Best hardware inventory software

Hardware inventory management isn’t the most exciting topic, granted, but it’s essential to the work your help desk does every day. Without an accurate inventory of all the hardware assets at your company, there’s no way you can properly manage or troubleshoot them, let alone control the costs associated with them. We won’t even go into how much harder this has all become since so many employees started working from home.

The good news is that the best hardware inventory software can help you bring order to chaos, turning what would otherwise be an eye-glazing chore into an automated process. Here’s what you need to know about a hardware inventory management system, why it matters, and how to choose the right one for your business.

What is hardware inventory software?

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “How do you organize hardware inventory?”, you’re going to want to know about hardware inventory software, how it works, and why IT teams use it.

Every business needs to have an accurate and up to date computer hardware inventory list—not just for accounting purposes but for daily troubleshooting, incident management, and problem management, too.

Manually creating and updating this kind of hardware inventory would take way more time than the average IT team can spare, however. Companies that have multiple locations and/or remote workforces would have an even harder time taking care of this work by hand.

A hardware inventory management system can quickly build a centralized computer hardware inventory list and update it in real-time. Hardware inventory software also allows your team to plan IT changes and manage your hardware life-cycle so you can extend the life of your hardware assets, avoid downtime, and give your employees a better experience.

Automated hardware inventory management and your CMDB

Some businesses use a configuration management database (CMDB) to improve their IT asset management (ITAM) processes. A CMDB tracks the full spectrum of IT elements, classifying them into individual configuration items (CI) for better management. CIs can be traditional components like hardware and software, but they can also include other aspects of the IT environment, such as staff and documentation. An IT team typically uses a CMDB to access information on all of the organisation’s hardware and software and the relationships between various components in the environment.

When used correctly, a CMDB can help a company effectively manage its entire IT infrastructure across all of its locations, both on-premises and in the cloud. The problem is that administrators often must manually update the CMDB in order to make it useful, which takes a lot of time and can result in errors. Automated hardware inventory management can streamline this process, freeing up IT resources and allowing your company to get more value from its CMDB.

Freshservice hardware inventory software helps you track all the source machines that are installed throughout your company. It also manages your devices and servers throughout the hardware life-cycle. You can perform a rapid network inventory and get an instant summary with detailed reports.

Freshservice also allows you to create an auto-updating, multi-source CMDB to manage your complete spectrum of assets. With a comprehensive, real-time view of your infrastructure, you can discover and manage assets ranging across cloud and on-premises environments right within Freshservice.

Key benefits of hardware inventory management software

Dynamic discovery

Automatically capture and update accurate asset information in real-time using native auto discovery tools, like a probe that scans all assets in your environment and an agent that captures real-time asset information. 

Periodic discovery

Schedule automatic scans across your network to periodically update asset information and meaningfully manage them by capturing asset dependencies. 

Auto-update

Get a real-time view of your infrastructure with an auto-updating CMDB that can discover and manage infrastructure ranging across cloud and on-premises environments.

Incident management

Log and track incidents right from the cloud environment to your service desk. Easily prioritize incidents as they come in and assign them to the right team members. Improve communication with stakeholders and keep everyone in the loop.

Problem management

Simple automation makes it easier to handle problems when they come up. You can easily close tickets for associated incidents, change their status, or communicate about them as needed. Problem management tools also make it easier to carry out root cause analysis and even prevent new incidents using workarounds and solutions.

Service level agreement

Configure multiple service level agreements (SLAs) according to your team’s needs so you can proactively set expectations about response and resolution times with your users. Automation can escalate tickets when appropriate and track performance against SLAs.

Industry use cases for hardware inventory management

Nearly every company needs hardware inventory software and server inventory software, but some of them have unique use cases that are all their own.

For example, your business might have industry-specific requirements that it must consider. Small and midsize businesses (SMBs) also look for certain functionality. Here’s how the best hardware inventory software can help various companies efficiently manage their hardware assets.

Healthcare

Healthcare organizations and pharmaceutical companies can use hardware inventory software to connect systems, integrate IT and non-IT silos, and build a single source of truth at a hospital, clinical practice, or other healthcare setting.

This technology also allows healthcare organizations to proactively manage their IT with advanced SLAs, which in turn enables them to guarantee support to critical clinical processes.

