How To Select the Best Software for IT Asset Management

If you’re overwhelmed by the number of tools, devices, and software your company uses, you’re not alone. As your tech stack grows, so does the complexity of managing everything, from licenses to renewals to security risks. That’s exactly where the best software for IT asset management steps in.

SNS Insider revealed that by 2032, the ITAM software market is expected to hit $2.9 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2023. This growth tells you one thing: more companies are realizing that spreadsheets and scattered tools no longer cut it.

In this guide, you’ll know how to select the best software for IT asset management. You’ll know how to make a choice that saves time, budget, and security headaches.

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TL;DR

• IT asset management (ITAM) helps you track all your software, users, and costs—reducing risks from shadow IT, non-compliance, and waste.
• The best ITAM tools automate asset discovery, license tracking, and renewals while syncing with identity, procurement, and finance systems.
• Choose software that benchmarks pricing, alerts you before renewals, and shows real usage to eliminate shelfware.
• Look for platforms with audit trails, compliance support, and flexible access controls to grow with your business.
• CloudEagle.ai offers deep SaaS visibility, real-time license insights, renewal alerts, and powerful automation, all in one unified platform.

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1. What Is IT Asset Management (ITAM) and Why Does It Matter?

IT Asset Management is the process your company uses to track, manage, and optimize its software and SaaS assets throughout their lifecycle. That means knowing exactly what tools you own, where they're deployed, who’s using them, and how much they’re costing you.

Without the best ITAM software like CloudEagle.ai, you risk software sprawl, shadow IT, and costly renewals for tools no one uses. You might also find yourself exposed to compliance and security risks, especially if you're unsure whether unauthorized or unpatched software is in use.

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As Mark Schwartz, former CIO of US Citizenship and Immigration Services and now an Enterprise Strategist at AWS, puts it:

"You can’t manage what you don’t know you have. Visibility is the foundation of both cost control and risk reduction."

That visibility, with the best software for IT asset management, helps you make informed decisions about renewals, vendor negotiations, and access controls. It’s not just about saving money. It’s about taking back control of your software environment.

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2. What Challenges Should You Address When Choosing ITAM Software?

A. Is Your Current Asset Inventory Incomplete or Inaccurate?

If your team relies on outdated spreadsheets or scattered records, chances are your asset inventory isn’t telling the full story. Incomplete inventories create blind spots, especially when onboarding or offboarding employees or auditing vendor relationships.

• You might miss redundant or unused tools.
• Overlooked assets can lead to security vulnerabilities or wasted spend.
• Without accurate data, you can’t trust your usage insights.

The best software for IT asset management should automatically discover and map your assets across devices, users, and cloud environments. That’s how you move from reactive to proactive management.

B. Are You Struggling to Track SaaS Usage and Renewals?

SaaS sprawl is one of the hardest things to control, especially across distributed teams. Contracts get signed without procurement’s visibility. Tools pile up. Renewal dates sneak up. And before you know it, you’re paying for licenses no one uses.

The best software for IT asset management helps you:

• Monitor actual usage across all software and apps.
• Get notified about upcoming renewals in advance.
• Reduce shadow IT by flagging unsanctioned tools.

You need centralized visibility that lets you course-correct before costs spiral.

C. Do You Need Better License Compliance or Cost Control?

According to 1E, 28% of software deployed in enterprises remains unused, highlighting the importance of effective software asset management. If compliance audits send your team scrambling, or if software costs keep rising without a clear cause, your current approach isn’t sustainable. 

That said, look for the best software for IT asset management that:

• Track license assignments and usage automatically.
• Alert you when you're over-licensed or underutilizing tools.
• Provide actionable insights to cut costs or negotiate smarter renewals.

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3. How to Select the Best IT Asset Management Software?

A. Prioritize Tools That Offer Real-Time Asset Discovery and Unified Visibility

Before looking for the best software for IT asset management, ask yourself one thing: can this tool show me everything you own? Do you have visibility across SaaS, cloud, and on-prem in one place? If not, you're still in the dark.

Assets are spun up and retired daily, especially with the rise of developer tools and shadow IT. Your ITAM platform should offer real-time discovery of new assets and automatically update inventory without manual input. This level of visibility helps you prevent software sprawl, avoid compliance risks, and catch redundant or unused tools early.

When Equifax faced its 2017 breach, a key factor was the failure to identify a vulnerable Apache Struts instance. According to the House Oversight Committee, the company didn’t even know that version was still active in their environment. That’s what happens when asset visibility is partial or outdated.

To avoid similar gaps, look for platforms that integrate directly with your identity provider (e.g., Okta, Azure AD), cloud services (AWS, GCP), and SaaS stack. A unified dashboard with context, like who’s using what, how often, and what it costs, can drive smarter renewal decisions and eliminate waste.

B. Choose a Platform That Automates Workflows and Connects Seamlessly with Your Stack

Manual ticketing, email approvals, and spreadsheet-driven audits waste time and introduce errors. The best software for IT asset management should let you automate your workflows, from asset requests to license assignments and renewals.

You should be able to configure multi-step approval chains, enforce usage or cost policies, and automatically trigger notifications when anomalies are detected. This not only eliminates back-and-forth but also reduces the chance of non-compliance.

