5 IT Asset Management Metrics Every CIO Should Track

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SaaS sprawl is no longer a myth but one of the most important things to look out for. According to Gartner, companies waste up to 25% of their SaaS spending on unused or underused applications. That’s not just a cost issue; it’s a governance gap.

As CIO, you’re expected to reduce waste, ensure compliance, and support business agility. all while managing an increasingly complex software environment. However, tracking your software assets isn’t enough.

You need the right metrics to surface inefficiencies, spot non-compliance, and uncover opportunities to optimize spend. This article highlights five essential IT asset management metrics every CIO should be watching.

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TL;DR

• Identify underused software and licenses across departments to reduce waste and eliminate redundant tools before renewal deadlines.
• Track each application's current phase, from adoption to retirement, to avoid budget leaks and reduce shadow IT risks.
• Ensure you're not overpaying or under-licensed, especially ahead of vendor audits or renewals, to stay protected from legal and financial penalties.
• Speed up access for new hires and promptly revoke access for exits to protect sensitive data and minimize operational delays.
• Go beyond the sticker price. Factor in implementation, training, support, and shelfware to get a full picture of your software spend.

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1. What Is IT Asset Management (ITAM)?

IT asset management (ITAM) is the structured process of tracking, managing, and optimizing software and SaaS tools across your company’s lifecycle. It includes everything, from procurement to renewal to decommissioning.

When applied to software, IT asset management metrics will help you know which applications you’ve purchased. It involves:

• Monitoring how licenses are being used
• Identifying shelfware or redundant tools
• Managing vendor contracts and renewal timelines
• Ensuring usage aligns with compliance obligations

Modern ITAM isn’t about maintaining spreadsheets. It’s about connecting the dots between usage, cost, and business value, especially as SaaS usage scales across departments without centralized oversight.

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2. Why Do IT Asset Management Metrics Matter?

If you’re only keeping tabs on what software you’ve purchased, you’re missing the bigger picture. You won’t be able to know how those tools are being used, whether they’re delivering value, and where you’re overspending. IT asset management metrics help you shift from reactive tracking to proactive optimization.

They answer critical questions:

• Which applications are underutilized and can be downgraded or retired?
• Are you overpaying for licenses based on actual usage?
• Are you exposed to compliance risks due to expired or misused licenses?
• What’s the ROI on your top five most expensive tools?

You're not just answering what you have; you're figuring out how well it’s working, where it's falling short, and why it needs attention. As Stephen Franchetti, CIO at Samsara, said,

“Without IT asset metrics, you’re flying blind. You don’t know where the costs are coming from, and you certainly can’t prove ROI. That’s a dangerous place to be.”

By anchoring your IT decisions in data, you move from reactive asset management to intentional, cost-efficient governance.

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3. Top 5 IT Asset Management Metrics to Track

A. Asset Utilization Rate

This IT asset management metrics helps you measure whether you're using the SaaS licenses and subscriptions you’re paying for. If you're managing hundreds of tools across departments, it’s easy to lose track of dormant accounts, underutilized seats, or expired contracts on autopay.

According to a 2024 survey by Cleanshelf, companies waste up to 30% of their SaaS spend on unused or rarely used software subscriptions. However, tracking usage trends lets you take corrective action early. You can deprovision unused licenses, downsize plans, or renegotiate contracts based on actual adoption.

B. Software Lifecycle Status

Tracking the lifecycle stage of each SaaS application helps you avoid compliance issues, budget waste, and shadow IT. You need to know if a software tool is in active use, approaching end-of-life, or pending renewal.

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One example of managing software lifecycle status is Airbnb. In 2022, Airbnb conducted a comprehensive internal audit and discovered over 200 SaaS tools in use across teams, many of which were either redundant or no longer maintained by vendors. By mapping lifecycle stages and eliminating outdated tools, they trimmed 20% from their annual SaaS spend and reduced internal support overhead significantly.

