What is Hardware Asset Management (HAM)?

Hardware Asset Management (HAM) — sometimes called IT Hardware Asset Management — is all about tracking and taking care of the physical tech that your business relies on. 

This involves inventorying, tracking, and managing physical IT assets throughout their lifecycle – from the moment they’re purchased or acquired to when they’re retired or disposed​. 

So, is it a big deal? Yes. And businesses are catching on. The global HAM market is projected to reach $93 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 11.9% (Future Market Insights). With rising IT costs, security risks, and compliance demands, companies can’t afford to overlook HAM. 

HAM vs.SAM vs. ITAM

It’s easy to mix up these terms, so let’s clarify the differences among HAM, Software Asset Management (SAM), and IT Asset Management (ITAM). Each has a distinct focus and scope:

1. Scope: HAM deals with physical IT assets (computers, servers, printers, and networking devices). SAM focuses on software assets, including licenses, installations, and usage. ITAM is the umbrella practice that manages both HAM and SAM.
    
2. Main goal: HAM ensures hardware is tracked, optimized, and properly maintained to maximize its value. SAM ensures software is licensed, compliant, and efficiently used to avoid risks. ITAM integrates both to optimize costs, reduce risks, and improve asset visibility.
    
3. Lifecycle Management: HAM covers procurement, deployment, maintenance, and disposal of hardware. SAM covers software acquisition, deployment, updates, and renewal. ITAM standardizes best practices across both HAM and SAM to ensure efficient management.
    
4. Tools used: There are dedicated HAM tools for hardware tracking, barcodes, and QR codes, while SAM tools focus on Software License Management and audit reporting systems. However, ITAM combines both HAM and SAM solutions to provide a centralized IT Asset Management strategy.

"Historically, SAM dominated because of compliance risks and audits. But HAM has grown in importance, particularly as organizations realize you can’t have effective SAM without a solid foundation in HAM."

David Foxen

Lead consultant at SAM Beast Consulting Ltd.

Episode 64 of Ticket Volume

IT HAM benefits

There are many benefits of IT Hardware Asset Management. We listed the most important: 

1. Cost savings – Avoids unnecessary hardware purchases, reduces maintenance costs, and extends asset lifespan.
2. Improved asset utilization – Ensures existing hardware is used effectively before investing in new devices.
3. Better IT Asset Lifecycle Management – Tracks from hardware procurement to hardware disposal, preventing wasted resources.
4. Enhanced visibility & inventory control – Provides clear insight into asset status, reducing ghost and zombie assets.
5. Stronger security & loss prevention – Reduces risks of lost, stolen, or untracked assets through monitoring and tagging.
6. Improved compliance – Helps organizations meet regulatory, legal, and governance requirements.
7. Increased business agility – Ensures IT has the right hardware at the right time, improving productivity and reducing downtime.
8. Smarter decision-making – Provides analytics and reporting for better forecasting and procurement planning.

The Hardware Asset Management lifecycle

Let’s dive into the hardware asset lifecycle. The first thing to note is that there isn’t just one universal lifecycle. In fact, every company has its own process, which may align more or less with industry best practices. 

To help you get started, we’ve put together a standardized framework that covers the essential HAM stages.

1. Hardware request – Employees submit requests for hardware, typically through the service desk.
2. Acquisition – Hardware is purchased, leased, or funded.
3. Goods in – The IT department receives, checks, and tags the new hardware.
4. Quality assurance – Ensures hardware meets company standards and warranty requirements.
5. Deployment – Assets are installed and assigned to the appropriate location or user.
6. BAU support – Ongoing Incident Management and support for hardware.
7. Maintenance – Regular servicing to optimize performance and extend asset life.
8. Retirement – Hardware is phased out in a controlled manner.
9. Disposal – Assets are either recycled or securely discarded at the end of their lifecycle.

How to Manage Hardware Assets: The HAM process

Knowing the theory is great, but how do you actually do Hardware Asset Management? Here we outline a practical HAM process to implement in your organization. 

This process covers everything from deciding what to track in your hardware inventory to leveraging Hardware Asset Management software to automate and streamline the work.  

#1: Decide what hardware to track 

First, define the scope of your HAM. Essentially, you need to choose which hardware assets will be included in your HAM program. In general, it’s wise to track all significant IT equipment – desktops, laptops, servers, network devices, mobile devices, printers, etc. (basically all of your company’s technological equipment)​. 

However, each organization should decide where to draw the line. For example, do you consider monitors and keyboards as trackable assets? What about miscellaneous devices or IoT gadgets? 

Establish criteria for what counts as an “asset” in your inventory (often based on value, risk, or criticality). The goal is to ensure that every hardware item that requires management (due to cost, data, or importance) is accounted for.  

#2: Inventory and record asset details 

Once you know what you’re tracking, the next step is to build a comprehensive inventory of all those hardware assets. Gather information on each asset: find all the equipment (walk through offices, check data centers, query network logs for connected devices), and record key details for each item. 

Important attributes include the asset type (e.g. laptop, router), make/model, serial number, current user or owner, physical location, purchase date and cost, warranty status, and any other info that matters (like configurations or installed software)​. 

To be honest, you can build your inventory in a spreadsheet. But manual methods come with many challenges, and in the long run, they’re not the best option. From this stage on, it’s worth evaluating the possibility of acquiring a dedicated HAM tool or a comprehensive ITAM solution. 

#3: Tag and track your assets 

Once your inventory is set up, it’s time to label and track your hardware assets effectively. Even though some devices can be discovered automatically through network scanning or agent-based monitoring (capabilities you'd find in HAM or ITAM software), it’s still a best practice to assign QR codes (or other asset tags) to all IT assets. 

