What can actually be automated in IT asset management?

Employee onboarding

Employee onboarding is another area for automations. When a new employee joins, their device needs to be ordered or assigned from existing inventory. After that the asset information needs to be added/updated in your ITAM system.

By integrating your ITAM system with HR system, suppliers, vendors and leasing partners, the process can be almost fully automated from start to finish. Even device ordering can be handled without human involvement if that fits your process.

For example, when a new device is needed, the order can be created based on the user’s role. After human confirmation, the integration with the supplier's system sends the order details directly to the supplier. The same process can also create the asset in your device register.

Manual work related to keeping inventory data up to date can also be reduced. For example, when the device becomes active in Intune, its status can automatically be updated in your IT asset management system.

Lease expiry tracking and return coordination

Deadlines for leased assets is something that needs active monitoring. Keeping an eye on these dates manually may work when you have less than 50 devices, but it becomes difficult as the number grows. On top of that you might have multiple leasing providers, so the data can be spread across multiple places. Integrating your leasing providers into your IT asset management solution should be no-brainer. After that, a very simple automation can ensure that all return processes start at the right time and communication with employees is done by default.

Now the IT team can focus only on the special cases, not running the basic flows. Missed deadlines mean extra costs, so this is something that should not be overlooked. With very simple automation you can easily avoid unnecessary costs, save time and ensure that nothing gets forgotten.

Various notifications/messages

A large part of IT asset management is both internal and external communication. These include reminding about lease returns, or asking about devices that have not been active for some time. This basic communication can be easily automated so that all messages are sent at the right time without someone having to do anything extra. If an action is not taken, the system keeps notifying the responsible person.

This ensures that important tasks are not forgotten and that issues move forward without manual follow-up.

Offboarding and device collection

Similar to onboarding, offboarding is another process where automation can play a big role. When an employee leaves, their devices need to be collected, wiped, and prepared for reuse or disposal. If this depends on manual steps, devices are often missed or the return is delayed. Delays often mean extra hassle and it is also good to remember that if you are planning to sell the devices for reuse, the value of the devices decreases over time (around 5% per month).

When offboarding is automated, the process starts as soon as the employee status changes in HR or directory systems. A collection task is created, the relevant people are informed, and the asset inventory is updated. The process continues until the device is returned and handled properly.

Reporting

Many IT teams spend a lot of time on simple reports, such as asset counts by department, devices approaching end of life, lease costs by cost center, and lists of active versus inactive devices. Many of these contain the same data each month and follow the same structure, so creating them manually does not add much value. With automation, these reports can be kept updated and then delivered on a schedule. More importantly, reporting can focus on exceptions instead of full datasets.

Instead of reviewing everything, IT teams can focus only on the items that need attention. This makes the work more efficient and more meaningful.

What cannot be automated in IT asset management?

As mentioned, with automation, organizations are able to reduce the time spent on routine IT asset management tasks. On average this means around 50 to 60 percent less manual work. It is however important to remember that automation works well for tasks that follow clear rules and repeat often.

So not all tasks can or should be automated. It is especially important to retain human control because deviations to processes happen all the time. Therefore it is important that automation also allows IT professionals to take action when needed.

Explore different ITAM automations here. And if you want to see how IDR works, you can book a 30-minute demo here.