Finance

Financial services firms can use hardware inventory software along with other capabilities found in a modern IT services management (ITSM) solution to deploy ITIL-aligned processes without the need for a lengthy implementation cycle.

This unlocks faster time to value, making it possible to implement changes on the fly and roll out new processes without depending on developers and consultants. The best hardware inventory software is compliant with SOC 2, GDPR, and ISO frameworks, too.

SMB

SMBs can use the hardware inventory software found in their ITSM platform to help their small IT teams embrace ITAM best practices, enabling greater effectiveness and increasing ROI.

For example, managers, supervisors, and field service agents within an SMB can use asset management features to gain greater visibility into key metrics such as service orders, request status, scheduled maintenance, and asset utilization.

Tips for successful implementation and integration

If you’re going to invest in hardware inventory software, you want to make sure that you’re getting as much value from it as possible. These best practices will help you ensure a successful implementation and integration.

• Understand what you have. Before selecting and deploying any kind of ITAM solution or server inventory software, it’s a good idea to have a general idea of what kinds of computers, servers, routers, network devices, and other types of hardware exist in your environment today.

• Log as much data as possible. The more data you have on each of your hardware assets, the better you will be able to manage them, understand their relationships with one another, and maintain them over the entire life-cycle. This process can take some time at the beginning, but it’s worth it.

• Track maintenance. Although it may seem like an extra step, entering this information is crucial to getting the most out of your hardware inventory management system. Over the long run, this data will help you better understand IT asset health and even aid with predictive maintenance.

• Consider tagging your assets. Hardware moves around more often than you might think. If you tag your IT assets and their serial numbers in advance, tracking and managing them will be easier over the long run—no matter where that piece of hardware ends up.

How to evaluate hardware inventory management systems

There are multiple hardware inventory management systems available on the market today. Deciding which one to use can seem tricky at first. Here are a few questions that will help you pick the best hardware inventory software for your needs.

1. How does the scanning work?

Look at the technology used in the scanning probes and determine how frequently the tool scans your assets. Ideally, the ITAM discovery tool shouldn’t disrupt your day-to-day operations during a scan. It should also let you schedule scans during off-hours to minimize user disruption. 

2. What kinds of hardware can the discovery tool find?

What devices can your tool detect (laptop, mobiles, printers, etc.)? Does it provide modern inventory management that allows you to manage and track all your on-premise and cloud assets? For example, if you are a much larger business spread across multiple locations, your tool should work the same way in all your office spaces. 

3. Does the inventory software integrate with your other tools?

If your hardware inventory software comes as part of IT asset management software that you’ve already purchased, it should integrate well with the other tools in that suite. If it doesn’t, you may want to confirm that your asset discovery tool integrates with the other applications you already use. 

4. Does the inventory software have a robust reporting feature?

Although your IT team will often use your hardware inventory management system, you will still need to provide clear and useful inventory reports to higher-ups. Your software should be able to create computer inventory reports in a format that all stakeholders can understand and find useful, giving them a bird’s-eye view of how things work at a glance.

Best 9 hardware inventory management systems of 2024

1. Freshservice

Freshservice provides modern inventory management for all of your IT and non-IT assets, giving you a comprehensive view of all the hardware devices at your company. It allows you to manage and track all your on-premise and cloud assets, so you can make informed decisions about asset purchase, utilization, and governance.

Key features

• A centralized hub for all IT and non-IT assets

• Mobile app for inventory management on the go

• Integrated asset procurement

• Asset lifecycle management 

• Financial management tools 

Pricing

• Plans begin at $29/agent/month (billed monthly)

Why customers rave about Freshservice

• Intuitive user interface. “Our support team was able to adapt to the system seamlessly, and even new hires have found it incredibly straightforward. This has significantly reduced training time, allowing us to focus on what truly matters - delivering top-notch customer support,” says a G2 reviewer.

• Powerful automations.

• Integration with other popular tools and platforms.

• Exceptional customer support.

2. ServiceNow

Key features

• Track and manage all hardware assets across the entire life-cycle.

• Automation streamlines day-to-day asset management tasks.

Pros and cons

• End-to-end life-cycle management 

• Low-code or no-code capabilities make it easy to get started.

