Device inventory management in the IT industry involves tracking and managing all hardware devices within an organization. This includes computers, laptops, servers, networking equipment, mobile devices, and other physical assets that make up the organization’s IT infrastructure.
Effective IT inventory management ensures accurate records of device details, locations, and conditions. This is crucial for optimizing resource utilization, maintaining security, and ensuring compliance:
- Identification: The process begins by identifying all devices utilized within the organization.
- Tracking: Once devices are identified, they are cataloged with detailed information, including device name, model, serial number, location, assigned user, warranty information, and other relevant details.
- Monitoring and updates: The inventory database is regularly updated to reflect changes such as device additions, removals, upgrades, or relocations, ensuring all devices are current and secure.
- Lifecycle management: This involves managing the entire lifecycle of devices, from procurement to disposal. It includes tracking warranties and maintenance contracts.
Adding your devices to the inventory list #
When you enroll your devices in Applivery, they will automatically be added to your inventory list. Additionally, you can manually add items that cannot be enrolled within the platform but are part of your device ecosystem, or import them through a CSV file by clicking the (1) button. These entries are fully editable and include the following sections:
- Basic: Contains fundamental details such as device type, display name, owner, location, status, classification, description, and associated member (or members).
- When importing inventory items through CSV, it is important to specify the device types as follows:
accessControl,accessPoint,barcodeScanner,cardReader,cameraCctv,cameraIp,desktopComputer,device,dockStation,externalDevice,externalHardDrive,firewall,hdmiAdapter,headphones,keyboard,laptop,microphone,monitor,mouse,posTerminal,printer,router,scanner,server,smartphone,smartwatch,softwareLicense,speaker,switch,tablet,ups,usbFlashDrive,videoConference,virtualMachine, andwebcam. -
In the same way, you can specify the device’s status to reflect its current state. Ensure that the status field corresponds to one of the following:
active,inactive,provisioning,deleted,delete_requested,retired,lost,stolen,destroyed,sold,inStock,toBeReturned,expired,inRepair,assigned,external,available,damaged,emergency,unknown,disabled,returnedToProvider,laptopNotRequired,personalLaptop, andclientLaptop.
- When importing inventory items through CSV, it is important to specify the device types as follows:
- Hardware: Contains detailed information about the inventory’s item specifications, including manufacturer, model, serial number, and other relevant identifiers.
- Network: Information on network connectivity, such as hostname, IP address, and MAC address.
- Purchase: Records of procurement details, including supplier information, order number, and purchase price.
- Lifecycle: Tracks the inventory’s item lifecycle stages, notably warranty status and expected useful life.
- Seats: Primarily used to record the total number of software licenses and the available ones.
- Metadata: Add any extra details about the inventory item in a simple key-value format.
- Notes: A section to add any remarks or observations regarding the inventory item.
When you see a green icon next to certain fields, it indicates that the device has been enrolled in the platform and is now an inventory item. As a result, these fields are locked and cannot be edited.
Don’t forget to enable the option to update an item if an identifier matches an existing one.
Customizing and exporting your inventory list #
The list of inventory items can become quite extensive due to the large amount of information you can record for each item.
To make it easier to manage, click on the Options (2) button to display a dropdown where you can customize which information to show and which to hide, allowing you to focus on the most important details at a glance.
Additionally, you can export the entire list by clicking on the (3) button, or download only the data you need if you have applied any search filters.
