7 Tips for Efficient IT Hardware Inventory Management

7 Tips for Efficient IT Hardware Inventory Management

There’s nothing worse than spending money on something that you aren’t putting to use. When it comes to IT hardware inventory management, it’s no different.

There are many pieces of software out there that can help you with your IT hardware inventory management. If you’re looking for easy to use software, check out itemit

However, before you roll out your new software system, it’s worth checking that you have fully streamlined your process. After all, the quality of a system does rely heavily on the processes and data that go into it.

IT hardware inventory management is designed to make your company’s processes more efficient. Here are our 7 top tips to help you ensure that your PC and hardware management is as pain-free as it can be!

best asset tracking software 2021


1 – Know What you Have

First things first. It may seem obvious, but knowing what PCs, computers and hardware you have is critical. We speak to businesses every day that are struggling to rectify the fact that they don’t know what assets they have.

If you have an out of date list of assets, it may be worth starting with that to establish which assets are still in use and adding any new ones to your IT asset inventory list. However, if your data is very old, you may find it more efficient to start from scratch and perform an audit of all hardware that’s in circulation.


2 – Tag Your IT Hardware

IT hardware often includes assets that move around a lot. This may be mobile devices, laptops for working from home and monitors and computers that can be moved from office to office depending on where new recruits are being based. To ensure your IT hardware inventory remains as efficient as possible, it’s paramount that you start tracking the movement of these assets. 

We recommend using QR code asset tags to help track the whereabouts of your assets. Once each asset is tagged, it can simply be scanned to be uniquely identified. A quick scan of the tag from a smartphone and the GPS location on your phone will update where your assets were last seen, and who had them last.


3 – Add Plenty of Information

The information you’ll want to add will differ from asset to asset. However, there are many patterns when it comes to IT hardware inventory management.

IT assets hold data, so information related to usage is essential for GDPR compliance. You may also want to add warranty expiry dates, PAT testing dates, and user manuals. This way, everything you may need to know about an asset is easily accessible.


4 – Assign Hardware to Colleagues

Whether you’re onboarding new colleagues or just want to record which assets have already been distributed to the team, it’s important to know who’s responsible for which hardware. If you’re looking for a quick way to assign assets to users (particularly helpful for your onboarding process), check out the itemit’s Assigning feature to see how easy this is.

IT hardware inventory management is at its most efficient if you know who’s in charge of which asset and, therefore, who you need to talk to about replacements or maintenance.


5 – Track ALL Maintenance

As the saying goes: “Technology is great. When it works.” Sooner or later, your IT hardware will need maintenance and inspections.

This may be routine PAT tests, or it could be reactive maintenance should something break. Either way, it is essential that you track all maintenance related to your IT assets. This will reduce asset downtime significantly, but also helps with the next tip…


6 – Use History as an Indicator of Hardware Performance

Without IT hardware inventory management, you’re in the dark regarding which of your assets are doing what. But with a good IT hardware management system in place, you’ll be able to investigate an asset’s historical performance whenever you need to.

For example, whenever an IT asset needs reactive maintenance, you’ll be able to use its history as an indicator as to whether it’s more economical to repair it or replace it.


7 – Use the Best IT Hardware Inventory Management Software

Using great IT hardware inventory management software can streamline and automate a lot of these processes.

itemit can do all of this for you, from tracking maintenance and asset movement, to assisting with your IT asset register.

To find out more about what itemit can do for you, you can contact the team or fill in the form below to start tracking.

Hardware Inventory Management

Choose a better way to track your assets

Start your free 14-day trial now

Instant access. No credit card details required.

or, download the itemit app to get started

Related articles