This article was completely revised and updated January 16, 2026.
Digitalization and the growing dominance of cloud computing have transformed the once humdrum software asset management (SAM) sector into one of the most exciting areas in business IT. In this blog post, we outline what SAM is, its benefits, key aspects, and strategies for developing and implementing a SAM program. We will also explore the roles of various stakeholders involved in SAM, showcase real-life examples, and highlight how we can help optimize your software assets.
What is SAM?
First things first, what is SAM? It is a comprehensive approach to managing an organization's software assets throughout their lifecycle. It involves the processes and technologies for managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, utilization, and disposal of software applications within an organization.
The effective management of assets presents a prime opportunity for many businesses to significantly reduce costs and dramatically improve the ROI on their IT estates.
Software asset management represents the best way to ensure that organizations’ technologies and infrastructure are sufficiently flexible to optimize their current operations and are scalable enough to deliver future growth. SAM’s goal is to ensure that your software assets are effectively utilized, comply with licensing agreements, and support your organization's business objectives.
Benefits of software asset management
Effective SAM can bring significant benefits to organizations in:
- Cost Savings: Reducing unnecessary software expenses by eliminating underused licenses and consolidating software purchases.
- Compliance: Ensuring adherence to software licensing agreements and avoiding costly penalties from non-compliance.
- Efficiency: Streamlining IT operations and improving the efficiency of software deployment and usage.
- Risk Management: Minimizing the risks associated with software audits and data security breaches.
Compliance is a critical aspect of SAM, ensuring that software usage aligns with licensing agreements to avoid costly penalties. Cost savings are achieved by identifying and eliminating redundant or underused software, while consolidation streamlines software procurement and usage across the organization. Additionally, SAM provides better business control, granting visibility and control over the software assets and IT infrastructure.
Developing your SAM strategy can futureproof your businesses
A successful software asset management strategy begins with a thorough assessment of all software assets. Establishing clear policies for software procurement, usage, and disposal is crucial. Implementing SAM tools helps automate and manage these assets effectively. Training employees on SAM policies and best practices ensures compliance, while regular monitoring and review of SAM processes maintain their relevance and effectiveness.
Launching a SAM program requires securing support from top management and forming a dedicated project team. Start by using a SAM tool to create an accurate software inventory and track software licenses to ensure compliance. Continuous optimization of software usage and regular license renewals based on actual needs are essential. Generating regular reports will help track SAM performance and compliance.
Which business stakeholders are involved?
Effective SAM requires collaboration among various stakeholders, within an organization. Each stakeholder plays a critical role in ensuring that software asset management processes are properly implemented, maintained, and optimized. Here’s an overview of the key roles and responsibilities involved in overseeing SAM:
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SAM Managers:
SAM managers are dedicated professionals who oversee the entire SAM program. They coordinate the activities of various stakeholders, develop SAM policies and procedures, and ensure that the organization adheres to them. -
IT Managers:
Oversee the technical implementation and maintenance of SAM. They ensure that the necessary tools and technologies are in place to track and manage software assets. -
Procurement Teams:
Procurement teams handle the purchasing and renewal of software licenses. They are responsible for negotiating contracts with software vendors and ensuring that the organization obtains the best possible terms. -
Compliance Officers:
Compliance officers ensure that the organization adheres to all relevant software licensing agreements and regulatory requirements. They conduct regular audits and reviews to verify compliance and identify any potential risks. -
Finance Departments:
Finance departments monitor software-related expenses and manage the budget for software procurement and maintenance. They work closely with procurement teams and IT managers to ensure that software investments are aligned with the organization’s financial goals -
Business Unit Leaders:
Leaders of individual business units play a crucial role in SAM by ensuring that their teams adhere to software usage policies and procedures. They collaborate with IT, SAM, and procurement teams to identify software needs and ensure that the software being used is aligned with the business unit’s objectives. -
External Advisors:
Many organizations also engage external advisors or consultants to assist with SAM. These experts provide additional expertise and resources, helping organizations develop and implement effective SAM strategies. They can offer insights into industry best practices, assist with software audits, and provide guidance on optimizing software licenses and contracts.
Software and cloud advisory
At we have a next-level approach to SAM called IT cost management. It covers license management and helps you to remain compliant in the use of software throughout your business. Our service produces timely reports /analysis of your current software estate, to ensure that your business is always “audit-ready.”
