How Do You Build a Software Asset Management Program That Actually Scales?
Many organizations have SAM tools but not SAM programs. Here's the difference — and how to build one that keeps pace with a growing software estate.
MSInfo Advisory Team · January 16, 2025 · 5 min read
There is an important distinction between having a Software Asset Management tool and having a Software Asset Management program. Many organizations have deployed SAM tooling — ServiceNow SAM, Snow Software, Flexera, or similar — but have not built the organizational processes, governance structures, and people capabilities needed to make that tooling effective. The result is a tool that produces reports, but a program that doesn't actually manage software assets.
An effective SAM program starts with a comprehensive software inventory. This means integrating discovery data from multiple sources: endpoint management tools (SCCM, Jamf, Intune), network discovery, cloud management consoles, SaaS management platforms, and direct vendor reporting. No single source will capture all deployed software — organizations that rely on a single discovery mechanism consistently have significant gaps in their inventory.
Once inventory is established, the program needs to maintain the entitlements side of the compliance equation — a record of what has been purchased and licensed. This requires integration with procurement processes and contract management systems to capture new purchases as they happen, and a workflow for onboarding existing contracts from the procurement and legal archives. Entitlement data that is months out of date is almost as problematic as no entitlement data at all.
Governance is what makes a SAM program scale. Without defined processes for how new software is evaluated, approved, purchased, and tracked — and without organizational accountability for maintaining SAM data accuracy — the program will drift out of alignment with reality over time. This is especially true in organizations undergoing significant growth, M&A activity, or cloud adoption.
The SAM function also needs to be connected to the security and IT asset management programs. A single source of truth for IT assets — encompassing hardware, software, licenses, and security posture — is the most efficient and effective model for organizations that have the maturity to build it.
MSInfo Services designs and implements SAM programs that are built for scale, integrating the people, processes, and technology components needed for sustainable license compliance.