> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.docusnap.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# ITAM Fundamentals

> What data ITAM keeps for an asset, where it comes from and how a person confirms it.

ITAM captures the commercial and organizational side of an asset: ownership,
lifecycle phase, warranty and costs. No scan delivers this data — it is kept separately on the asset, apart
from the technical data.

## ITAM-capable and managed assets

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="ITAM-capable" icon="layer-group">
    The type is marked *Is ITAM-capable* under *Data Model* › *Types and
    Fields*. The scan creates such assets; their ITAM data starts out empty.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Managed" icon="circle-check">
    Someone has captured the asset's ITAM data. ITAM › *Assets* lists both
    counts side by side.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

The ITAM data itself — ownership, lifecycle phase, warranty, criticality — is
set by a person; the scan does not supply it.

## Core fields and completeness

Seven *Core Fields* determine an asset's *Completeness*: *Lifecycle Phase*,
*Asset Owner*, *Technical Owner*, *Criticality*, *Commission Date*, *End of
Life* and *End of Service*. The detail panel and the *ITAM* tab show the
state as a progress bar with a checklist.

<Note>
  If no core field is filled yet, *Completeness* shows only *Not Edited* —
  without a counter, bar or checklist.
</Note>

<Note>
  *End of Life* and *End of Service* can be marked *Not assessable*. A field
  marked this way drops out of both the counter and the total — an asset can
  reach 100 % without both fields being set.
</Note>

## The lifecycle

An asset moves through six phases: *Planning* → *Procurement* →
*Deployment* → *Operation* → *Change* → *Decommission*. Phases before the
active one count as done.

<Note>
  A change to *Decommission*, and any change backward, requires a
  justification; a forward change to any other phase does not.
</Note>

## Criticality

Four levels rank an asset by business significance, each with a digit and a
label:

| Digit | Criticality |
| - | - |
| 1 | *Critical* |
| 2 | *High* |
| 3 | *Medium* |
| 4 | *Low* |

Criticality is one of the seven core fields and therefore counts toward
completeness.

## Validation

Validation confirms that an asset's ITAM data is correct; it does not happen
automatically. The status moves through three stages: *Due* → *Requested* →
*Validated*.

A request requires complete core fields — below 100 % completeness,
validation cannot be requested. Once a person confirms the request, the
status changes to *Validated*; if they reject it, to *Rejected*, with a
reason.

<Note>
  On an asset's *Overview* — outside the *ITAM* tab — two tiles show the same
  state: *ITAM Completeness* and *ITAM Validation*.
</Note>

## Warranty

The asset carries a *Warranty Until* date with a status: *Active*,
*Expiring Soon*, *Expired*, *Inactive* or *Error*. The
warranty entries themselves, with coverage and term, are managed in ITAM ›
*Warranties*; the asset can only take over an end date from an existing
entry.

## Costs

Costs appear on the asset as a read-only list with name and monthly amount
per entry. They are captured and assigned in ITAM › *Manage Costs*.

## Related

[Capturing ITAM Data](/docs/en/itam/manage-data) describes where you edit the
core fields. The validation workflow and rejection reasons are in
[Validating Assets](/docs/en/itam/validate-assets); all values are in the
[ITAM Reference](/docs/en/itam/reference).


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