What Does Software Asset Management Mean?
Software Asset Management (SAM) is a business process in which an organization’s overall business investment in software solutions is maximized for optimal value and impact. The SAM model is used for the purchase, budgeting, management and use of software in an organization. SAM is important to any business that uses software, especially large enterprises.
Techopedia Explains Software Asset Management
SAM is geared toward reducing overall IT investments by maximizing the efficiency of software, IT response times and users. SAM also facilitates organizational processes, such as tighter software license management controls, identification of software assets and enhanced security and compliance in the software market.
SAM is an ongoing and evolving concept that is not based on time implementation, unlike other management concepts. SAM evolved from critical organizational factors, including intellectual property (IP) and audit risks, such as the unauthorized use of software.
Key SAM benefits include:
- Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) for software
- Software asset inventory control
- Optimized and well organized software licenses
- Increased employee productivity
- Maximized Return On Investment (ROI)
- License and audit compliance
- Building of knowledge bases and best practices
