AssetSharing

Asset sharing is the practice of making underutilized assets available to others for use, typically through a coordinated system or platform. It aims to shift from exclusive ownership toward shared access, improving asset utilization and reducing costs and environmental impact.

Assets involved can be physical, such as tools, vehicles, equipment, and spaces, or digital, including stock media, software licenses, and cloud resources. Common examples include car sharing, tool libraries, coworking spaces, and equipment rental networks, as well as digital asset libraries and open licensing arrangements.

Operations usually involve the owner granting defined access rights under terms that specify duration, usage, liability, and payment. Payment models include pay-per-use, subscription, or membership; platforms handle scheduling, payments, insurance, and provenance or licensing.

Benefits include lower capital expenditure, broader access, higher utilization rates, and reduced environmental footprint. Challenges encompass liability and safety, maintenance, insurance, regulatory compliance, trust, and interoperability between platforms and assets, as well as data privacy for digital assets.

Measurement and governance considerations commonly focus on asset utilization rates, total cost of ownership, user satisfaction, and lifecycle extension. Governance concerns include licensing terms, data stewardship, privacy, cross-border rights, and standardization of metadata and interoperability.

Relation to broader movements: asset sharing is a component of the sharing economy and the circular economy, often facilitated by digital platforms, open licenses, and asset-management technologies. It can complement traditional ownership models by enabling flexible access and more efficient resource use.