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JULY 7TH 2025. BY SHAUN ASHBURY
Is the ITAM Role Growing Faster Than You Are?
In the longform article, ITAM Is Evolving Rapidly: Why Keeping Pace with ITAM’s Evolution is Crucial for Your Career – Licenseware, I concluded that the ITAM industry did not have a traditional ‘skills gap’, but instead we face a ‘mentality gap’, one that has become increasingly prominent as ITAM’s scope has grown. FinOps, SaaS, Security, and more recently, GreenOps and AI are now critical to manage effectively.
I’ve reflected on 10 years as a specialist ITAM recruiter, but even in late 2024, many of the job specs I saw still expected encyclopedic knowledge of Tier 1 vendors. Many conversations with candidates suggested their experience of adopting ITAM-centric technology was slow, or they struggled to implement tools to replace sluggish manual processes.
The article explores how those servicing ITAM traditionally, or with broken technology, are being left behind. The definition of a ‘skills gap’ has evolved in line with rising expectations and technological advancement.
ITAM now suffers from a ‘mentality gap’, where:
- Those who have embraced automation are thriving
- Those who haven’t are watching their influence shrink
Large sections of our industry risks missing out again, just as it did with SaaS and FinOps, amid the convergence of ITAM × FinOps × GreenOps and the emergence of Shadow AI, poised to bypass professionals not implementing proactive, data-driven asset management.
Automation is foundational. Not all tools will consume your entire budget, and the benefits of affordable and efficient automation are clear. The future belongs to critical thinkers and problem-solvers who can adapt fast. Leveraging available tools, especially AI and automation.
This isn’t about replacing professionals. It’s about empowering them to do more:
- Light-touch automation tools drastically accelerate outputs like ELPs
- Data enrichment and processing speed enables real-time insights
- AI integration will provide SMEs with advanced, personalised business outcome insights
- A lever to free up time for strategic thinking, and to influence decisions using strong ITAM-centric data
Training is no longer about ticking a box, it’s a lever for faster impact and a vital part of navigating the many disciplines ITAM touches.
You don’t need to:
- Be a leading SME
- Spend 10,000 hours mastering every vendor
- Memorise licensing encyclopaedias
Instead, you can:
- Build through smart, accessible upskilling
- Leverage community-based certifications like LISA
- Use modular learning to bridge knowledge gaps and unlock the value from automation
These approaches enable IT Asset Managers to meet increasing demands brought by rapid technological change.
A Traditional ‘skills gap’ would expect an IT Asset Management professional to earn every certificate, then spend years implementing them in isolation. The modern approach? Shift your mentality, embrace training and available automation to drive strategic communication around:
- Risk
- Optimisation
- Value
- Compliance
Consider ITAM’s next big opportunities:
- GreenOps links directly to usage optimisation
- Shadow AI resembles the Shadow IT challenge
Both are already familiar to ITAM professionals who’ve evolved through the inclusion of FinOps and SaaS.
The modern ITAM professional is part analyst, part advisor, and part risk strategist.
ITAM isn’t about red tape anymore, it’s about being a business enabler. ITAM has all the data, tools, and capability to lead. Improving how we access, interpret, and act on that data will reshape your ITAM practice into a value-creating, strategy-driving function.
I firmly believe training and automation offer the chance to reshape the narrative from reactive gatekeeping to proactive leadership. What’s your next step? How will you lead with ITAM?
About Shaun Ashbury
Shaun Ashbury is a Consultant at Licenseware, where he helps organisations optimise ITAM services through automation. With over a decade of experience advising ITAM providers and enterprise teams on talent and service growth, Shaun brings a unique perspective shaped by deep industry engagement.
He now focuses on aligning Licenseware’s automation capabilities with evolving service needs to support scalable, efficient, and forward-thinking ITAM practices.