Remote Work & ITAM Glossary

Asset Inventory: An asset inventory is a live record of every IT asset a company owns, including its serial number, location, assigned employee, condition and warranty status.

Asset Tagging: Asset tagging means labeling each device with a unique ID (barcode, QR code or RFID) so it can be tracked across its lifecycle.

Configuration Management Database (CMDB): A CMDB is a central database that stores information about IT assets and how they connect, used to manage changes, incidents and dependencies.

Depreciation: Depreciation is the loss in an asset's value over time. Laptops are typically depreciated over 3 to 4 years for accounting purposes.

Device as a Service (DaaS): Device as a Service is a subscription model where companies pay a monthly fee per employee for hardware, setup, support and replacement, instead of buying devices upfront.

Device Buyback: Device buyback is when a provider purchases a company's used laptops and phones, turning retired hardware into cash or credit for new equipment.

Equipment Catalog: An equipment catalog is a pre-approved list of devices and accessories employees or managers can order from, keeping hardware standardized and on budget.

Ghost Assets: Ghost assets are devices recorded in your inventory that can no longer be found or used, usually lost, stolen or never returned. They inflate costs and create security gaps.

Global IT Procurement: Global IT procurement is buying and delivering devices to employees in multiple countries while handling local suppliers, taxes, import rules and warranties.

Hardware Asset Management (HAM): Hardware asset management is the part of ITAM focused on physical devices like laptops, monitors and phones. It covers inventory, assignment, warranty, repairs and end-of-life disposal.

Hardware Leasing: Hardware leasing lets companies rent laptops and equipment for a fixed term, spreading costs over time and making upgrades easier.

IT Asset Disposition (ITAD): IT asset disposition is the secure, compliant process of retiring old devices through data wiping, resale, refurbishment, donation or recycling.

IT Asset Lifecycle: The IT asset lifecycle is the full journey of a device or license: planning, procurement, deployment, use, maintenance, retrieval and retirement. Managing every stage in one place prevents lost devices, surprise costs and data leaks.

IT Asset Management (ITAM): IT asset management is the process of tracking, maintaining and optimizing every hardware and software asset a company owns, from purchase to disposal. Good ITAM cuts wasted spend, reduces security risk and shows exactly who has which device, wherever they work.

IT Procurement: IT procurement is the process of sourcing, buying and delivering technology to employees. For global teams, it includes local sourcing, import duties and customs.

Software Asset Management (SAM): Software asset management tracks software licenses and subscriptions to keep companies compliant and avoid paying for seats nobody uses.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Total cost of ownership is the full cost of an IT asset over its life: purchase price, shipping, setup, support, repairs, storage and disposal. TCO is often 2 to 3 times the sticker price.

Zombie Assets: Zombie assets are devices that are still active and paid for but no longer used, like a laptop in a drawer still renewing its software licenses.

Asynchronous Work: Asynchronous work means teammates contribute on their own schedules instead of in real time, common for teams across time zones.

Digital Employee Experience (DEX): Digital employee experience measures how well an employee's devices, apps and IT support help them get work done. Slow laptops and delayed support lower DEX and productivity.

Digital Nomad: A digital nomad is someone who works remotely while traveling between locations, often across countries.

Distributed Team: A distributed team is a group of employees spread across cities, countries or time zones, with no single central office.

Employee Experience (EX): Employee experience is how people feel about every interaction with their employer, including the speed and quality of their tech setup.

Employer of Record (EOR): An employer of record is a company that legally employs workers on another company's behalf in countries where it has no entity, handling payroll, taxes and benefits.

Global Workforce: A global workforce is a team of employees and contractors located in multiple countries. Equipping it means delivering and supporting devices across borders.

Home Office Stipend: A home office stipend is a budget given to remote employees to buy furniture, monitors or accessories for their workspace.

Hybrid Work: Hybrid work splits time between home and the office. IT teams need to support both setups, often with docking stations, extra monitors and shared desks.

Professional Employer Organization (PEO): A PEO is a provider that co-employs a company's staff to manage HR, payroll and benefits, common for small and mid-size businesses.

Remote Equipment Policy: A remote equipment policy sets which devices employees receive, who owns them, how they're used and how they're returned when someone leaves.

Remote-First Company: A remote-first company designs its tools, processes and culture around remote work, with offices as optional rather than the default.

Remote Work: Remote work is any arrangement where employees do their job outside a company office, usually from home. It requires reliable devices, secure access and support that reaches people wherever they are.

Work From Anywhere (WFA): Work from anywhere is a policy that lets employees choose their location, sometimes across countries. It adds tax, compliance and device logistics challenges.

Day-One Readiness: Day-one readiness means a new hire has their device, accounts and access working on their first day, so they're productive from the first hour.

Deprovisioning: Deprovisioning is removing an employee's access to systems, apps and data when they leave or change roles. Done late, it's one of the biggest security risks in offboarding.

Device Retrieval: Device retrieval is collecting company laptops and equipment from departing remote employees, usually with a prepaid return kit and courier pickup.

Employee Offboarding: Employee offboarding is the process of managing someone's exit, including revoking access, collecting company equipment and transferring knowledge.

Employee Onboarding: Employee onboarding is the process of preparing a new hire to do their job, from paperwork and accounts to their laptop and first-week training.

IT Offboarding: IT offboarding covers the tech steps when an employee leaves: locking accounts, wiping data and recovering the laptop and accessories.

