Hardware, licenses and maintenance contracts sit in an Excel file. One person maintains it, everyone else asks. Whoever looks for a device makes a call. Whoever hands one out records it later, sometimes not at all.
With asset management in Redmine, this data sits where the work happens. An asset is a record with its own fields that you link to issues.
How it works day to day
- Define types. For each kind of asset you create a DB type, for example laptop, server, license or maintenance contract. Every type gets its own fields, such as serial number, location, purchase date or expiry date.
- Record the inventory. You create entries one by one or import them as CSV. Files and photos attach directly to the entry.
- Link to issues. If a device fails, the issue points to the entry. The history then sits on the device: what broke when, and who repaired it.
- Filter and evaluate. Lists by location, status or expiry date, saved as a query. Export as CSV or XLSX when someone needs the data elsewhere.
- Control access. Roles and permissions decide who sees which entries. Individual entries can be marked private.
What changes
- The current state sits in one place instead of a file on a shared drive.
- Whoever needs to know something searches, instead of asking.
- Expiring licenses and maintenance contracts stand out, because the expiry date is a field and not a note.
- When a device fails, its history is on the entry and not in a mailbox.
Typical entries
- Servers, network devices and workstations
- Licenses, maintenance and supplier contracts
- SSL certificates with an expiry date
- Tools, measuring devices and test equipment
- Your own products and services with a version status
Which functions the Redmine DB plugin brings along and what it costs is described on the product page.