See what you own, what you're using, and what should be retired.
IT assets — laptops, monitors, peripherals, servers, networking gear — are the part of technology spend that's easiest to ignore until it isn't. Devices issued during hiring rounds never come back during attrition. Equipment sits in storage closets. Refresh cycles run on autopilot. Asset records exist in three different systems that don't reconcile. Unravyl's IT asset management work brings visibility, recovers what should be recovered, and aligns spending with actual need.
ITAM, defined.
IT asset management (ITAM) is the discipline of tracking, optimizing, and managing the lifecycle of physical and digital technology assets — typically hardware, though some definitions include software licenses (which we cover under [Cloud + Software](/services/cloud-software-cost-optimization/)).
The core scope of hardware ITAM includes:
Inventory — what you own, where it is, and who has it
Lifecycle — when assets were acquired, when they should be refreshed, and when they should be retired
Reclamation — recovering assets from departed employees, completed projects, or closed locations
Disposition — secure decommissioning, data wiping, and disposal of retired equipment
Rightsizing — aligning what you buy with what people actually need
ITAM work, end to end.
Hardware inventory build and reconciliation
We work with what you have — MDM data, finance asset registers, IT inventory systems, spreadsheets — and build a single reconciled view of what’s actually deployed. Most environments have at least three sources of asset truth that don’t fully agree.
Reclamation workflows
We identify devices that should be reclaimed (departed employees, completed projects, ended contractor engagements) and structure the workflows to recover them. For larger environments, this is a significant ongoing operational discipline, not a one-time project.
Lifecycle and refresh planning
Most refresh cycles run on autopilot — a 3-year cycle, applied uniformly. We help clients structure refresh planning that accounts for actual device condition, user role, and total cost of ownership. Some devices should refresh earlier than the default cycle; many should refresh later.
Disposition and secure decommissioning
End-of-life devices need secure data wiping, certified disposal, and proper chain-of-custody documentation. We help structure the disposition process, including selection of certified disposition partners.
Spend optimization
What you actually need to buy. We analyze refresh spend against deployment patterns and recommend adjustments — refresh tier changes, accessories rightsizing, peripheral standardization.
Onboarding and offboarding process improvement
The biggest single source of asset waste is the gap between when an employee leaves and when their assets are recovered. We help structure the process so it works consistently across IT, HR, and people management.
What we typically uncover.
Unreturned devices from departed employees.
The gap between offboarding and device recovery is typically 60–180 days, and recovery rates often top out at 70–85% for remote workforces. We've seen environments with hundreds of unaccounted devices.
Devices in storage that should be redeployed.
Closets full of returned equipment that nobody has the workflow to redeploy. The devices depreciate while new equipment gets purchased for incoming hires.
Refresh cycles running shorter than necessary.
A 3-year default refresh policy that applies uniformly across roles, even where 4- or 5-year cycles would work fine for many users. Aggregate this across hundreds of devices and the cost difference is significant.
Refresh tier overspending.
High-spec laptops issued to roles that don't need the performance. Standardized issue of premium devices when role-based tiering would reduce per-unit cost meaningfully.
Asset records that don't match deployment reality.
Finance has one number for assets, IT has another, MDM shows a third, and the physical inventory is something else entirely. Without reconciled records, decisions about purchasing, refresh, and disposition are guesses.
Disposal happening informally.
Devices "donated" to employees at end of life without proper data wiping. Equipment going to disposition without chain-of-custody documentation. Compliance and security risk that nobody recognized as a risk.
Peripheral and accessory sprawl.
Monitors, keyboards, mice, docking stations, headsets — typically tracked loosely or not at all. Aggregate spend is significant; reuse and reclamation rates are low.
Asset data is the foundation for several other cost categories.
IT asset records are the connective data underneath several other cost optimization categories:
Mobile expense management
Depends on accurate user-to-device mapping.
SaaS license management
Depends on accurate active user counts.
Offboarding effectiveness
Depends on workflows that include asset recovery.
Contract negotiation
For hardware procurement depends on accurate refresh forecasting.
Most clients who engage us for asset work also have findings in adjacent categories. The asset work often becomes the foundation for broader cost reduction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you replace our existing ITAM tool?
No. There are several useful ITAM platforms (ServiceNow, Lansweeper, Asset Panda, and others), and we don't resell or operate them. If a platform would help your environment, we help you evaluate options based on fit. Most of our engagement work happens regardless of which ITAM tool is in place.
Will this disrupt our users?
Mostly no. The inventory and reconciliation work happens behind the scenes. Reclamation work touches users directly (their devices need to come back), but we help structure that process to minimize friction. Refresh planning changes happen at the program level, not at the user level.
How is this different from what an MSP can do?
Most MSPs offer asset tracking as part of their managed services, but the typical scope is operational (device deployment, ticketing, support) rather than financial and strategic (rightsizing, lifecycle planning, refresh cycle adjustment, contract optimization). We work alongside MSPs, focused on the cost and optimization side that MSPs don't typically address.
Can you help us implement a new ITAM platform?
We help with platform selection and structure, but we're not a platform implementation services firm. If you're implementing a major new ITAM platform, we can help with the selection, vendor negotiation, and structural setup. Detailed implementation is typically done by the platform vendor's professional services or a specialist implementation partner.
What's the typical timeline for ITAM work?
A focused inventory reconciliation and Clarity Report typically runs 6–8 weeks. Reclamation programs are ongoing — most clients see meaningful recovery in the first 90 days and continue to refine the process from there. Refresh cycle and procurement optimization typically take 3–6 months to fully implement.
What if our asset records are really bad?
That's the norm. Most environments we work with have significant gaps, conflicts, and outdated information in their asset records. We work with whatever is available — MDM data, finance records, IT inventory, manual spreadsheets — and reconcile to a single view as part of the engagement. You don't need clean data before reaching out.
