Data centre
IT asset
A it asset is equipment in the data centre category. Capital equipment tracked by a durable serialized tag for inventory, audit, and chain of custody.
Also called: laptop, server, property tag, equipment tag, inventory tag.
Governing standards
Required artifacts
| Artifact | What it does |
|---|---|
| Asset tag | A durable serialized tag bound to one physical asset for inventory, audit, and inspection history. |
| Service label | A service label is a compliance consumable applied directly to equipment recording a test, a certification, or a next-due date. |
Which of these you actually need, and on what cycle, depends on your jurisdiction. We publish that only where we have read the governing clause and can cite it. Where we have not, the page says so rather than guessing.
In stock for it assets
Asset tag, anodised aluminium with barcode
Sequential serial plus barcode and QR. Bound to one asset for its whole service life.
$1.13 per unit at 100
Tamper evident asset tag, destructible vinyl
Fragments if lifted, so a removed tag is obvious. Used where chain of custody matters.
$0.39 per unit at 250
What it is
Laptops, monitors, phones, tools and test equipment issued to people rather than installed in a room. The defining feature is that it leaves the building and is expected to come back.
Why it gets inspected
Asset registers rot at hand-back. Equipment returned without an identifier gets reissued as a different asset or written off while sitting on a shelf, and the register drifts from reality one return at a time.
What happens on a visit
At issue and at return: scan the identifier, confirm it matches the register, and record condition. Where removal must leave evidence, a destructible label makes quiet transfers visible.
What drives the tag count
Asset tags outlive several rounds of hardware refresh, so the numbering scheme matters more than the tag. If your inventory system already assigns numbers, run the sequence to match it rather than creating a second numbering scheme that someone has to reconcile later.
What actually gets tagged, and where it goes
Asset labels go on the chassis in a consistent position across the estate, which matters more than it sounds: an estate labelled in a consistent place can be audited by walking a row, and one labelled wherever there was space cannot. Labels have to survive handling, stacking and the occasional trip through a workshop, and they need to come off without residue at disposal. Tamper evident stock is used where the label also serves as a security seal, which is a different product and a different decision.
What a scan of it assets shows
Asset tracking traditionally lives in a spreadsheet that diverges from reality within months, because the label is applied at receipt and the spreadsheet is updated afterwards. Binding the label to a record at production closes that gap. A scan resolves to the asset and shows what it is and its history, which is most valuable at the two points the spreadsheet is always wrong: redeployment and disposal.
Every artifact here is serialised, so the record survives the tag being replaced. The mechanics are on how inspection records work.
Sizing an order for a fleet of it assets
Count assets and add a margin for new acquisitions across the year, since applying a label at receipt is the only reliable moment and running out means an unlabelled asset entering the estate. Order annually against expected intake rather than reactively. Where assets are disposed of and replaced on a cycle, order to the intake number rather than to the installed base.
Minimum is 100 units and every price is on the page, so a first order can be a test rather than a commitment. Why the minimum is 100, not 2,500.
Inspected on the same visit
Assets live in racks, connect through cables and are identified under the same scheme, so labelling them as a separate exercise from the infrastructure around them is what produces an estate with three conventions. Where the organisation also holds calibrated instruments, the same asset function usually manages both, and both need removable adhesive that comes away cleanly at disposal or recalibration. Order against expected intake across the year rather than the installed base, since the reliable moment to label is receipt.
Ordering it assets: common questions
Where should the label go?
In a consistent position across the estate, which matters more than it sounds. An estate labelled consistently can be audited by walking a row. One labelled wherever there was space cannot, and the audit cost of that decision recurs forever.
How many should we order?
Against expected intake across the year rather than the installed base, since applying a label at receipt is the only reliable moment. Running out means an unlabelled asset entering the estate, which is the one gap the spreadsheet never recovers from.
Where does asset tracking usually break?
At redeployment and disposal. The label is applied at receipt and the spreadsheet is updated afterwards, so the two diverge within months. Binding the label to a record at production closes that gap at the two points the spreadsheet is always wrong.