Hardware Asset Management (HAM): A Comprehensive Guide
Hardware Asset Management is the process of tracking, maintaining, and optimizing all your physical IT devices from purchase to disposal. It shows what you own, where it is, who uses it, and its condition—so you cut costs, reduce risk, and plan upgrades. Use a central inventory, clear ownership, and regular audits to keep data accurate.
In a world of remote work, IoT devices, and rapidly changing technology, keeping track of physical assets is more challenging than ever. Lost laptops, mismanaged servers, and untracked peripherals can lead to security vulnerabilities, wasted spend, and unhappy employees. Hardware Asset Management (HAM) is the discipline of governing and optimising an organisation’s physical technology assets throughout their lifecycle. ServiceNow’s Hardware Asset Management product provides a unified platform to automate HAM processes, while DevTools helps implement it successfully.
This guide explains what HAM is, how it relates to IT Asset Management (ITAM) and Software Asset Management (SAM), the HAM lifecycle, benefits, challenges, and best practices.
What is Hardware Asset Management (HAM)?
Hardware Asset Management is the process of keeping track of and taking care of physical and consumable hardware, like laptops, servers, mobile devices, network equipment, peripherals, and consumables, from the time they are bought until they are thrown away. ServiceNow says that HAM is a way to keep track of and manage the lifecycle of your hardware assets, both physical and consumable, all on one platform that makes tasks easier and automates processes. Good HAM makes sure that assets are properly listed, cared for, updated, and retired according to policy.
How HAM Relates to IT Asset Management (ITAM)
IT Asset Management is a larger field that includes both hardware and software. Hardware Asset Management is a part of ITAM that deals only with physical assets. ITAM covers things like software licensing, cloud resources, and digital contracts, but HAM only looks at physical devices and consumables. Adding HAM to an ITAM strategy makes sure that the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) has correct data, which is necessary for good IT service management.
Hardware Asset Management (HAM) vs. Software Asset Management (SAM)
While HAM and SAM work hand-in-hand, they focus on different aspects of IT asset management:
Hardware Asset Management (HAM)
- Manages physical devices across the organization.
- Handles inventory, normalization, and lifecycle automation.
- Ensures accurate data flows into the CMDB for asset tracking.
Software Asset Management (SAM)
- Manages software licenses, subscriptions, and entitlements.
- Uses AI-powered tools like Now Assist and publisher packs for easier license management.
- Supports compliance, cost control, and optimization of software usage.
Working Together
- Both benefit greatly from automation and depend on accurate CMDB data.
- ServiceNow provides dedicated products for both HAM and SAM.
- When combined, they give organizations a complete view of their technology stack—from hardware through to software.
Hardware Asset Management Process
A typical HAM process includes the following stages:
- Request and approval: Business units ask for hardware. Approvers look over budgets, availability, and the needs of the business.
- Procurement: Vendors are given orders, and the HAM system keeps track of assets.
- Receiving and tagging: Devices are received, checked, and given asset numbers or RFID labels.
- Deployment and allocation: Assets are given to users or locations. Records are changed to show who owns them, when the warranty ends, and how they are set up.
- Maintenance and support: Regular audits, repairs, and upgrades are done. HAM workflows make it easier to handle service requests, asset reservations, and return merchandise authorizations.
- Audit and inventory: Periodic audits of the inventory make sure that the records match what is actually there. Audits are easier with mobile inventory tools.
- Refresh and replacement: Old or underused assets are brought up to date. Knowing the total cost of ownership can help you decide when to get rid of or repurpose devices.
- Disposal: Assets are securely wiped, taken out of service, and thrown away in accordance with policy and environmental laws. Automated return-to-vendor processes (RMA)
Why is Hardware Asset Management Important?
Without proper HAM, businesses are at risk of many things:
- Security vulnerabilities: Devices that aren’t tracked are easy targets for malware or theft. HAM makes things easier to see, which helps IT teams find devices that are missing or out of date and keep sensitive data safe.
- Financial waste: Unused or lost hardware costs money. Tracking assets helps you avoid buying things you don’t need and supports chargeback models.
- Operational inefficiency: Manual tasks slow down the process of getting devices ready or fixing them. Automation makes service delivery faster and makes users happier.
- Compliance issues: Rules often require proof of safe disposal and tracking of assets. HAM makes it possible to be ready for an audit.
Hardware Asset Management Lifecycle
ServiceNow’s HAM product provides workflows and capabilities to manage the entire lifecycle. Key components include:
- Hardware Asset Workspace: A workspace made just for managing assets that boosts productivity.
