We see economic uncertainty in our businesses, and even in our personal lives. Whether it is assets we need for the business or eggs we need at home, prices are going up, or at least fluctuating in a way that can be frustrating. It can make it difficult to make long term commitments, or create forecasts with confidence. Organizations are exploring ways to cut costs to help navigate this environment. Where there is change, there is opportunity. Perhaps we would hope price changes were in the other direction, but here we are. So what can ITAM do to help? A strong ITAM program may take investment, but it may be the investment that puts our companies in the best possible position to navigate.

Whether it is because of tariffs, supply chain issues, geopolitical influence, or rising costs, acquiring effective assets can be more challenging during uncertainty. Our teams may not be able to expand as easily, budgets may be slashed, all while the business may seem more needy. Doing more with less is a constant challenge. Getting the most out of the assets we do have is where ITAM can really be a part of the solution. By using discovery data, procurement data, and our experience managing the assets themselves, we have deeper insights into the costs and outcomes of the assets that we have. With this visibility, ITAM can enable us to potentially extend the life of current assets, as well as create a stockroom of hardware and software assets. Both ways that can create some buffer for supply chain or pricing issues, while getting the most out of our current assets. Being able to make use of a stockroom would not be possible with a mature ITAM team.

Understanding the financials of our assets can enable us to make smarter decisions that are based on facts instead of feeling. Knowing who owns which assets, which are being used, and which are redundant, can help to recapture value on assets that are not well aligned to value generation. When ITAM provides this visibility, procurement can more confidently acquire the correct assets to improve our position. We can avoid duplicate software, avoid new purchases for assets we may already have, and lower costs by managing to a smaller set of standards that are determined based on which assets will provide the greatest ROI while complimenting what already exists. ITAM can be the glue that brings together the financial and inventory type data into a cohesive view that would otherwise be too disjointed to act upon. How could we possibly get the most out of our assets if we don’t understand the relevant details. Even if a company was unconcerned with the potential compliance issues, this visibility is a requirement to just run the business in a sensible way.

A common response to uncertainty is cost cutting. If ill-informed, cost cutting can be a reactive and risky business. Fueled by fear, a business may find they are cutting the very things that are critical. ITAM is no exception to being a consideration for cutting. Instead of passively hoping that budgets work out in our favor. Let’s take an active role in turning our reactive cost cutting into proactive cost avoidance. It has been important in the past to demonstrate continued success as an ITAM team, and that continues to be the case. Maybe now more than ever! We should have a healthy mix of long term strategic goals, alongside short term lowering hanging fruit. As we make progress on our lower hanging fruit, let’s be sure to catalog our successes, and communicate our savings to our stakeholders. The more we can partner with finance, and even HR, to make the best possible cost avoidance decisions, the better off our business will be. By improving the quality of these cost avoidance decisions, we improve the odds of funding being available for the program, as well as improve the odds that we are seen as an indispensable function when navigating economic uncertainty.

ITAM isn’t just about counting things in the background and compliance. It is about the visibility and decision making that is required to make the best decisions we can. Not just as an ITAM team, but as a broader IT and business unit. Not all businesses will have the required clarity and confidence to find success with so many moving pieces. This creates an opportunity for those that have a continued focus on ITAM, even when the business climate is tumultuous. Being able to get the most out of what we have now, and align acquisitions to the most valuable needs, we can begin to have a competitive advantage versus those that cannot. Without strong ITAM, it would be like playing chess with a blindfold. Even worse, during hard times, there may pieces getting knocked off the table that we don’t even see. There is hardly any room for cohesive positioning of our pieces(assets). Let’s remember we can’t control what we don’t manage. Now more than ever, ITAM has the chance to be the hero by providing this level of management and control. Companies that don’t have this focus just may find that all their pieces are disappearing.