What is Software Asset Management (SAM)?

There’s no way around it: acting as a business owner in today’s ultra-competitive landscape means that you’re going to have a lot on your plate at any given time. Whether it’s keeping up with the competition, managing wide-ranging supply chains, ensuring that stakeholders remain happy, or any other of the seemingly never-ending list of responsibilities, it can sometimes be overwhelming.

Well-employed Software Asset Management (SAM) aims to alleviate at least one of these concerns by optimizing and automating the administration of your organization’s digital resources, reducing manual workload and enhancing oversight.

Today, we’ll take a look at what exactly SAM involves, how to incorporate it into your existing infrastructure, and how it can benefit your company.

What is software asset management?

SAM is a dynamic approach that businesses employ to manage the lifecycle of software assets within their IT infrastructure. It encompasses a range of practices aimed at overseeing the deployment, functionality, maintenance, and disposal of technological resources.

Essentially, SAM centers around assessing digital assets to gain visibility into what’s being used, where it is installed, and how it’s utilized. This comprehensive understanding allows leaders to make informed decisions regarding purchases, licensing agreements, and usage policies, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and mitigating risks associated with security vulnerabilities.

It may also involve the implementation of procedures to monitor usage patterns and optimize software utilization. By actively managing technological resources, organizations can identify opportunities to consolidate licenses, negotiate better terms, and enhance operational performance.

Why is software asset management important?

SAM provides myriad useful applications within your organizational infrastructure like enhancing asset visualization, improving staff productivity, simplifying the software implementation process, and more.

First, it enables you to maintain a comprehensive inventory of all software resources deployed within your business. This includes details such as versions, license keys, and usage metrics. With this information readily available, you can gather insights into which digital assets are in use, where they’re deployed, and how they’re being utilized.

SAM can also enhance the effectiveness of your employees by ensuring that they have access to the necessary tools to perform their duties. Maintaining an up-to-date inventory of digital assets and licenses allows your team to easily access relevant applications without encountering licensing issues or software shortages.

Furthermore, asset management provides enhanced visibility into your current technological environment, empowering you to assess the compatibility of new software with existing systems. By examining your digital inventory, you can preemptively identify potential dependencies and compatibility issues.

Companies are increasingly realizing the importance of employing a sound SAM strategy within their infrastructure; the global SAM market is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.1% between 2021 and 2026.

Benefits of software asset management

The advantages of employing digital asset management depend largely on what you hope to achieve with it and how well you employ its abilities. However, there are some core benefits that are applicable to most organizations no matter their size or sector.

Cost savings

With SAM, you’ll gather an improved comprehension of your software requirements, empowering you to negotiate better licensing agreements with software vendors. By leveraging data on your technological needs, you can negotiate volume discounts, favorable contract terms, or alternative licensing models that better align with your usage patterns.

Moreover, SAM helps identify overlapping applications within your digital portfolio. By eliminating redundant software, you can reduce maintenance and support costs, as well as streamline your IT infrastructure, resulting in improved IT asset management (ITAM) and potential cost savings. It can further optimize resources by identifying underutilized licenses to help revamp your subscriptions, and reallocating them to the active users who require them. 

Reduce risks

A competent SAM blueprint can help reduce potential risk in a number of different arenas.

To start, it ensures compliance with software licensing agreements and regulatory requirements. By maintaining an accurate inventory of software assets and tracking license usage, SAM helps organizations avoid penalties associated with non-compliance.

It can further assist in mitigating potential overspending on digital resources. By identifying unused licenses and eliminating redundant software, SAM reduces software-related expenses and maximizes return on investment (ROI), minimizing financial risks and budget overruns.

Even more, SAM helps alleviate security risks associated with outdated or vulnerable technology. By ensuring timely updates and patches for all assets, it reduces the likelihood of security breaches, data leaks, and cyber attacks, enhancing cybersecurity to protect sensitive information.

