By using a process-driven IT asset management (ITAM) program to analyze what you own and how you’re using it, you lighten your load at audit time by being in command of the information your software and hardware vendors will demand. You also stand to trim your costs by recovering and reallocating underutilized software licenses, buying only what you need when you need it, and making more lucrative agreements with your vendors.

ITAM is a set of management disciplines that combine internal processes and the oversight of an asset manager with automated systems to drive genuine value across your organization. To be of value, ITAM must entail ongoing, repeatable procedures employed by all areas of the enterprise to define product versions and the terms and conditions of their use, to demonstrate actual ownership with verifiable records, and to determine who is using what and under what licensing agreement it is covered.