Understanding remote asset management

Picture this: You’re an IT admin, and you receive a user request for a new smartphone. You ask yourself: Are they due for a new device? When did we buy the last one? Is it running the latest operating system?

Keeping track of hardware, software, and IoT equipment can be difficult. Especially now that employees are working from various locations and using multiple devices.

Luckily, remote asset management can help you rise to the challenge. By monitoring and managing assets remotely, you never lose oversight of your IT infrastructure. This not only makes your job easier, but it also lowers costs and enhances security.

In this article, we delve deeper into the advantages of remote asset management and provide some practical tips to help you get started.

What is remote asset management?

Before we get into remote asset management, let’s define what we mean by assets.

Fixed assets

According to Investopedia, fixed assets are items a company uses over the long term to generate income. These assets include land, buildings, vehicles, machinery, computer equipment, and software.

IT assets

In this article, we focus on IT assets (or digital assets). IT assets are fixed assets that are related to IT. They can include hardware, software, IoT devices, network devices, and systems.

The process of identifying, monitoring, and managing deployed IT assets is known as IT asset management (ITAM). Some companies use software solutions to manage IT assets across different locations. This is called remote asset management.

With employees operating multiple devices and working from different locations, the IT asset landscape becomes increasingly complex. This is why remote asset management is challenging for many businesses.

What is remote asset management software?

Remote asset management software is a digital platform that helps you identify, monitor, and manage your IT assets effectively. That means keeping an inventory of all IT assets and tracking them throughout their lifecycle.

To illustrate, picture a company that deploys new laptops to several employees. With the help of remote asset management software, the company’s IT team can remotely:

Keep an inventory of all deployed laptops
Track laptop usage
Monitor laptop performance
Patch and deploy software
Detect technical issues
Identify other laptops that need to be replaced

Why do businesses need remote asset management software?

Due to the global shift toward remote work, many businesses are adopting remote asset management software. In fact, Research and Markets projects that the digital asset management market to continue growing by more than 12% per year until 2029.

But is remote asset management software really worth it? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits.

Enhanced productivity

With a remote asset management solution, your IT team can monitor assets around the clock and address potential issues before they cause any significant problems. That means fewer disruptions for end users, less emergency troubleshooting, and more productive workdays for everyone.

Cost savings

With remote asset management, there’s less need for on-site or manual maintenance (think of server maintenance, for example). This reduces travel expenses and time spent on the road. Plus, by remotely monitoring and maintaining your assets, you can ensure optimal usage and a longer asset lifespan.

Security and compliance

Remote asset management helps you maintain compliance by keeping accurate records of all deployed assets and ensuring they adhere to internal policies and industry standards. It also enhances security by enabling you to quickly detect suspicious usage behavior and shadow IT which might introduce a threat to your network.

Easy scalability

As your business grows, your asset landscape expands with it. Handling this expansion is easier if you’re using remote asset management software. It allows you to maintain the visibility of each asset while also adapting to changing demands and conditions.

How to get started with remote asset management

Starting out with remote asset management can seem daunting. So, it’s best to take things one step at a time. Follow our structured approach, and you’ll be all set up in no time.

Conduct an audit

Start with a comprehensive audit of your IT inventory. An automated network discovery solution can help you track every asset in your network, including relevant asset information.

For hardware assets, you could document the manufacturer, model, operating system, IP address, and location. For software assets, you might want to record the publisher, version, release, installation date, and patch status.

This audit will reveal any devices or pieces of software that weren’t acquired through your normal procurement process. Uncovering these hidden assets is essential for maintaining IT security throughout your organization.

Keep in mind that your asset landscape is always changing, so you need to conduct these audits and update your inventory on a regular basis.

Map out the asset lifecycle

The next step is to map out what you want the lifecycle of your assets to look like. That involves:

Planning: Identify a need by speaking with relevant users and decision makers. Determine the type and quantity of the needed asset.
Procurement: Decide whether the new asset will be built in-house, purchased, leased, or licensed. Compare your options and select a vendor.
Deployment: Configure the asset and distribute it to the end users. With asset management software, you can carry out configuration steps remotely.
Operation: While the asset is in use, track usage and identify opportunities for optimization with the help of your remote asset management system.
Monitoring: Set up alerts for when an asset needs maintenance or repair. Deploy updates and software patches remotely.
Retirement: Performance data can help you decide whether to retire an asset. Transition users to an alternative solution and donate the retired asset if you can!

It’s also crucial to determine the lifecycle costs for each asset. To calculate these costs, add up the initial procurement costs, recurring costs for usage, maintenance, and repair, plus any costs related to the disposal of the asset. Lifecycle costs should be a key factor in every purchase decision.

Get proactive

What’s great about remote asset management is that it allows you to become proactive about managing your IT. This helps you prevent asset downtime, avoid emergency troubleshooting, and plan more effectively.

For instance, with remote device monitoring, you can easily identify devices that require your attention and carry out preventative maintenance before a serious problem occurs.

Another way to be proactive is by performing operating system (OS) updates and software patches remotely. This allows you to close security gaps that could put your organization at risk.

Finally, you can apply custom policies throughout your asset infrastructure to ensure compliance with security standards and regulations. Plus, tracking all assets and their usage consistently makes it easy to generate audit reports when needed.

Features to look for in an asset management solution

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the different software solutions for remote asset management. To help you decide, here are some features to look out for:

Asset inventory: A central overview of all IT assets deployed in your organization.
Network discovery: This lets you detect every asset in your network automatically, including shadow IT.
On-demand reports: An option to auto-generate reports, e.g., for auditing or to support decision-making.
Patch management: Deployment of OS and software patches from a single dashboard.
Integrations: Software integration add-ons or APIs that let you connect asset management with other essential tools.

If you’re looking for an asset management solution, TeamViewer Asset Management, powered by Lansweeper, is a great place to start.

Summary

IT asset management is essential to modern-day businesses, especially with the rise of remote work.

Using remote asset management software, you can enhance productivity by allowing your IT team to address issues proactively, reducing downtime and user disruption. It also helps you save costs by minimizing the need for travel and extending the lifespan of assets. Plus, it can scale easily to manage a growing number of assets as your business expands.

To get started, it’s best to conduct a thorough audit of your IT inventory and map out the lifecycle of your assets. Then, adopt a proactive approach, monitoring your assets and carrying out maintenance before any major problems occur.

When choosing an asset management solution, look for flexible inventory and patch management, reporting, and integration features. Industry leaders like TeamViewer offer reliable solutions that will help you stay organized, efficient, and secure.