- Hardware Normalization: Standardises asset data by manufacturer, model name and number, ensuring clean data in the CMDB.
- Asset Lifecycle Automation: Automates processes and tasks for the entire lifecycle.
- Return Merchandise Authorisation (RMA): Automates return, replacement or repair processes.
- Asset Reservations: It keeps track of temporary assets and makes predictions about future demand.
- Asset Onboarding and Offboarding: Automated workflows make it easier for employees to start and end their jobs.
- Executive Dashboard and Analytics: Provides insights into hardware, software and cloud technology from an executive perspective.
- Contract and Renewal Management: This feature helps you renew contracts for hardware and software by giving you step-by-step instructions.
- Asset Total Cost of Ownership: This feature gives a full breakdown of the costs of owning and managing assets.
- Mobile Asset Receiving and Inventory Audit: This feature makes it easier to receive multiple assets on mobile devices and manage mobile inventory.
- Device‑as‑a‑Service (DaaS): Takes care of assets from sourcing through disposal to support DaaS lifecycles.
Benefits of Hardware Asset Management
ServiceNow highlights several benefits of HAM:
- Simplify with one platform: Use one platform to make things easier: manage all of your company’s hardware assets on one system and send important data back to the business.
- Increase asset visibility: Get real-time information about the location, status, and condition of assets to improve user experiences and outcomes.
- Reduce technology risk and cost: Lower the cost and risk of technology by aligning hardware purchases with business goals to cut down on waste and plan for upgrades.
- Automate lifecycles: Use prescriptive workflows to make every step of the asset lifecycle more efficient and easier; normalize hardware to keep the CMDB clean.
- Built on ServiceNow AI Platform: HAM has an AI-powered platform that lowers costs and makes customer service easier on a single platform.
- Certified integrations: HAM works with remote desktop support tools, authentication software, and productivity tools. It can also import data from SCCM, Jamf Pro, SAP Ariba, and LogicMonitor.
Challenges in Hardware Asset Management
- Data accuracy: Keeping asset records up‑to‑date requires continuous reconciliation with inventory and procurement data. Without automation, records quickly become outdated.
- Siloed processes: Procurement, IT, HR, and finance may manage separate parts of the asset lifecycle. Integrated workflows help break down silos.
- Resource constraints: IT teams may not have enough staff to manage hardware throughout its lifecycle. Automation and AI reduce manual workload.
- Complex integrations: Integrating asset data from multiple systems can be challenging. ServiceNow’s Service Graph Connectors simplify data imports.
Seamlessly Manage Hardware Assets with DevTools
As a ServiceNow Partner, we deliver end-to-end Hardware Asset Management. We begin with discovery and assessment to map your current processes, identify gaps, and define a practical roadmap. Additionally, we also design and configure ServiceNow HAM to fit your business, covering data models, asset classes, lifecycle workflows, and integrations with procurement and finance, while we normalize and migrate existing hardware data into the CMDB.
We automate provisioning, RMA, audits, and disposal, and connect external systems via Service Graph Connectors. To ensure adoption, we conduct trainings and workshops for asset managers, procurement teams, and support staff on the Hardware Asset Workspace and mobile inventory tools, and we set up dashboards and performance analytics so you can track lifecycle metrics and drive continuous improvement.
Conclusion
Managing hardware assets is important for controlling physical technology assets and cutting costs, risks, and waste. ServiceNow HAM helps you manage the whole asset lifecycle with prescriptive workflows, normalization, automation, and analytics. Companies can speed up the implementation of HAM, connect it to their current systems, and see their hardware investments in real time by working with DevTools. Effective HAM not only makes things safer and more compliant, but it also frees up resources so that you can focus on new ideas.
FAQs
What is hardware asset management?
Hardware Asset Management (HAM) is the process of keeping track of and taking care of physical assets like laptops, servers, networking equipment, and consumables from the time they are bought until they are thrown away.
What is the difference between IT asset management and hardware asset management?
IT Asset Management (ITAM) includes both software and hardware assets. HAM is the part of ITAM that deals with hardware. SAM (Software Asset Management) works with HAM to keep track of software licenses and subscriptions.
What are the objectives of the hardware asset management process?
The goals are to keep accurate inventory, make the best use of assets, lower costs and risks, ensure security and compliance, and automate the asset lifecycle.
What is the hardware asset management lifecycle?
The HAM lifecycle includes requesting, procuring, receiving, tagging, deploying, maintaining, auditing, refreshing, and disposing of hardware assets.
What is hardware asset management used for?
Organisations use HAM to govern assets across the enterprise, improve visibility, reduce costs, maintain security, and comply with regulations.
