SAM tool
Introduction To Software Assets Management (SAM)

 SAM Definition

Software Asset Management (SAM) is all of the infrastructure and processes necessary for effective management, control, and protection ​of software assets within an organization throughout all stages of their lifecycle.

  • Offers constant access to overviews of purchased and used licenses.
  • Guides the short or long-term planning of buying software.
  • Provides information about the infrastructure and mapped software.

SAM Principle

The principle of SAM is all about the assets and investment that need to be managed in order to improve compliance and optimize spending. Its main components—Process, People, Technology—are necessary to implement an effective SAM framework.

SAM helps you manage the software through its lifecycle starting from requisition, procurement, deployment, monitoring, and ending in retirement. It also helps in maintaining the following.

  • Contract Management.
  • Infrastructure Repository.
  • Compliance Control.

SAM Values

SAM provides the following advantages:

  • Long Lasting visibility: ​Allows you to maintain accuracy and integrity about your software license and take a long view of your software estate, ensuring a long-lasting peace of mind.
  • Compliance Control: ​Allows you to improve software license compliance through better managing software contracts and agreements to ensure due diligence is performed and the Terms and conditions are adhered to.
  • Cost savings: ​Allows you to utilize your current licenses, lowers legal and compliance-related expenses including software audits, and oversees operational costs related to maintaining license compliance.

SAM Drivers

A number of factors drive the development of SAM. Too often, however, organizations address them only after an audit is conducted. They include:

  • Software License Compliance Audit​: Software Licenses Audits are increasing as Software publishers tend to generate more money from the audit exercise.
  • Cost Optimization​: Software is a significant component of IT expenses, and organizations may have many unused licenses (Over-licensed), which results in higher maintenance costs.
  • Visibility: ​It is necessary to ​maintain consistent management of software assets across your organization. You need better visibility of the software purchase and deployment, which would require discovery, inventory, normalization, and reporting in order to increase the accuracy of your data.
  • Software governance:​ Overseeing and keeping tabs of software is challenging, as there are many processes that need to be in place in order to have control of software assets. For instance, licensing models are varied and complicated, license policy changes frequently, and software licenses are redistributed when hardware is relocated or decommissioned.
  • Security: ​Potential threats to organizations’ systems increase without proper software inventory and control in order to prevent the unauthorised use.
  • Limit legal risk​: Implementing SAM decreases legal and financial risks when misuse occurs with software licenses.

SAM Structure

Organizations must investigate and measure multiple factors when developing the structure of SAM: purchase, contracts, software policy, software deployment, inventory, audit, business requirements and processes. Organizations must also consider ​who​ will buy the software, w​hy ​it is needed, and ​how ​the purchase is done.

Who: ​Organizations should only have one purchase process that is managed by a set number of individuals. This avoids conflicting license purchases, such as when the same one is bought twice or when they are not obtained from the same program. Problems such as these make it difficult to manage licenses and increase costs.

Why: ​Organizations must have a clear understanding about which type of license to buy. This is vital for an organization to succeed. Customers also must ensure that the license amount matches the number of installations, and that this information is stored securely and easily accessible.

How: ​Organizations must define the license programs they acquire from different publishers and determine who the reseller is.

Disclaimer: The information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. The use or reliance of any information contained on this site is solely at your own risk. ​All information has been provided in good faith, however we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information, as the information provided does not contain software licensing advice.

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