory management and stock-keeping.

2. Software license management 

A report suggests that up to 30%-45% of software is never used, and more than 80% of organizations do not fully comply with their software licenses.  

With IT asset tracking software in place, it becomes easy to understand if the software across your devices is used in accordance with the software license agreement terms. This is crucial during software audits and to ensure the appropriate usage of purchased licenses. You can also conduct regular software checks and record software usage patterns. 

Efficient ITAM software keeps all license information in one place, including expiry dates, renewals, and purchases. It also notifies you of critical events such as upcoming renewals or expirations and conducts periodic scans to ensure everything's in place. 

3. Contract management

Your IT asset management software should be able to track and manage contracts throughout their lifecycle. Contract lifecycle management encourages justified expenses in your organization and keeps your asset-vendor relationships hassle-free.

These contracts record, among other things, how much your organization has paid to the vendor or owes them, who will conduct maintenance and repairs, and for what duration assets will be in use.

4. Risk management 

With risk management, your ITAM system is capable of identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks associated with IT assets. 

In some systems, security risk mitigation protects your organization against data breaches, malware, and unauthorized access by keeping all assets secure and up-to-date.

IT asset management systems also minimize downtime, aided by proper maintenance and monitoring of IT assets, thereby reducing operational risks, too.

5. Compliance management 

Compliance management involves adherence to laws, regulations, and internal policies.

IT Asset Management software helps achieve and maintain compliance by automating compliance tracking.

These tools also maintain extensive documentation and audit trails prepared for internal and external audits. Plus, most tools ensure compliance with industry-specific regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.

6. Configuration management

With configuration management, your IT Asset Management software verifies that all IT assets are documented, approved, and managed.

Configuration Item, or CI Management, tracks all configuration databases, including their relationships and dependencies.

Change management systems document and control changes to IT assets to ensure their optimal functioning.

7. Asset maintenance and lifecycle management 

This feature of IT Asset Management software concerns the entire lifecycle of IT assets, from procurement to disposal.

You will be able to monitor the location, usage, and condition of assets in real-time to prevent loss and optimize asset utilization.

Moreover, this feature is responsible for maintenance scheduling, that is, the planning and tracking of maintenance activities to expand asset lifespan and reduce downtime.

8. Reporting and analytics

The right software should ideally generate data on asset performance. Look for customizable reports, like reports specifically for asset usage, maintenance schedules, compliance status, and more. Most IT Asset Management software should also be able to produce real-time analytics data, which helps immensely in informed decision-making about asset procurement, maintenance, and disposal.

9. Mobile device management 

Mobile device management (MDM) features will allow you to manage and secure mobile devices used within the organization. This includes:

• Device tracking: Monitoring the location and usage of mobile devices to ensure they are used appropriately and securely

• Security management: Setting security policies, such as remote wipes and encryption, to protect data on mobile devices.

• App management: Managing the deployment and usage of applications on mobile devices to ensure compliance with company policies.

10 Best IT Asset Management Software for Distributed Teams

Here is a list of 10 ITAM software to help you efficiently track, manage, and protect your organization's IT assets.

Workwize

Workwize is a zero-touch IT asset management platform that helps IT teams manage IT equipment for their distributed teams at each stage of its lifecycle, like:

• IT asset procurement 

• IT asset deployment

• IT asset management

• IT asset retrieval

• IT asset disposal

Workwize helps you track and manage IT equipment from one unified interface. It eliminates the need for multiple contracts with multiple vendors for your IT asset needs. It is built with remote-first teams in mind. 

Key features:

• Automated asset management workflows: Helps you keep track of all of your IT equipment right from day 1 through automated asset management workflows that save time and provide real-time insights into all your assets

• Employee self-service: Powered by single sign-on (SSO), it gives employees the ability to request self-service and effortlessly request equipment, repairs, and maintenance

• Centralized view of all IT assets: Gain access to a centralized view of all IT equipment assignments with a clean and organized look, something traditional spreadsheets cannot provide.

• Seamless connectivity with HRIS system: Workwize blends with your Human Resources Information System (HRIS) to reduce manual labor and increase transparency.

