Hardware Asset Management for Cornell Ithaca supports asset lifecycle management by streamlining procurement, deployment, maintenance, and decommissioning workflows and acting as a single source of data for institutional devices to inform decision-making, investments and security.

Centralized processes capture information about devices when they are purchased. The system provides easy, fast, consistent data access, dashboards, and management to support better decision-making and operational efficiency. 

Sassafras Hardware Asset and Lifecycle Management Tool

The Sassafras Allsight Hardware Asset Management tool seeds Cornell's Hardware Asset and Lifecycle Management data of record. It includes information on Cornell University Ithaca's device fleet, both managed and not managed. Devices will be captured at the time of purchase with Dell, Apple, and CDW-G purchase integrations.

The Sassafras client software will be installed on all managed, Cornell-owned Mac and Windows computers to tally university hardware assets.

The rollout is occurring in two phases:

• First phase: Early adopters
  • Windows devices: April 2025
  • Mac computers: May 2025
• Second phase: Central deployment to the remainder of the Cornell Ithaca-managed fleet will begin in June 2025.

The software will be automatically deployed to all Cornell-managed computers. No action is required from departments or end users.

Adoption

Hardware Asset Management adoption by campus units will begin in July 2025, with expected completion by the end of Fiscal Year 2026.  The onboarding process, best practices, and documentation will be provided.

CIT will be reaching out to ITSGs that did not participate in the early adoption phase to schedule information gathering and onboarding meetings starting in July 2025.  We hope to provide unassisted access to Sassafras during July 2025.  Our documentation library is being built now and will be available soon, ahead of the July 2025 release for those ITSGs interested in using the tool ahead of any chaperoned adoption meetings.

Privacy

The Sassafras Allsight Agent will be installed centrally on all CM and Jamf managed devices in June 2025.

Hardware Asset Management is governed by Cornell policy as outlined in the University  Privacy Statement.

Upcoming Changes

On April 30, 2025, auto-population of device status in TeamDynamix (TDX) will be turned off. 

More information about this and other changes coming as a result of the Endpoint Asset Management Project.