This IT asset management metrics example shows that without clear visibility into lifecycle status, software can remain active long after it’s no longer needed. As a result, it will create unnecessary costs and risk.

C. License Compliance Rate

Keeping track of your SaaS license compliance rate ensures you're using software within the agreed terms of service. A low compliance rate exposes your company to legal and financial risk, especially during audits or renewals.

Tracking this IT asset management metrics helps you spot under-licensed applications that need attention or over-licensed apps you’re paying for but not fully utilizing. It's not just about avoiding penalties; it’s about aligning your licensing strategy with actual usage.

D. Time to Provision and Deprovision Assets

When a new hire joins your team, delays in granting them access to essential SaaS tools can stall onboarding and productivity. On the flip side, failing to revoke access immediately when someone leaves creates a lingering risk, especially with remote work and contractors using unmanaged devices.

A 2022 audit of New York City’s Department of Education revealed that over 20% of former employees retained access to internal systems for weeks after leaving, exposing sensitive data to unnecessary risk. It's a reminder that even large, well-resourced entities can overlook basic deprovisioning hygiene.

“You’re only as strong as your fastest offboarding process. Anything slower than instant is a liability.”

— Jim Routh, former CISO of MassMutual and CVS Health

Tracking the time it takes to provision and deprovision software access helps you close security gaps before they become front-page news. Thus, you need to pay close attention to these IT asset management metrics.

E. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Knowing how much you're spending on a software tool goes far beyond the subscription fee. Total Cost of Ownership includes everything: license costs, implementation, user training, renewals, support, shadow IT overlap, and even the cost of unused seats.

Take the example of Dentsu International, a global marketing agency. After conducting a SaaS spend analysis, they discovered they were paying for over 500 redundant tools, many of which offered overlapping features across regions. By consolidating vendors and eliminating shelfware, the company reportedly saved $8 million in recurring annual software costs.

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That’s the power of tracking TCO. Without proper IT asset management metrics, you’re likely bleeding money in places you’re not even looking. CIOs who prioritize this metric can make smarter renewal decisions and improve their negotiation leverage.

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4. How CloudEagle.ai Can Help You Manage IT Assets?

CloudEagle Official Product video

CloudEagle.ai is built to take the friction out of managing and purchasing SaaS tools. It helps you gain tighter control over your software portfolio without drowning in spreadsheets or manual tracking.

The platform gives you a unified view of all your applications, contracts, and usage patterns, helping you spot inefficiencies and tighten spend. Every license, renewal date, and usage metric is centralized, so nothing slips through the cracks.

Its automation capabilities reduce the back-and-forth in procurement cycles, flag wasteful renewals ahead of time, and help you recover underused licenses before they eat into your budget.

Application Discovery

CloudEagle.ai delivers complete visibility into your SaaS environment in under 30 minutes, quickly surfacing redundant tools and duplicate apps that quietly inflate your software budget.

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By pulling all assets into a single, centralized platform, it removes the guesswork from application oversight. Native API integrations go beyond basic tracking to provide detailed usage patterns, making it easier to decommission unused tools and consolidate overlapping apps.

You can also set up intelligent alerts to flag unapproved software purchases made via company credit cards, shutting down shadow IT before it becomes a security liability.

Take, for example, a large media enterprise with over 10,000 employees. Relying on Flexera, the company struggled with incomplete data and lacked actionable usage insights. After switching to CloudEagle.ai, they finally had a clear picture of their SaaS stack. 

License Management

CloudEagle.ai offers in-depth feature-level usage insights for each license through seamless integrations or Excel uploads. Its centralized dashboard allows you to manage license types, track assigned and active users, monitor login activity, and analyze spending per license.  

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With usage-based alerts, you can optimize licenses by upgrading or downgrading as needed. Additionally, app admins can audit licenses and deprovision users, ensuring efficient and streamlined SaaS management.

You can also set up license harvesting workflows triggered by offboarding dates, usage thresholds, and other conditions.

