How Laptop Tracking Solutions Can Save Time, Money, and Headaches

Whether your organization is remote, hybrid, or fully back to the office, laptops are one of the most essential technologies your employees use on a daily basis. They are also one of your company’s most valuable investments, which is why organizations benefit from laptop tracking solutions. Laptops’ portability makes them uniquely situated for a variety of work environments, but it is also their biggest vulnerability. According to a 2025 study conducted by Kensington, 76% of IT decision-makers in the US and Europe have been impacted by device theft. Additionally, thieves don’t even have to walk away with the laptop to cause serious problems for your organization: 46% of survey participants said they had experienced the repercussions of a data breach, indicating the importance of setting up a laptop tracking system that keeps laptops both physically and digitally secure. 

Laptop tracking solutions provide peace of mind at the same time as they secure devices, prevent loss, and boost IT asset management efficiency. Read on to find out why and how to track laptops for your business. 

Key takeaways 

• Laptop tracking solutions reduce loss and data risk: 76% of IT leaders report device theft and 46% have faced breach repercussions—so pairing physical tags with digital safeguards is essential.  

• The biggest wins are operational: prevent loss, boost utilization with real-time visibility, enable remote lock/updates, and improve budgeting (e.g., plan around the ~5-year laptop lifecycle). 
  

• Must-have features include: lifecycle management, real-time location (barcodes/GPS), strong security (cloud/SOC 2, user permissions, SSO, SFTP), multi-location patching, and custom reporting. 

Why Use a Tracking System? 

Establishing a laptop tracking system doesn’t just create fewer headaches for your IT department; it creates both immediate and long-term benefits for your entire organization. Here are some of the top reasons laptop tracking solutions are essential for IT asset management. 

Loss Prevention 

It simply makes sense that organizations that track their laptops retain their laptops. A tracking system gives you a framework for tagging and monitoring your laptops even as your employees move them from one location to another. A good system will use a type of tracker—like a Bluetooth chip scannable barcode label—to physically tag devices. That way, you and your employees can identify a missing laptop’s last known location and track it down more easily.  

Digital Security 

It’s not only the physical hardware that gives a laptop its value, but its software’s ability to access the treasure trove of your organization’s internal files. Since you can’t secure what you don’t realize you have, laptop tracking solutions are the first step to establishing anti-theft countermeasures. Keep your organization safe from would-be security risks with a tracking system that includes the ability to deliver software updates to your entire technology fleet—and remotely lock down missing devices.  

Improved Asset Utilization 

With clear insight into your current inventory, you can get maximum mileage from your existing laptops and avoid overspending. Perhaps you have laptops sitting idle at one location, while employees in another location are in need of new devices. With a laptop tracking system, real-time asset tracking gives you a big picture view of your organization’s entire technology inventory, helping you extend the lifespan of your items where possible and prevent unnecessary purchases. 

Accurate Budgeting 

According to IRS depreciation guidelines laptops are expected to have a useful life of five years. Before that time, it’s necessary to plan which laptops to purchase (and what model, and how many), and after that time, organizations need to have a consistent security wipe and disposition plan. When you have a clear picture of your technology assets, you can better plan for each step in their product lifecycles.  

Features To Expect in Laptop Tracking Solutions 

Some organizations will attempt to use an Excel spreadsheet or another manual solution. But when it comes to one of your most valuable technology investments, a powerful, efficient and accurate laptop asset tracking platform is a must. At the very least, it ought to include the following features: 

Full lifecycle management 

From planning future laptop purchases to onboarding new users with uniform software, all the way to securely decommissioning laptops when their useful lives conclude, a laptop asset tracking platform gives you a roadmap for determining your IT department’s actions at every stage of a laptop’s life within your organization. Lifecycle tracking helps you schedule repairs, predict upcoming device turnover, and more. 

Real-time location tracking 

Laptop thieves work fast, so you need a solution that works faster. You need a system that can show you at a glance where a laptop is supposed to be, and where it actually is. With technology like unique scannable barcode labels for each laptop in your fleet, or GPS tracking, you can locate your assets quickly and greatly increase the chance of recovery.  

Tamperproof security 

Because asset tracking means recording detailed and sensitive information in a central location, you will need security features which ensure only you and your employees can access it. At minimum, your asset management system ought to be cloud-based, include security certifications like SOC 2, and offer features like robust user permissions, single sign-on, and SFTP. 

Multi-location management 

Unpatched vulnerabilities are a major vector for cybercrime. A laptop tracking system makes it easier for your IT department to manage and update laptops located across multiple locations. Better yet would be to have an asset tracking solution that can be integrated into your existing IT software, so you can remotely push out new security updates to every laptop in your inventory. 

Custom reports 

A good laptop tracking system doubles as a hub of valuable data about your assets. Gain accurate insights into how your laptops are working for your organization by using this data to generate custom reports. A good asset tracking solution will also allow you to include an unlimited number of colleagues on these reports to ensure stakeholders share accountability in your technology fleet’s performance. 

Laptop Tracking with Asset Panda  

As you narrow your search for powerful yet easy-to-use laptop tracking solutions, look no further than Asset Panda. Organizations all over the world trust Asset Panda’s highly customizable software to keep track of their technology fleets to minimize device loss and improve overall cybersecurity.  

You will save significant and measurable time and money while tracking all of your vital assets at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And don’t just take our word for it—our clients rave about our foolproof technology management features that can be customized to meet any company’s needs. Plus, Asset Panda’s free mobile iOS and Android apps eliminate the need for any additional hardware or software and put the entire lifecycle of every one of your assets into the palm of your hand. 

The Asset Panda app includes a mobile barcode scanner to easily import, update, and view asset records. Within seconds, you have at your fingertips such information as a laptop’s location, condition, the identity of the person who has it, its GPS coordinates, insurance and lease/purchase information, and depreciation information and maintenance history. Our flexible platform makes it easy to incorporate new technologies as they arise, keeping your asset tracking system as modern as your device fleet.