Enhance collaboration

Effective SAM can help standardize the technological environment within your organization. By verifying that all employees have access to the same software applications and versions, SAM promotes consistency across departments, making it easier for staff to collaborate on projects without encountering compatibility issues.

SAM also supports user training efforts for collaboration tools. By providing insights into software usage and user behavior, it helps identify areas for improvement, enabling businesses to develop targeted education programs and resources that enhance collaboration capabilities.

Providing your staff with robust and compatible software can significantly enhance productivity; studies have shown that collaborative project management tools can increase the success rate of projects by up to 71%.

Maximize investments

SAM streamlines IT processes related to software procurement, deployment, and management. Implementing standardized workflows and automation tools reduces administrative overhead, minimizes errors, and improves operational efficiency. This allows your team to focus on strategic initiatives that drive business value, helping to maximize ROI.

Additionally, SAM’s ability to identify usage patterns, trends, and costs enables data-driven decision-making to further boost ROI. Leveraging data on software utilization allows your company to align investments with strategic objectives, prioritize high-impact areas, and recognize opportunities for cost savings. 

IT asset utilization

Achieve optimal performance by allowing SAM to proactively maintain your resources. By tracking software versions and patch levels, it can help identify outdated or unsupported software that may be hindering productivity. Keeping technological assets up-to-date assists in maximizing their performance, ensuring that IT assets continue to deliver maximum value.

Sound asset management can also help your business prepare for the future, supporting capacity planning efforts by providing insights into usage trends and upcoming requirements. By forecasting future demand, your company can proactively allocate resources, avoiding capacity constraints and assuring that technological resources are continually utilized efficiently.

Implementing software asset management

One of the most important aspects of developing efficient SAM procedures is to employ a strong integration plan, providing the system with a sturdy foundation to build upon. Similar to a physical edifice, the structure is rendered obsolete if it’s constructed on shaky bedrock. Make sure to round-up a competent team, clearly delineate their responsibilities, and establish clear goals to ensure that your other processes can operate smoothly.

Build your team

Recruit team members with relevant experience in software management, licensing, compliance, and IT operations. Consider both internal resources and external consultants who specialize in SAM. Don’t forget to verify that team members have the necessary training and resources to carry out their roles.

You’ll also want to clearly define the responsibilities of individuals involved in SAM processes. Assign specific tasks such as inventory management, license tracking, compliance monitoring, and vendor management to staff based on their skills.

Establish goals

Begin by assessing your overall business objectives, considering how SAM can contribute to achieving them. Examine factors such as cost optimization, compliance, risk management, and strategic alignment. Think about how SAM can help improve these components and which relevant features can help mitigate the challenges associated with them.

Once you’ve identified the goals you wish to realize, prioritize them based on their importance, urgency, and potential impact. Consider the resources required to achieve each objective, as well as any constraints that may affect implementation. Focus on goals that are critical for immediate improvement, while also weighing longer-term benchmarks.

Believe it or not, 80% of businesses fail to track their organizational goals – implementing and consistently evaluating your objectives can provide a major leg up on the competition.

Set SAM policy

You’ll want to establish a sound framework that outlines the principles, guidelines, and procedures for managing your digital assets. This includes designated processes for software license management, deployment, usage tracking, compliance monitoring, and more.

Additionally, be sure to communicate your SAM policy to all stakeholders, while providing ongoing training on tools and best practices. Verify that employees understand their roles in complying with the policy and that they remain aware of its importance.

Determine scope

Begin by conducting a comprehensive inventory of all software assets deployed across your IT infrastructure. Consider every type of digital resources used by your organization, such as operating systems, productivity suites, and communication tools. Collaborate with stakeholders from IT, finance, and other relevant departments to ensure that all aspects of SAM are included in the scope.

Once the scope has been defined, establish clear boundaries and objectives to guide SAM activities effectively. Determine the organizational systems covered by the initiative, considering factors such as geographic spread, departments, and IT infrastructure complexity. Then, define the priorities of SAM within the established scope, aligning them with business objectives.