Why? Because having a unified, consistent tracking system makes IT Hardware Inventory Management easier, especially for devices that may not always be connected to the network.

Here’s how to track your assets efficiently:

1. Assign physical asset tags: Every device (laptops, desktops, servers, printers, mobile devices, and networking equipment) should have a unique identifier (like a QR code) linked to an asset database. This allows IT teams to scan, track movement, and update records effortlessly.
    
2. Use agentless & agent-based discovery: For network-connected hardware (servers, routers, switches, etc.), automated discovery tools can provide regular status updates and detect configuration changes. However, these tools don’t replace asset tags — they complement them by adding another layer of visibility.

Regardless of how an asset is discovered or tracked, having a QR code assigned to every piece of IT hardware ensures accurate records, improves accountability, and streamlines asset updates when a device is moved, reassigned, or serviced.

#4: Use Hardware Asset Management software 

Maintaining a hardware inventory manually (in spreadsheets, for instance) can become overwhelming. This is where Hardware Asset Management solutions come into play. 

A dedicated HAM tool or (even better, an IT Asset Management solution) can automate asset discovery, tracking, and reporting to save you time and reduce errors​. 

The best part? Many of these tools include data normalization features, preventing duplicate asset records and ensuring a clean, accurate inventory. But the real game-changer is their additional capabilities (from customizable reports and dashboards to advanced analytics) that provide deep insights into your IT environment and help optimize Asset Management.

#5. Maintain, audit, and update records regularly 

Hardware Asset Management is not a “one and done” project — it’s an ongoing process. This means scheduling regular check-ups or audits of your hardware inventory against the real world. Proactive maintenance will save you future headaches. 

For instance, every quarter (or at an interval that makes sense), perform a physical audit or use automated discovery to verify that the assets listed in your database are still present, and update any changes. 

"One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is failing to listen to end users. If an employee says their laptop is running slowly or freezing up regularly, ITAM should investigate rather than just deny requests for new hardware. Often, the issue is an OS update not being compatible with an application, rather than the hardware itself being at fault.”​

Lead consultant at SAM Beast Consulting Ltd.

Live episode of Ticket Volume

Set automatic reminders and alerts for important milestones (warranty expirations, lease returns, refresh dates) using your HAM or ITAM tool. When you maintain discipline in updating records and auditing, HAM becomes ingrained in how you manage IT — not a sporadic project, but part of business-as-usual.

Hardware Asset Management best practices

Want to keep your hardware assets in check without overcomplicating things? Follow these simple yet effective best practices to make HAM work for your organization:

#1: Keep it simple and practical

Don’t turn HAM into a bureaucratic nightmare. The easier it is to use, the more likely people will follow it. Start with the basics — track only what matters, keep workflows smooth, and add complexity only when absolutely necessary.

#2: Integrate HAM with IT processes

HAM shouldn’t live in a silo. Connect it to service desk requests, procurement, and Change Management to make tracking assets a natural part of IT operations. The more integrated, the easier HAM becomes.

#3: Maintain an up-to-date inventory

If it’s not in your inventory, it doesn’t exist. Use automated discovery tools, network scanning, and routine updates to ensure accurate records, including location, owner, and status of every device.

#4: Use Hardware Asset Management software

An Excel for Asset Management might be good to start. But in the long run, spreadsheets won’t cut it. A dedicated HAM tool helps track assets, send alerts for warranties, and provide accurate visibility. The right software saves time, reduces errors, and improves decision-making.

#5: Conduct regular audits and updates

Trust, but verify. Regular spot-checks and full audits help catch missing, misplaced, or underutilized assets. Keep refining your HAM processes to stay efficient and prevent losses.

Hardware Asset Management software

There are two main approaches to Hardware Asset Management. The first is to choose dedicated HAM software. The second (and in our opinion, the best) is to opt for a comprehensive IT Asset Management tool. This approach allows you to manage all your IT assets (hardware, software, and any other IT resources) in a unified system.

InvGate Asset Management was recognized as a representative vendor in Gartner’s Market Guide for Hardware Asset Management Tools for its HAM capabilities, and it was highlighted as a top option in Gartner Peer Insights within the SAM category.

Some of the most useful features to enable HAM include: 

1. Automated asset discovery & inventory. Automatically identifies, normalizes, and catalogs all IT assets within your environment using multiple sources. This ensures a comprehensive and unified IT asset inventory.
2. Automated hardware asset tracking. Supports end-to-end IT Asset Lifecycle Management (from acquisition to retirement or disposal) facilitating efficient tracking. This includes specific features for maintenance and optimization, like smart tags for warranties, alarms for license contracts expirations, and asset depreciation, to name a few.
3. Centralized asset inventory. Consolidates all IT asset information in one place, including hardware details like purchase data, warranty status, ownership, location, and cost center allocations, ensuring efficient tracking and management.

In addition to its core functionalities, InvGate Asset Management offers specific features tailored for Hardware Asset Management, such as:

• QR code generator. Enables users to print QR codes for all physical IT assets, making hardware like keyboards, mice, and headsets easily trackable. Once tagged, assets can be quickly scanned using a mobile device to access real-time information, update records, or perform audits.
• Configuration Management Database (CMDB). For organizations requiring deeper visibility into their IT environment, our CMDB helps detect and manage the essential assets your organization relies on.

Want to explore the full capabilities of InvGate Asset Management? Try our 30-day free trial or contact our sales team, we’d be happy to assist you!