Think your asset inventory is “fine”? Be honest: is it a real-time, reliable tool… or a spreadsheet from 2017 with a tab called “Old Stuff – Don’t Touch”?

In this Benchmark blog, we walk you through the Ferrous Equine Asset Inventory Maturity Scale—from total chaos (Level 0: Spreadsheet Graveyard) to a unicorn-tier setup that actually predicts issues before they happen. If you’ve ever wondered how mature your inventory actually is—and what that means for your security, budget, and strategy—this one’s for you.

“We think we have three firewalls” is not a strategy.

In this no-nonsense post, we dig into the hidden anchor weighing down most IT strategies: the lack of a real, living asset inventory. From ghost laptops to licenses no one’s using, it’s the unglamorous truth that’s quietly wrecking your budgets, your audits, and your big plans. We’ll show you what a healthy inventory looks like—and how to use it as the foundation for smarter decisions across security, budgeting, and planning.

Because a green dashboard doesn’t mean your systems are actually healthy.