• Comprehensive support: Enjoy a truly customized, global support experience to help with efficient IT management anytime and anywhere

Who is it good for?

Ideal for 200-5000 full-time equivalents (FTEs) who want a centralized platform to manage IT equipment for their distributed teams. 

Pros:

• Simple and easy-to-use interface

• Built for teams of 200-5000 FTEs

• Covers complete asset lifecycle from procurement to disposal

• Offers unparalleled support during all times

Cons:

• New features are under development but coming soon

Pricing

Starts at $8 per seat (+$540 platform fee)

Invgate Insight

Invgate Insight is a complete IT asset management solution that helps with all aspects of ITAM, including compliance, CMDB, licensing, vigilance, and more. 

It lets you manage your hardware, software and fixed assets and gain complete visibility of all your devices.

Invgate claims its software gives users access to over 500 indicators, covering everything from financial information to license details, software categories, and alerts.

Key features:

• IT Asset Monitoring: Get monitoring and notifications for software, hardware, licenses, and device allocation, with automated alerts for warranty or license expirations and asset purchases, antivirus status, software updates, and more

• Software License Optimization: Discover and import all installed software assets, manage them centrally, and detect anomalies in usage across your organization

• Contract Management: Centralize contract management processes to access, track, renew, and organize IT contracts by consolidating asset details such as warranty, purchase data, depreciation, and cost center information

Who is it good for?

Mid to large-sized businesses and those looking for a set of ITAM features

Pros:

• Ease of use

• Support for multiple integrations

• Automation efficiency 

Cons:

• Users reported issues with integrations

• Some also claim the software interface is overloaded and may be difficult to understand

• Limited functionality on the mobile app

G2 Ratings

4.7/5 (10 ratings)

Pricing

Start at $0.21/node per month, $1250 billed annually

Asset Panda

Popular cloud-based ITAM platform Asset Panda prides itself on its ease of use. It’s pretty standard software that provides everything you need to manage your IT assets centrally from one place, including features for license, contract, and compliance management. 

It has an Android and iOS app and supports multiple languages. Moreover, it’s highly customizable and can adapt well to your organization. 

You can import assets manually via barcode, CSV, or API. While flexible, it lacks geolocation and remote troubleshooting. However, you can attach images, videos, and voice notes for better identification.

Key features:

• Asset tracking: Full real-time asset lifecycle tracking with the ability to manage contracts and licenses and track compliance from one unified interface. You can also store all product documentation and images to help with better asset management

• Customization and configuration: Asset Panda is customizable and configurable to match your business requirements and lets you create your own workflows or design custom fields 

• Integration and API: Native support for 18+ integrations like Jira, Zendesk, and DocuSign for real-time data sync. 

Who is it good for?

Asset Panda is ideal for companies with 50-200 employees.

Pros:

• Great barcode capabilities for improved asset management

• Simple and easy-to-use interface

• Useful and feature-packed mobile apps

Cons:

• Users have reported subpar customer support

• Does not have the option for remote device control

• Customizations and integrations can be limited compared to other players

Pricing

Custom pricing 

G2 ratings

3.9/5 (27 ratings)

ManageEngine Asset Explorer

ManageEngine’s Asset Explorer comes with a free option for up to 25 assets.

It’s a web-based ITAM tool for complete IT lifecycle management from tracking to disposal.

You get all the regular stuff—license management, compliance, and mobile apps for remote usability on both iOS and Android.

You can also track and manage your purchase orders (PO) and contracts with different vendors as well.

Key features:

• Inventory management: Manage all your assets from a central repository, group assets into types, and gain real-time discovery of all your assets 

• Software management: Prevent download of unauthorized software, maintain compliance, track license expirations, and perform regular software audits to maintain compliance and total control over your assets

• PO and contract management: Manage vendor contracts, track renewals, and generate detailed reports while Cons:olidating IT and non-IT assets under one contract. It also offers a complete purchasing system for creating, approving, and closing PO

Who is it good for?

