Jira Service Management Assets: The Complete Setup Guide (Honest Review)
After implementing JSM Assets for enterprise clients like BBC and Vodafone, I'm sharing the unfiltered truth about this CMDB tool - including why I have mixed feelings about it. JSM Assets lets you build a Configuration Management Database directly in Jira Service Management. Instead of agents typing "Dell Inspiron 15" into tickets, they select from your asset database. When someone reports a laptop issue, the ticket automatically links to that specific asset record, creating a complete audit trail. Getting Started: You need a Premium license - no way around this. The good news? I recently got a 60-day trial instead of the usual 30 days. Worth requesting to properly test the tool. The Brutal Truth About Limitations: Here's what Atlassian doesn't highlight. You cannot connect to AWS, Azure, or Microsoft Intune. If you need cloud infrastructure discovery, this won't work. The reporting is awful - slow, unreliable, and often returns no data even when assets exist. I've tested extensively and it's consistently disappointing. Also, you can't edit field names in the default templates. Want "Lease Details" instead of "Lease Contract"? You'll need to delete and recreate fields or start from scratch. Setup Process: Navigate to Assets from your JSM menu after activating Premium. You'll see three templates: IT Assets Management (comprehensive hardware/software setup), HR Assets (employee equipment), and Custom Schema (blank template). I recommend testing with IT Assets Management but using a blank schema for production to avoid field restrictions. The template gives you a solid hierarchy: Hardware → Computers → Laptops → Specific Models. Adding objects is simple - click the plus button, name your object, select an icon, and choose the parent category. You can configure unlimited custom attributes like purchase date, warranty expiration, cost center, and vendor details. Integration Magic: The real power comes from connecting assets to JSM request types. This needs two steps: create custom fields using AQL (Assets Query Language) to populate dropdowns from your asset database, then add these fields to your request forms.