3 Reasons Why IT Asset Management is Key to Cybersecurity

Cyber-attack is probably one of the worst nightmares of a modern organization. And unsurprisingly so as data breaches are not only expensive, it’s also difficult to recover from them once the damage has been done. More hackers are attacking US corporations ever since more staff started working from home and this has resulted in vulnerability in networks.

The most common response to a threat like this is investing in enterprise endpoint protection to bolster a company’s cybersecurity strategy. That’s not entirely a wrong action to take, but unfortunately, purchasing an antivirus subscription only addresses half of the problem.

The key to strengthening an organization’s cybersecurity strategy is by investing in IT asset management solutions that feature a smart locker system and a cloud-based asset management system that can track and properly secure your IT hardware and software investments. Here are some of the reasons why smart asset and inventory management are critical components of a company’s cybersecurity strategy.

Hardware And Software Asset Control

Missing IT assets can hurt an organization in many ways. Aside from the immediate costs of replacing the assets, this could also quickly turn into a legal and public relations nightmare, particularly if the stolen or missing asset contains sensitive data. By the time you’ll realize how many IT assets are missing in your inventory, it would’ve been already too late to investigate and recover your company’s lost IT investments.

Hardware asset management enables companies to have real-time and exact information on their IT assets, like how many are in use or in storage. Having this ability allows your IT administrators or third-party IT service providers to see all the devices connected to your network.

This means that they’ll know if an asset hasn’t checked into the network for a while. They’ll then be able to investigate whether an asset has been lost or stolen. Moreover, an IT asset management system will also help them verify whether an IT asset is compliant with security controls, are up to date on all the necessary patches, and have licensed software applications installed.

Cost Control

Knowing the exact number of IT assets financially benefits organizations of any size. If you discover that you have unused software or hardware assets, you can quickly reallocate them to someone who needs them instead of purchasing new items. Software licenses don’t come cheaply these days. When you apply this benefit on a much larger scale, like on a shipping/fulfillment company or a big tech enterprise, the savings increase exponentially.

Simply put, the best IT asset management solutions allow large organizations to reduce costs by controlling both hardware and software requests and purchases. This ultimately creates a positive impact on the bottom line, leaving you with savings that you can reallocate to bolstering your cybersecurity plan’s other components.

Risk Mitigation

As mentioned earlier, not having access to reliable and up-to-date information about your IT assets leaves your entire system vulnerable to cyberattacks. Because your IT equipment isn’t visible to your IT administrators, it can’t be properly secured, resulting in weak points in your network. No matter how small or simple its function is, a smart device can easily be compromised if left unsecured. This could then infect your entire network and systems, disrupting operations in the process.

A smart enterprise asset management system that tracks every IT asset’s movements lessens the security risks associated with lost or mismanaged assets. This is done by keeping these assets up to date on security patches with IT asset management software. This automatically acts as a deterrent to potential breaches because you’re essentially closing every possible entry point for attackers.

Conclusion

In summary, what IT Asset Management (ITAM) adds to a company’s cybersecurity framework is the ability to get an overall picture of all the assets an organization has, where they are exactly located, who’s in charge of them and whether they are secured or not.

The reasons listed above prove that an IT Asset Tracking Solution is not merely an optional component. Rather, it is a vital element to an organization’s cybersecurity strategy for its ability alone to secure all possible entry points that cybercriminals could’ve used to steal your sensitive data or cause all kinds of trouble.

Fulfill this critical element of your company’s cybersecurity by investing in a cloud-based asset management system such as Teqtivity’s smart vending and asset management solutions.  Protect your IT investments, and protect your company before potential cyber threats become real attacks.

Contact us to begin your protection today.