Let's talk about the practice of IT Asset Management. As short as it is, it's just going to talk about from the recall only. What you need to know from this is really to just memorize the purpose of IT Asset Management. And what is the purpose, you ask? Well, it is to plan and manage the full life cycle of IT assets to help your organization maximize value, control costs, manage risks, support decision-making about purchases, re-use and retire assets, and meet regulatory and contractual obligations.

In addition to memorizing that purpose, you also need to memorize the term IT Asset that was used in defining that purpose. So, what's an IT Asset? An IT Asset is any valuable component that can contribute to the delivery of an IT product or service.

Now, when you think about IT Asset Management, you think about the fact that it is like inventory. You want to know all of the different components that are out inside your organization and what they're doing for you. Because if you know what they all are, you can help maximize the value, can control the cost, can manage the risks, and support decision-making about future purchases. So, if you think about it in your company, you may have a bunch of computers that you use.

You need to keep track of those computers and how old they are, so you'll know that in three years you need to replace those computers and that they are going to cost x amount of dollars and your organization will need to start budgeting for that. IT Asset Management helps you do just that. It helps you plan and manage the full life cycle of these IT Assets, from purchase, to use, to retirement and then replacement. That's the whole concept. And again, any asset that is a valuable component can be considered an IT Asset. If it's going to contribute to the delivery of an IT service or a product, it's part of your IT Assets. They might include mobile phones, servers, network gear, racks, switches, computers, laptops, desktops, monitors, you name it - it's probably an IT Asset.