But automation alone isn't enough if the platform doesn’t integrate well with your existing tools.When asset data flows across identity, procurement, and finance systems in real-time, your asset inventory becomes more reliable, and you gain better visibility into spend, usage, and access.

C. Prioritize Renewal and Cost Optimization Capabilities

Choosing the best software for IT asset management is also about preventing budget leaks. Silent renewals are one of the most common culprits. You need a platform that flags upcoming contract renewals early enough for stakeholders to act, whether that means renegotiating, reallocating, or canceling the software altogether.

But timely alerts aren’t enough without usage insights. Look for tools that show you license utilization, how many seats were bought vs. how many are used. This helps you eliminate shelfware before it drains thousands annually.

What separates the best software for IT asset management from a great one is pricing benchmarking. A platform that benchmarks pricing across vendors and uncovers irregular cost spikes gives you real leverage during negotiations. Here’s some quick insights on mastering SaaS renewals:

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As FinOps Foundation director J.R. Storment once said:

“Every dollar wasted on unused software is a dollar that could have gone to innovation, hiring, or growth.”

That’s the kind of financial discipline your ITAM software should support, not just tracking, but optimizing.

D. Ensure Compliance, Security, and Audit-Readiness from Day One

The best software for IT asset management should help you stay audit-ready without last-minute chaos. Start by focusing on audit trails. Every change must be automatically logged and easily retrievable. This makes responding to auditors straightforward and transparent.

Key features to look for include:

• Comprehensive audit logs: Track all asset modifications with timestamps and user information.
• On-demand reporting: Generate detailed reports that demonstrate compliance or highlight anomalies.
• Support for security standards: Align with frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, or NIST to streamline evidence collection.
• Automated compliance workflows: Reduce manual work by embedding compliance checks into asset lifecycle management.

A well-structured ITAM system not only helps with audits but also minimizes risks from unmanaged or forgotten assets, strengthening your overall security posture.

E. Prioritize Scalability and Flexibility as You Grow

Your ITAM needs today might look very different a year from now. As your company adds new teams, locations, or technologies, the asset management system must grow with you without forcing a complete overhaul.

Start with how roles and permissions are managed. A rigid system will slow you down. Instead, choose one that mirrors your organizational structure and can assign access based on job function, geography, or business unit. The best software for IT asset management should provide:

• Custom roles and granular access controls: Ensure stakeholders only see and act on what they’re responsible for.
• Modular architecture: Add new features like AI-powered insights, automated license reclaiming, or contract intelligence when you're ready.
• Multi-tenant support: Manage subsidiaries, departments, or international branches without maintaining separate tools.
• Scalable infrastructure: Confirm that the platform can handle increasing asset volume, user count, and integrations as your IT stack expands.

F. Vendor Support and Success Services

Even the most powerful tool can fall short if the vendor doesn’t help you use it effectively. That’s why vendor lifecycle management should be part of your selection criteria, not an afterthought.

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Start by looking at how onboarding is handled. Is there a dedicated customer success team that walks you through implementation, sets up your workflows, and checks in regularly? Or are you left to navigate complex setup instructions on your own?

Then there’s the long-term vendor relationship. The best vendors don’t just answer tickets, they partner with you. Some go a step further by providing advisory support: they'll help optimize license usage, surface opportunities to reduce SaaS waste, or even flag contracts worth renegotiating.

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5. Why Consider CloudEagle.ai for IT Asset Management?

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CloudEagle.ai is one of the best software for IT asset management to help you manage and purchase 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 gives you granular visibility into how every tool in your stack is being used. Whether data is pulled via direct integrations or imported through Excel, the platform surfaces feature-level insights that go far beyond basic license counts.

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From a single dashboard, you can monitor license types, see which users are active or idle, review login behavior, and track spending tied to individual licenses. This level of detail helps eliminate guesswork and spot underused tools before they drain your budget.

You can also configure usage-based alerts to flag when it's time to upgrade high-usage users or downgrade inactive ones. App admins can run regular audits, reclaim unused licenses, and offboard users efficiently—keeping your SaaS portfolio lean and tightly managed.

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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6. Conclusion

As your tech stack grows, the risks of shadow IT, license sprawl, and audit failures grow with it. But with the best software for IT asset management, you’re not just managing assets. You’re protecting your budget, your security posture, and your peace of mind.

And thanks to CloudEagle.ai, you’ll never face any problem managing your company’s IT assets. As you can track them, there will be fewer chances of SaaS sprawl and hidden renewals. So, contact the experts and let them show you how CloudEagle.ai works. 

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7. Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is IT Asset Management?

IT Asset Management (ITAM) is the process of tracking and managing an organization's IT assets, such as hardware, software, and networks, throughout their lifecycle to maximize value and reduce risk.

2. Is IT asset management part of ITSM?

Yes, ITAM is often considered a component of IT Service Management (ITSM). It supports ITSM by providing visibility into assets, enabling better incident, change, and configuration management.

3. What is the role of IT asset management?

The role of ITAM is to ensure assets are efficiently used, properly maintained, and compliant with licensing and security policies, helping reduce costs and improve IT decision-making.

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