ManageEngine AssetExplorer is suitable for medium to large companies but may not be suitable for enterprises because of its limited integrations and customization features

Pros:

• Affordable and user-friendly

• Very flexible in terms of asset building

• Asset details are automatically updated after periodic discoveries 

Cons:

• Add-ons are a bit expensive

• Prohibitive measures for compliance would be a welcome sight

Pricing

Custom pricing

G2 ratings

4.2 /5 (11 ratings)

SysAid ITAM

SysAid ITAM is an AI-enabled IT asset management software that lets you manage your assets right from your service desk. In a way, that’s its USP—fusing the service desk with IT management for better and faster action and ticket resolution. You also get a CMDB, automation capabilities, and patch deployment functionality. 

Key features:

• Inventory Management: Discover network assets and gain a view of your hardware and software components. Receive real-time alerts for any changes in your software stack

• Remote Control: Enable service desk agents to securely resolve end-user issues from any location. View a complete history of monitoring events, including the latest poll for any IT asset, with detailed hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly graphs.

• Software License Management: Track license installations and automate reminders for license and support renewals to manage compliance and optimal usage

Who is it good for?

Small to medium-sized businesses

Pros:

• Has a very customizable system

• Comes with powerful remote-access capabilities

• Helps you organize high-volume requests on a singular system

Cons:

• The learning curve for some advanced features can be a bit steep

• Doesn’t work perfectly with Google Chrome, especially when using the My Desktop function

Pricing

Custom pricing

G2 rating

4.5/5 (676 reviews)

Snow Software

Snow Software prides itself on being the only software with a unified cloud-native platform that gives you actionable insights into your IT environment. It unifies SaaS management, software asset management, and cloud cost management to optimize your IT spending, reduce costs, and mitigate risks. 

Its SaaS management system comes with the ability to gather business data that can help you reduce the usage of redundant software, effectively negotiate renewals, reduce SaaS vendor sprawl, and target shadow SaaS apps. 

Key features:

• IT visibility: Streamline asset discovery and inventory management across end-user devices, data centers, and SaaS applications

• Clean and automated CMDB: Automate and maintain your CMDB with Snow ITSM Enhancer, ensuring precise software and hardware details

• Cost management: Enhance cloud cost optimization with Snow Cloud Control, actively monitoring, governing, and optimizing your entire cloud ecosystem from servers to SaaS. 

Who is it good for?

Mid to large-sized businesses that often have a hard time keeping track of the apps that their employees are using

Pros:

• Provides a great overview of all your devices, software, and licenses

• Easy to use and adapt to with an intuitive UI

• Scheduled reporting is easy to set up and actually useful since the default reporting system is often adequate

Cons:

• Which license is attached to which client should be displayed more intuitively

• The screen layout resets when the app is restarted

Pricing

Custom pricing

G2 Ratings

4/5 (19 reviews)

ServiceNow

ServiceNow enables enterprise automation through a single unified Now platform. Using the native intelligence system, ServiceNow makes its AI system more creative, innovative, and powerful to facilitate improved decision-making and generate fresh ideas for your business. 

The Common Service Data Model (CSDM) establishes a single data model for all the workflows throughout your enterprise, helping maintain consistency and strengthening accountability, visibility, and consistent user experience. 

Key features:

• Now Platform: Work efficiently and effectively with ServiceNow’s native AI-powered Now platform that lets you automate your workflow, view all your workspaces, create enterprise-wide work models, connect various apps through the Integration Hub, and more

• CSDM: Standardize how your business manages information by establishing a singular data model for all your business workflows. This ensures that you provide experience to your teams and customers while increasing the precision of your work 

• Flow designer: Build multi-step workflows from reusable components without needing any coding knowledge to easily automate workflows as per your requirements

Who is it good for?

Any sized enterprise seeking a complete solution for IT service management.

Pros:

• Easily customizable pre-built modules

• Powerful AI features to standardize enterprise workflows

• Comes with in-built tools for designing workflows, chatbots, and virtual agents

Cons:

• Some users have complained about the UI being a bit too convoluted

• Guided tour functionality is a bit rigid and could use more workflow capabilities

Pricing

Custom pricing

G2 Ratings

4.4/5 (1,900+ reviews)

BMC Helix Discovery

BMC Helix Discovery is a cloud-based tool that helps your IT team discover and map dependencies across your IT infrastructure. It provides you with easy visualization of your IT infrastructure by automatically recognizing and indexing IT assets on your system. 

