* The foundation for software asset management

At its core, there are 3 main drivers for Software Asset Management:

1)Compliance: Control costs, risks, and complexity with transparency

2)Optimization: Get more mileage out of your licenses by knowing what�s in them and
how you�re using them
3)Savings: Use SAM insights to lower licensing costs and save time.....
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Software license management best practices:-

1)Document and standardize your procurement processes - It�s important to know who
and how each business unit buys software licenses.
Make sure that you define standardized processes and rules for license procurement,
and establish standardized processes for storing licenses and license certificates.

2)Clean up and organize your license inventory - Use this as an opportunity to

create a central license inventory (if you don�t already have one) and move all
licensing agreements and software maintenance contracts to the inventory. Establish
an organizational system (responsible people and processes) that allows you to
locate licensing documents and information easily. Next you need to learn what your
license metrics are in order to measure the licenses you need. Finally,
appoint a license manager to administer/maintain the your inventory.

3)Catalog your software - Now it�s time to use your discovery and inventory tools
to find out what software is actually installed in your environment.
Normalize software titles to make sure you can match a license to them.

4)ventory all of your systems (don�t forget open source systems!) - When cataloging
your software, it can be easy to miss things installed on systems not currently
running or not currently hooked up to the network, so make sure that discovery
tools are installed on all systems in order to not miss anything.
You�ll want to inventory open source systems (like Linux) because while the OS
might not need a paid license, it might still be running software that does.

5)Determine software usage - Here�s your chance to find out when a software title
is being used and how it�s installed (or not e.g. cloud), configured, and accessed.

You might be surprised at what you own vs. how it�s actually being utilized.

6)Measure how many licenses you need per software usage - Once you�ve cataloged
your entire system and recorded usage data it�s time to review your license
inventory
and make sure that your licenses cover all of the ways in which the software is
installed and used. Pro-tip: apply product use rights to get the full value of
your licenses and save costs.

7)Keep updating your license and software inventories - Here�s where the detective
work comes into play. Look for licensing models that best fit your software usage
habits and IT environment, making sure that you�re tracking usage to maintain
compliance. In the meantime, you�ll continuously be updating:
a) Software titles to track users downloading new software, upgrading programs, or
entering the cloud
b) The software usage and IT environment data
c) The license inventory to track contract milestones, and capture new purchases
and changes to licenses like upgrades or downgrades
8)Manage your licenses more efficiently - Congratulations! The fruitful results of
your SAM process and data transparency will allow you to use your licenses more
efficiently.
You�ll now be able to clearly see where you�re over- and under-licensed. With this
knowlesge, you can reallocate your available licenses to cover your needs, saving
you money on new licenses and reducing audit risk.
It�s important that you don�t forget maintenance! If you�re not using a license,
then it�s recommended that you cancel the maintenance contract.
When contract renewals come up, use your SAM insights to negotiate better
agreements for your company.