Software Asset Management (SAM) Basics and Key business Benefits

s your software up to date? Indeed, driving visibility into your current software and hardware assets through Software Asset Management (SAM) is a crucial business need. But how do you get the best out of your tools without shrinking your IT budget? In today’s modern business climate, all your assets are more or less geographically scattered and remote. So, you need Software Asset Management (SAM) tools or asset lifecycle management applications to manage and control all your software assets. Whether on-premises or in the cloud, adapting to the changing market conditions & achieving total visibility not only justifies your software spend but also helps to get value faster.

In fact, embodying the Software Asset Management (SAM) solution and a tangible set of IT practices ensures that the legal standards are met and you receive the best Return on Investment (ROI). After all, who likes costly financial penalties and unnecessary software vendor audits when you can drive down cost with the asset lifecycle management system.

What is Software Asset Management?

Essentially, Software Asset Management is a set of practices, processes, and procedures.  It allows you to optimize the deployment, utilization, maintenance, and disposal of software applications. That is to say, your SAM team ensures that all your end-users licenses are up to date and meet the license compliance requirements.

Your IT asset management can save you a fortune! Remember, no one-size-fits-all approach applies to your business-specific needs. Asset management for your software could be challenging for you as software licensing models are extraordinarily complex. Moreover, there are several thousands of licensing and subscription permutations with compliance, usage and cost implications. Besides, out-of-date systems are enough to make your business more vulnerable to security breaches. Hence, you need to know the status of the software installed and get an overview of the licenses based on the asset demands.

Types of IT assets for Software Asset Management

  So, what are the types of assets in your organization that you need to manage?

• Software
• Hardware
• Mobile devices, and
• The cloud

Desktop, monitors, printers, fax machines, network assets, software tools, etc. are the mainstay of your organization. Obviously, these are also an integral component of your network infrastructure. Did you know that the software asset management market is expected to grow to USD 2.32 Billion by 2022?  92% of top companies report that they have experienced workflow optimization by using an asset lifecycle management system. Additionally, 90% of businesses have experienced improved quality and accuracy due to centralized access to files. In order to minimize the liabilities of software piracy during the audit and meet the vendor licensing agreement, IT Asset Management tools can enhance your asset lifecycle management.

Benefits of Software Asset Management  

To meet your IT lifecycle management challenges and improve your IT security, take a look at these 5 top benefits linked to managing of IT assets –

1. Improved acquisition, usage, and cost

Your asset management program can be more than just choosing the best software for your enterprise and analyzing the license cost. It makes tracking easier and supports you in IT business decisions. So now you know which assets are in demand, and how many software, hardware or the percentage of the operating system has been installed. Hence, such an analysis saves you from any wasteful purchases based on analysis and cut non-license costs for your company.

2. Improved compliance 

Now, employing the SAM software, you can optimize licenses and subscriptions across the software portfolio, streamline your compliance, and security benefits for your company. With a software asset tracking system, reporting is more simplified, comprehensive, error-free, and time-saving. Hence, this eliminates oversubscribing, under licensing, and over licensing. Conversely, you can avoid hefty fines.

3. Improved asset reliability

Using the IT asset management tool, you can control the asset inventory through accurate data captured in databases. Further, you can detect any unused software and identify organizational software needs. This facilitates you in improving their reliability through periodic maintenance plans and tracking of assets. Consequently, asset managers can monitor maintenance cycles, analyze costs, review asset availability, identify critical spares, and respond to problems quickly.

4. Drives greater security

One major benefit of the IT asset management solution is that you can track and evaluate all the software installed within the organization network. So, aging assets that need to be eliminated are detected and unauthorized software is scanned. Moreover, this reduces security risks and corporate governance that includes management effectiveness and transparency.

5. Software re-harvesting

So, how many users are utilizing the software and at what capacity? How many new licenses do you want to assign within your organization? Ultimately, IT asset lifecycle management software is a cost-effective framework that tracks licenses expiry. Hence, it identifies any unused or underused software and allow reassigning user-based licenses while reducing the amount spent on software licenses.  

Check out our infographic below to find some useful insights and perspectives on software asset management.

All in all, while procuring additional assets for your company, the SAM software can provide tangible benefits to your company. All it takes is an in-depth understanding of the asset management system that can help you avoid wasteful purchases and optimize spending. Need to have better visibility in your assets? Contact us to know how we take care of all your asset management responsibilities.