Contract Management

CloudEagle.ai simplifies contract management by pulling all vendor agreements into a centralized workspace. No more scrambling before renewal deadlines as automated workflows kick in up to 90 days in advance, routing tasks to the right stakeholders. Slack and email notifications ensure nothing gets missed along the way.

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From the unified dashboard, you can quickly review contract spend while the platform’s AI parses essential metadata like renewal terms, billing cycles, payment conditions, and auto-renewal clauses, giving you a clear picture in just minutes.

The system integrates with tools like DocuSign, Workday, Ironclad, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box, making it easy to bring in contracts from multiple sources. Once imported, CloudEagle.ai automatically extracts and organizes key data, building a complete and accessible contract archive.

Beyond contract visibility, the platform helps you reduce waste. With 500+ integrations, it pulls accurate usage data across your stack and flags when licenses are sitting idle or can be downgraded, allowing you to recover costs and eliminate unused features with minimal effort.

Spend Optimization

As your company scales, it’s easy for duplicate tools and idle subscriptions to pile up, quietly driving up SaaS costs and complicating your stack.

CloudEagle.ai brings clarity to your software portfolio with deep usage insights. It highlights underused applications, flags overlapping subscriptions, and equips you to trim excess spend without sacrificing functionality.

Price Benchmarking

CloudEagle.ai draws on a dataset of over three billion transactions to give you neutral, data-backed pricing benchmarks. With insights from 150,000+ vendors, you can assess how your software costs compare to similar enterprises based on your size, contract length, license volume, and IT spend.

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Its AI engine evaluates pricing scenarios across multiple dimensions, helping you determine whether your rates are competitive or inflated so you can walk into vendor negotiations with real leverage.

Renewal Management

CloudEagle.ai initiates workflows up to 90 days before contract deadlines, giving stakeholders enough time to review, approve, or negotiate terms.

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Built-in communication channels streamline approvals and feedback. You can also track opt-out windows well in advance (30, 60, or 90 days) so your team can act proactively instead of reacting under pressure.

Vendor Research

Researching software shouldn’t eat up your time. CloudEagle.ai’s AI-powered discovery engine takes your requirements and instantly delivers a shortlist of SaaS vendors that meet your criteria.

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Each option comes with consolidated reviews, outlining real pros and cons in one place. You can compare vendors side by side without bouncing between tabs or spreadsheets.

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5. Conclusion

As a CIO, you're expected to make informed decisions about spend, risk, and operational efficiency. IT asset management metrics like asset utilization rate, software lifecycle status, license compliance, provisioning time, and TCO give you the visibility needed to take control of your software environment.

With CloudEagle.ai, you can eliminate unnecessary expenses, reduce downtime, and focus on strategic goals instead of repetitive tasks.  

Its affordability and cost efficiency make it a great fit for businesses of all sizes. Even startups and SMEs can leverage enterprise-grade IT asset management without stretching their budgets. So, schedule a demo with the experts today. 

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6.Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the 5 P's of asset management?
The 5 P’s—People, Processes, Policies, Products, and Partners—form the foundation of an effective asset management framework. They help ensure alignment across procurement, usage, and governance.

2. What are the three main deliverables of IT asset management?
The core deliverables include an accurate asset inventory, compliance tracking, and cost optimization reports. Together, these provide visibility, risk mitigation, and financial control.

3. What are the types of asset management in ITIL 4?
ITIL 4 categorizes asset management into hardware, software, digital, and service assets. Each type supports lifecycle management across planning, usage, and retirement.

4. What are the 5 key performance indicators in ITAM?
Common ITAM KPIs include asset utilization rate, license compliance, total cost of ownership (TCO), provisioning time, and contract renewal efficiency.

5. Is IT asset management part of ITSM?
Yes, IT asset management is a key component of IT Service Management (ITSM), supporting service delivery by ensuring assets are tracked, optimized, and aligned with operational goals.

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