It’s also about ensuring the software assets you procure are being used, that costs are not doubled, and that core customer data is properly stored.
We uses SAM as a foundation for focusing on actual monetized cost savings and cost avoidance.
As many enterprises have a mix of on-premise and cloud IT solutions, managing software, and cloud services across the IT estate has become more complex.
Software and technology platforms are developing at breakneck speed. Different managers in different departments or locations may be involved in the procurement and use of existing and emerging services. AI, Machine Learning, and IoT are being integrated everywhere.
When moving to the cloud, it’s crucial to consider to ensure a cost-efficient migration, solid governance, continued cost optimization, and budget predictability. The rapid evolution of IT and the cloud has ensured that software and cloud advisory has become a serious, business-critical specialism. Fully exploited, it will save you money and make your business more flexibleHowever, SAM is such a specialized service that many organizations lack the in-house expertise to manage it properly or exploit it fully. Luckily, we has the SCA expertise needed to navigate this new landscape effectively.
We: A Leader in SAM Managed Services
Not merely SAM-certified experts, we are clear leaders in software asset management and digital transformation services and have the largest independent global cloud economics practice.
We are trusted software asset management advisors to many of the world's leading companies. We believe the independent verification of this is in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant for SAM Managed Services 2024 report where SoftwareOne is named a Leader.
SoftwareOne has been perfecting its software asset management services for more than 20 years. There are few independent players with our experience, credibility, knowledge bank, intellectual property, or geographic coverage.
All of this matters because there are profound efficiencies to be made and significant costs to be saved. What makes SoftwareOne unique is having such a strong customer-centric philosophy at the core of SoftwareOne's entire business operation.
We have always been on the side of our customers when dealing with software and cloud vendors. We take a holistic approach, looking at the entirety of what our client is doing. This ensures the contract fits our client’s operational goals today and their ambitious plans for tomorrow.
Our goal with every client is to obtain cost savings from the software asset management services they deploy. And, we expedite their journey to the cloud – managing the risk and the complexity – to ensure it delivers the efficiencies and business-critical gains that they expect.
We can honestly say that all of our clients have been able to quantify a definite financial gain on their balance sheets from our services. That’s because our specialty is to make sure our customers’ contracts for software and cloud are optimized whether they are on-premises, moving to the cloud, or have a hybrid solution.
It’s important to stress that we optimize those contracts from our clients’ perspective – not the vendor’s. We do this by assessing the contract alongside our client and looking at the entirety of what our client is doing. This ensures the contract fits our client’s operational goals today and their ambitious plans for tomorrow.
Furthermore, SoftwareOne has deep relationships with all the major software publishers and hyperscale cloud partners, including:
And, by ensuring that our clients are buying the right services for their needs – by being an expert in our customers’ end-to-end journey to digital transformation (as well as having extensive knowledge of what the software vendors offer) everyone in the business circle benefits.
Software asset management customer success stories
Vestas, a leading wind turbine manufacturer is saving €3m through SAM optimization. For Bodø Kommune, a municipality in northern Norway, a part of the optimization project had a significant impact in reducing costs – 50% cost reduction in Azure. Similarly, LGI Group made €100m savings over three years representing 20% savings on Microsoft licensing costs. These examples demonstrate the tangible benefits of a well-executed SAM strategy – we typically find that the ROI of SAM can be substantial, with organizations often seeing cost savings of 20-30% through optimized software usage and compliance.
How you can benefit from an IT cost management practice like ours
SoftwareOne is proud of its global leadership in IT cost management and we’re well aware that complexity in this sector is only going to continue. As technology advances and complexity intensifies, global vendors will be adding functions, instruments, and an array of services to their packages.
Cloud and software consumption - the costs incurred, and the pricing metrics used – are never straightforward for any business.
That’s why we’re here. Our job is to lead you into this future while protecting your bottom line. And we do it, we’re on your side.
Click on this link for complimentary access to the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Software Asset Management Managed Services report and see why SoftwareOne is recognized as a Leader in the industry.
iGartner, Magic Quadrant for Software Asset Management Managed Services, August 26, 2024, Yoann Bianic, et.al.
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GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from SoftwareOne.
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