The Control-M feature extends this to the cloud by simplifying application and data workflow orchestration across both hybrid and cloud environments. It lets you orchestrate complex workflows by visualizing them through simplified pipelines. You also get built-in cloud integrations to support your business. 

Key features:

• Agentless continuous discovery: Automatically identify and map IT assets and relationships across cloud and on-premises environments without requiring manual updates.

• Control-M: Simplify application and workflow orchestration across hybrid and cloud environments by visualizing them into easy-to-understand workflow pipelines

• Popular cloud integrations: Get native support for popular cloud integrations and services like AWS, Azure, and Google

Who is it good for?

Good for smaller to medium-sized businesses due to its cloud-based specialities 

Pros:

• It has a very quick deployment and doesn’t need much time to set up

• New version updates are quick and simple to install

Cons:

• Monitoring tools can use some upgrades

• Requires better functionalities in its data center analytics capability

Pricing

Custom pricing

G2 Ratings

4.3/5 (60+ reviews)

Ivanti Neurons

Ivanti Neurons is a suite of IT management software designed to help IT teams automate their tasks and improve their operations. It includes tools for data center automation, server management, network management, and more.

It's intended for IT professionals, operations teams, and cloud administrators who are responsible for managing complex and distributed IT environments. They will benefit from the centralized platform that provides visibility and control over their IT infrastructure.

The AI and machine-learning-powered platform Ivanti Neurons efficiently identifies and resolves IT issues, often before user awareness.

The platform's standout feature is its self-healing capability, which provides real-time insights and uses automated bots for quick problem diagnosis and resolution.

Key features:

• Self-healing automation bots: Proactively diagnose, detect, and resolve endpoint and security issues automatically, reducing the need for manual IT intervention

• Unified Endpoint Management: Manage and secure endpoint mobile devices and mobile applications while automatically healing any endpoint issues, all through a single platform

• Edge intelligence: Harness Ivanti Neurons for Edge Intelligence to gain real-time insights and automation for managing devices at the network edge to improve operational efficiency

Who is it good for?

Good for businesses that deliver a good chunk of their end products through remote devices

Pros:

• Easy to interact with and understand for optimum functionality

• User-friendly integration system to support IT business functions

Cons:

• Uses SOAP API instead of REST, which increases the number of clicks you need when searching for specific objects and interactions

• Users have complained about the simulated menubar and tab bar on the analyst page 

Pricing

Custom pricing

G2 Ratings

3.9/5 (180+ reviews)

SolarWinds

The robust SolarWinds platform provides you with full-stack hybrid and multi-cloud observability and database performance management—all in one place through a unified platform. 

Its observability features include digital experience monitoring, application performance monitoring (APM), infrastructure monitoring, and log management.

The Network Configuration Manager (NCM), Server and Application Monitor (SAM), and Virtualization Manager all come together to optimize and reliably automate almost every sphere of your ITSM workflow. 

Key features:

• Asset discovery and management: Automate the discovery and tracking of IT assets across your business, ensuring overarching visibility and control

• Lifecycle management: Manage the entire lifecycle of IT assets from procurement to disposal, optimizing asset usage and reducing unnecessary costs

• Compliance and risk management: Ensure compliance with software licensing agreements and industry regulations, minimizing security risks associated with IT assets throughout their lifecycle

Who is it good for?

Best for mid to enterprise-level businesses since it can be a bit too expensive for small-sized businesses

Pros:

• Extremely user-friendly. People with no knowledge of the platform are often able to easily generate tickets

• Has a dedicated smartphone app facilitating mobile device usage

• Chat features help communication directly through the platform

Cons:

• Service request workflow needs to be more flexible

• Cannot create custom forms

Pricing

Starts at $39/month per technician

G2 Ratings

4.4 (700+ reviews)

The Advantages of IT Asset Management Software

IT Asset Management Software brings a lot of practical and tangible benefits for firms. Primarily, they help your business get the most out of the IT resources you have and make organizational processes run smoother.

