IT asset management is the set of business practices that join financial, contractual and inventory functions to support life cycle management

Product life cycle management

Product life-cycle management is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its life-cycle. The conditions in which a product is sold changes over time and must be managed as it moves through its succession of stages.Product life-cycle Like human beings,...

 and strategic decision making for the IT environment. Assets include all elements of software

Computer software

Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....

 and hardware

Computer hardware

Personal computer hardware are component devices which are typically installed into or peripheral to a computer case to create a personal computer upon which system software is installed including a firmware interface such as a BIOS and an operating system which supports application software that...

 that are found in the business environment.
Hardware asset management entails the management of the physical components of computers and computer networks, from acquisition through disposal.