• Integrating with third-party systems can be challenging and may require additional software development resources.

Pricing

• Custom quotes available upon request

3. Sysaid

Key features

• Built-in asset management solution that is integrated with the service desk

• Asset discovery and monitoring tools 

• Asset data can be automatically imported into a CMDB.

Pros and cons

• Useful asset management dashboard

• Surprisingly expensive. “Each way we have turned with SysAid, a fee or upsale has been lurking. Our budget ticketing tool quickly ballooned into a full-price system,” says a TrustRadius reviewer.

• Limited integration with third-party applications

Pricing

• Quote available upon request

4. ManageEngine

Key features

• Unified agent for asset discovery

• Management and monitoring of hardware and software assets across the life-cycle

• Software license management

Pros and cons

• Easy asset discovery and software license compliance

• Setup and installation aren’t very intuitive.

Pricing

• Annual subscriptions start at $955 for 250 IT assets

• Personalized quote available upon request

5. BMC Helix

Key features

• Part of a broad suite of ITSM tools

• IT asset management dashboard shows discovered assets, can compare them to CMDB-registered assets, and displays trends in asset discovery

Pros and cons

• Support for ITIL out of the box

• User interface isn’t as modern as the competition

Pricing

• Pricing information available upon request

6. Ivanti

Key features

• Consolidates IT asset data and provides total visibility of all assets 

• Lets you track, configure, optimize, and strategically manage your IT assets throughout their full life-cycle

• Configurable design lets you define and follow your own workflows or implement out-of-the-box processes

Pros and cons

• Customizable workflows

• Central asset management from within a single platform

• “Round the clock support from Ivanti is available only with the premium plan. It also doesn't have cloud based service, while many of its competitors have a really good cloud-based service,” says a G2 reviewer.

Pricing

• Quote available upon request

7. TOPdesk

Key features

• Complete asset management solution with an integrated CMDB

• Customizable templates, along with the ability to design an unlimited number of asset cards

Pros and cons

• Strong asset management capabilities

• Includes incident management and change management

• User interface could be more modern

Pricing

• Choose from three plans, with optional add-ons

• Quote available upon request

8. Jira

Key features

• Asset management is integrated with full service management solution

• Allows you to track and manage a vast array of assets—not just hardware, software, or even IT assets.

Pros and cons

• Integrates well with other Atlassian products and third-party applications

• “The learning curve for the end user is not as easy as other IT solutions. In addition to this, it requires a lot of preparation of the technical team in ITIL to take better advantage of the tool,” says one G2 reviewer.

Pricing

• Paid plans begin at ~$22.05/agent (monthly billing)

9. HaloITSM

Key features

• Asset management is integrated with full ITIL-aligned IT service management solution

• CMDB and configuration management tools track assets and visualize dependencies between configuration items.

Pros and cons

• User-friendly with an attractive interface

• Good customer support

• Some features and settings are difficult to find

Pricing

• Plans begin at $109/agent/month (annual billing)

Use Freshservice for hardware and server inventory management

Hardware inventory scanning

Periodically scan the windows desktops/servers in your network to collect inventory data and store the details in a CMDB. Scan regularly and configure assets to meet real-time needs without manual intervention.

Track assets and plan IT changes

Easily track your IT asset inventory changes. Plan changes, releases, and workarounds accordingly. Quickly update configurations and detailed information, like the physical location of each hardware asset and its warranty status.

Manage hardware cycle

Track IT hardware through a central asset management system, even if items exist in multiple different locations. Automate your entire IT asset life-cycle.

Asset discovery

IT asset discovery is easier with hardware inventory management software. Each time a CI is added, the hardware inventory tool scans and adds it to the CMDB in real-time. Assets are captured and categorized using a Discovery Probe with a firewall. The Discovery Agent is unaffected by any window setting, requires no authentication from the user, and scans all the machines—even those not connected to servers.

Hardware inventory management is easier with the right software. Freshservice regularly scans for assets in your environment and adds them to your CMDB in real-time, categorizing them for easy tracking and management. With an accurate and up-to-date computer hardware inventory list in a central location, you can plan changes and automatically manage your entire IT asset life-cycle. All of these Freshservice features let you optimize your IT costs and improve asset life.