Improvement in efficiency

An ITAM software solution can help your organization become more efficient and productive. By automating certain tasks and processes, it reduces manual effort and minimizes the risk of human error. 

For starters, ITAM software automates asset discovery and inventory management, eliminating the need for manual tracking. Plus, it streamlines workflows for asset requests, approvals, and provisioning.

Cost saving in conjunction with resource optimization

ITAM software can assist your organization in optimizing its IT spending and resource allocation, which often leads to significant cost savings. As these software are made to identify underutilized or idle assets, organizations are able to reassign or dispose of them, reducing unnecessary maintenance and support costs. Doing so also prevents overbuying of software licenses.

Verification of regulatory compliance 

Ensuring compliance with various industry regulations and standards is a critical aspect of IT asset management. 

ITAM software supports regulatory compliance in several ways:

• Maintaining accurate and auditable records of your IT assets, including hardware, software, and licenses.

• Tracking company-wide software usage and ensuring compliance with license agreements 

• Providing reports and documentation required for compliance audits like proof of license ownership and asset disposal records

• Implementing security controls and patch management processes

With proper ITAM systems in place, you also demonstrate compliance with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX.

Assistance in organizational decision-making

With real-time data on asset performance, utilization, and costs collected with ITAM software, decision-makers can optimize their IT strategies and investments. 

ITAM software provides visibility into the total cost of ownership (TCO) of assets and identifies opportunities for consolidation and standardization. This information helps your organization make data-driven procurement and budgeting decisions.

Plus, with capacity planning and forecasting, you can manage the right resources to meet future demands.

Aids proactive risk management

ITAM software is capable of pinpointing potential issues before they turn into major problems. They do this through:

• Identification of assets that are approaching end-of-life or end-of-support so that you can plan for timely replacements and avoid security vulnerabilities

• Detection of unauthorized or non-compliant software installations

• Monitoring asset performance and health to reduce the risk of unplanned downtime

• Easy implementation of security controls and patch management processes

How to Pick the Right IT Asset Management Software?

Proper IT Asset Management software is very critical to effectively manage and optimize their IT assets. Take a look at the factors to keep in mind while deciding on ITAM solutions:

Scalability and customization

One of the most important factors to consider when choosing ITAM software is its ability to scale and adapt to your organization’s dynamic requirements. As your business grows, your ITAM solution should be able to handle increasing numbers of assets and users without compromising performance or reliability.

Look for software that is

• Flexible enough to customize fields, forms, and workflows to match your requirements

• Extensible through integrations with other systems and tools you rely on

• Can manage different types of assets like hardware, software, and cloud-based resources

Ease of use

Another primary consideration is the user-friendliness of the ITAM software. The tool should be intuitive and easy to navigate, even for new users.

Make sure your tool is:

• Simple, easy-to-understand user interface with a minimal learning curve

• Role-based access control for relevant information and functionality based on user roles

• Mobile accessibility for on-the-go asset management and tracking

• Extensive documentation, tutorials, and user support to assist with adoption and troubleshooting

Integration capabilities

An effective ITAM tool should integrate seamlessly with other systems already in use within your organization. This includes systems like help desk management, project management, accounting, and HIRS, among others.

Bridging gaps between your teams and workflows will allow for smoother collaboration. Make sure the ITAM system supports necessary APIs and has a proven track record of successful integrations.

This level of compatibility will reduce disruptions in your operations and allow for a quicker, more efficient shared workflow.

Related read: 11 Slack Integrations to Track IT Equipment

Security and data privacy

Asset data is extremely sensitive. So security and data privacy should be your priority when selecting an ITAM solution.

You need to double-check that the software provides foolproof access controls and authentication mechanisms and encrypts data both at rest and in transit to protect against breaches and leaks.

An ideal ITAM solution should also feature regular security audits and comply with relevant standards, such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, and GDPR. Granular permissions and data segregation features are an added bonus.