Determine how it fits with your current structure

Make sure to assess the digital resources currently being utilized within your existing systems, including commercial applications, internally developed software, and cloud-based services. You can utilize discovery tools and manual software audits to create an inventory of existing resources to ensure that all systems are accounted for and properly documented. Then, evaluate the effectiveness of your current technological management processes, identifying strengths and areas for improvement. 

Remember to look for any gaps or limitations in infrastructure that may hinder SAM efforts, such as outdated software management tools or lack of integration between systems. Consider the need for upgrades or investments in new SAM solutions to support advanced software product capabilities and address any restrictions. 

Continually train and improve

First, provide regular training sessions and workshops to educate team members on SAM processes and tools. Utilize a combination of internal resources, external trainers, online courses, and industry certifications to offer comprehensive SAM program training tailored to the needs of your team.

Furthermore, ensure you’re fostering a culture of continuous learning by encouraging staff to actively seek out opportunities for development in SAM. Provide access to resources such as books, articles, and webinars related to asset management. Also, remember to regularly assess the effectiveness of your training programs to identify areas for improvement and adjust training initiatives accordingly.

Investing in sufficient training can boost employee effectiveness as well as potentially reduce turnover rate – 45% of workers are more likely to remain with an organization when they receive proper training.

SAM tools and software

As with most processes in the modern age, there are various softwares available that can help automate and optimize your SAM blueprint. When evaluating which provider best suits your company’s needs you should consider features such as automated discovery, license management, and cost optimization.

• Automated discovery: Discovery tools can scan an organization's IT infrastructure to identify all existing installations, including details such as version numbers, usage metrics, and dependencies. This automated inventory process ensures total coverage and accuracy, reducing the time required for manual management.

• Deployment and provisioning: Automation tools can further streamline software deployment by expediting repetitive tasks such as installations, configurations, and updates. Automated workflows ensure optimal speed and consistency, reducing the risk of deployment errors while enhancing operational efficiency.

• License management: Certain SAM features can track software licenses and usage data in real-time, enabling the reconciliation of entitlements with actual usage. These automated processes help ensure obedience with licensing agreements, prevent over- or under-licensing, and minimize the risk of non-compliance.

• Compliance monitoring: SAM’s automated proactive checks help organizations preemptively identify non-compliance issues, reducing the risk of audits and legal consequences. It can also generate alerts for compliance-related problems, such as license expirations, usage violations, or similar incidents. These notifications enable businesses to take prompt corrective actions to address compliance difficulties.

• Cost optimization: Many SAM systems can assist businesses by identifying cost-saving opportunities such as license consolidation, resource reallocation, or negotiating better contracts. Automated cost analysis tools provide visibility into spending patterns, enabling companies to make data-driven decisions, helping maximize revenue and minimize costs.

Streamline your software asset management with Freshservice

SAM is a vital process in effectively managing organizational resources, optimizing procedures for your team, and maintaining compliance with regulations and licenses. With it, you can gain enhanced visibility of your business’s assets, enabling you to properly allocate finances and provide employees with sufficient tools to perform their duties. Without it, your digital resources can become a convoluted mess, with overlapping technologies that drain funds and hinder your staff’s productivity.

Freshworks’ Freshservice offers robust SAM features that can organize and maintain your company’s software portfolio to provide an immediate ROI. Our 360-degree configuration management database (CMDB) offers tools such as automated discovery, asset lifecycle management, budget forecasting, and much more. It provides a real-time overview of resources within a unified dashboard to verify that your data always remains up-to-date while reducing potential oversight.

One of our many satisfied clients on G2 praises Freshservices’ easy-to-use SAM capabilities, saying that, “its asset management works wonderfully; you can have all of your IT inventory in one system and with any incident or service request people raise, you can associate the asset and have better control over how many incidents that asset had.”