IT Onboarding: IT onboarding is the tech side of welcoming a new hire: delivering a configured laptop, creating accounts, granting app access and setting up security, ideally before day one.

Laptop Return Kit: A laptop return kit is a prepaid box with packaging and a shipping label that makes it easy for remote employees to send devices back.

Offboarding Checklist: An offboarding checklist lists every step to close out an employee's exit safely, including access removal, device return and data backup.

Onboarding Checklist: An onboarding checklist lists every task needed to get a new hire set up, from contracts to device delivery and app access.

Provisioning: Provisioning is setting up the devices, accounts and permissions an employee needs to start work.

Remote Offboarding: Remote offboarding is managing an employee's exit when they don't work from an office, including shipping boxes and labels so they can return equipment from home.

Remote Onboarding: Remote onboarding is bringing a new employee into the company without them visiting an office. The device has to arrive on time, ready to use, wherever they live.

Time to Productivity: Time to productivity is how long it takes a new hire to start contributing fully. Late or misconfigured devices are a common cause of delays.

Welcome Kit: A welcome kit is a package sent to new hires with their laptop, accessories and often branded swag to make a strong first impression.

Zero-Touch Deployment: Zero-touch deployment ships a laptop straight to the employee, which configures itself automatically when they log in for the first time. IT never has to touch the device.

Break/Fix Support: Break/fix support means repairing devices only when they fail, rather than through ongoing maintenance.

Device Lifecycle Management (DLM): Device lifecycle management is overseeing every device from procurement and setup to repair, storage, retrieval and recycling. For global teams, it replaces dozens of local vendors with one process.

Device Management: Device management is how companies configure, monitor, update and secure the laptops and phones employees use.

Device Storage (Warehousing): Device storage is keeping spare or returned laptops in secure warehouses so they can be redeployed to new hires quickly.

Endpoint: An endpoint is any device that connects to a company network, like a laptop, phone or tablet. Each one is a possible entry point for attacks.

Hardware Refresh Cycle: A hardware refresh cycle is the schedule for replacing devices, usually every 3 to 4 years for laptops.

Help Desk: A help desk is the first point of contact for employees with IT problems, handling tickets, password resets and basic troubleshooting.

ITIL: ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) is a widely used framework of best practices for delivering IT services.

IT Service Management (ITSM): IT service management is how a company designs, delivers and improves IT services for employees, from ticketing to change management.

Mobile Device Management (MDM): Mobile device management is software that lets IT remotely configure, update, lock and wipe company devices. Common tools include Microsoft Intune, Jamf and Kandji.

Redeployment: Redeployment is wiping, refurbishing and reassigning a returned device to a new employee instead of buying new.

Remote IT Support: Remote IT support is fixing technical issues without being physically present, using remote access tools, chat or phone.

Service Desk: A service desk is a broader version of the help desk that also manages service requests, changes and IT processes, often following ITIL.

Service Level Agreement (SLA): An SLA is a contract that defines the support level a provider promises, like response and resolution times.

Shadow IT: Shadow IT is any device, app or service employees use without IT approval. It creates security and compliance blind spots.

Ticketing System: A ticketing system logs, assigns and tracks IT support requests so nothing gets lost.

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM): Unified endpoint management is a single platform for managing all endpoints, including laptops, phones, tablets and IoT devices, across operating systems.

Certificate of Data Destruction: A certificate of data destruction is a document proving a device's data was securely erased, used for audits and compliance.

Chain of Custody: Chain of custody is the documented record of who handled a device and when, from retrieval to wiping and disposal.

Circular IT: Circular IT keeps devices in use longer through refurbishment, redeployment, resale and recycling, cutting costs and emissions.

Data Wiping (Data Sanitization): Data wiping permanently erases all data from a device so it can't be recovered, usually following standards like NIST 800-88.

Endpoint Security: Endpoint security protects laptops, phones and other devices from threats using antivirus, encryption, firewalls and monitoring.

ESG Reporting: ESG reporting discloses a company's environmental, social and governance performance. Device recycling and refurbishment data often feed into it.

E-Waste: E-waste is discarded electronic equipment. Improper disposal harms the environment and can expose company data.

Full-Disk Encryption: Full-disk encryption protects all data on a device so it can't be read without the right credentials, using tools like BitLocker or FileVault.

GDPR: The General Data Protection Regulation is the EU law governing how personal data is collected, stored and deleted, including data left on old devices.

ISO 27001: ISO 27001 is an international standard for information security management systems.

IT Asset Recycling: IT asset recycling is breaking down retired devices responsibly so materials are recovered and hazardous parts are handled safely.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA requires two or more proofs of identity, like a password plus a phone code, to access an account.

Refurbished Laptops: Refurbished laptops are used devices that have been tested, repaired and restored to work like new, at a lower cost and footprint.

Remote Lock and Wipe: Remote lock and wipe lets IT lock a lost or unreturned device and erase its data from anywhere.

Scope 3 Emissions: Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions from a company's value chain, including the manufacturing and disposal of IT hardware. Extending device life helps reduce them.

Single Sign-On (SSO): Single sign-on lets employees log in once to access all their work apps, simplifying onboarding and offboarding.

SOC 2: SOC 2 is an audit framework that checks how a company protects customer data. Many buyers require vendors to be SOC 2 compliant.

Zero Trust Security: Zero trust is a security model that verifies every user and device on every request, assuming no one is trusted by default, even inside the network.