What is SAM

Software Asset Management, is a set of practices for planning, managing, and optimizing any company, from the smallest to the largest size company software assets throughout their lifecycle. It involves tracking software licenses, usage, and compliance to ensure efficient use of resources.

Why SAM is Important

In today's digital landscape, SAM helps companies streamline operations, enhance productivity, and improve customer experiences, ultimately driving revenue growth. It reduces man-hours and minimizes business disruptions from audits. Key benefits include cost savings, risk mitigation from compliance and security standpoints, and better IT efficiency.

Responsibilities

Software Tracking & Organization

  • Help maintain accurate records of company software licenses, purchases, and renewals.

  • Track which employees or locations are using specific software tools.

  • Assist with monitoring license counts to make sure the company stays within usage limits.

Purchasing & Requests

  • Negotiate software license cost with the vendors.

  • Process incoming requests for new software or renewals.

  • Check availability of existing licenses before new purchases.

  • Work with vendors or IT leadership on simple purchase or renewal needs.

Compliance & Reporting

  • Help gather information for software audits.

  • Support basic reporting on software usage, renewals, and inventory.

  • Keep documentation and spreadsheets updated and organized.

Employee & Team Support

  • Assist employees with questions about available software or access needs.

  • Provide simple training or guidance on how to install or access approved tools.

  • Work with IT teams to help track software deployments or removals.

General Asset Management

  • Maintain databases or spreadsheets related to software assets, warranties, and service agreements.

  • Support asset lifecycle tasks such as renewals, updates, or retiring older tools.

What I will Do

  • Define and execute the SAM strategy aligned with business objectives: software cost optimization, compliance, vendor risk, and technology enablement.

  • Build and lead the SAM organization (people, process, platforms), including talent recruitment, development, team structure, performance metrics and culture of continuous improvement.

  • Establish and govern SAM program policies, standards, frameworks (including definitions of roles/responsibilities, entitlements, metrics, audit readiness).

  • Partner with stakeholders across IT, Procurement, Legal, Finance, Security, Business Units to ensure software acquisitions, usage, renewals and retirements are effectively managed and compliant.

  • Manage licensing and entitlement positions for major vendor agreements (e.g., Microsoft, Oracle, SAP) and monitor renewal / true-up cycles, usage, audits and audits readiness.

  • Drive software use-rights and optimization initiatives: identify under-used licenses, re-harvest or redeploy, rationalize portfolios, negotiate vendor contracts with full insight into effective license position.

  • Oversee the full software lifecycle: procurement/acquisition, deployment, managed usage, renewal/maintenance, retirement/disposition.

  • Select, implement and optimize SAM tools (inventory/discovery, entitlement repository, reporting & dashboards) and integrate with ITAM, ITSM, CMDB, and procurement systems.

  • Lead risk management: identify and address software license compliance risk, audit exposure, shadow IT, cybersecurity implications of unmanaged software.

  • Monitor performance via KPIs: cost savings, software spend under control, compliance posture, time to value, audit findings, usage/optimization metrics.

  • Drive communications and change management: build awareness of SAM processes, establish governance forums, engage leadership, guide culture toward disciplined software management.

  • Stay abreast of industry best practices, vendor licensing models, regulatory/licensing changes, technology trends (cloud, SaaS/subscription, hybrid usage) and ensure the SAM strategy evolves accordingly.