Microsoft Digital, the company’s IT organization, manages millions of network-connected assets, including employee devices, network infrastructure, and equipment in data centers or buildings. Previously, asset information was fragmented across disparate systems, processes, and teams, creating a barrier to a trusted IT asset inventory. This fragmentation required manual outreach for security teams needing details like device ownership, location, and lifecycle status during potential incidents, delaying security incident response times and hindering efficient hardware investment management. Because Microsoft realized customers face the same challenge, the company, as Customer Zero, launched a multi-year effort to inventory its enterprise IT assets. This inventory consolidated previously disconnected sources, improved data quality, and created a foundation for future AI-powered asset management experiences. According to Debashis Sahoo, principal group manager in Microsoft Digital, an early challenge was that the company operated as a collection of businesses, with each business leader having developed their own governance frameworks, operating practices, and approaches to managing assets, making consistency difficult. Additionally, the IT team does not control the acquisition process across every business unit, meaning the asset inventory was constantly changing without direct oversight for new devices entering the network.