Asset Management

The Top 9 Software Asset Management Solutions

Explore the top Software Asset Management (SAM) solutions which are designed to help businesses manage their software licenses, usage, and IT assets more efficiently and effectively.a

The Top 9 Software Asset Management Solutions include:
  • 1. Certero
  • 2. Flexera One
  • 3. Freshservice
  • 4. ManageEngine Asset Explorer
  • 5. ServiceNow Software Asset Management
  • 6. Flexera Snow
  • 7. SymphonyAI
  • 8. Tanium Asset
  • 9. USU

Software Asset Management (SAM) solutions are designed to help businesses manage their software licenses, usage, and IT assets more efficiently and effectively. Every organization will have a number of software applications with licenses that need renewing, costs that need to be regulated, and compliance requirements that need to be adhered to. Without the right management tool, staying on top of all of these factors can easily become overwhelming.

Software Asset Management solutions are used to track applications across your organization, ensure license compliance, optimize software usage and reduce costs by eliminating wasted licenses or redundant applications.

An effective SAM solution will integrate with an organization’s software infrastructure, inventory all applications across networks, allocate licenses, and produce comprehensive reports for better decision making. If a piece of software is underused, the SAM solution can identify it for proper reallocation or remodeling of licensing agreements. If licenses are falling to adhere to compliance requirements, admins can be alerted, encouraging them to renew agreements and prevent potential legal issues or fines.

For end users and IT administrators, SAM solutions streamline software license management, promote a clearer picture of software usage, encourage cost-saving strategies, and ensure the organization stays within the bounds of compliance.

The SAM market is a competitive one, with numerous solutions offering a unique take on software asset management. They range from solutions dedicated to SAM, to integrated parts of broader IT management or IT Service Management (ITSM) suites. This guide will delve into the top Software Asset Management solution providers and examine their features, such as software inventory tracking, license management, compliance reports, spend optimization, cloud-based applications tracking, among others.

Certero Logo

Certero’s Software Asset Management (SAM) offers a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to gain control over their software landscape. The platform offers end-to-end lifecycle management, from deployment to offboarding, covering both on-premises and cloud software. Certero is able to quickly identify a broad range of software-related issues and license compliance verification. This extended visibility ensures that you have extensive control over how your software tools are implemented.

The feature-rich solution provides real-time visibility into the IT landscape, significantly reducing audit risks through continuous license compliance. The platform assists businesses in monitoring software expenses, ensuring that underused software is identified, as well as providing comprehensive information about software usage. It also facilitates ‘right-sizing’ technology investments, allowing you to negotiation renewal quotes that match your needs.

Certero has developed specific modules for different software solutions: Certero for Enterprise SAM for end-user device licensing, Certero for IBM, SAP Applications, and Oracle for managing complex data center software vendors, and Certero for SaaS for reviewing software as a service subscriptions. This product range results in a highly specialized solution, driving visibility and control. Certero’s SAM is a top-tier option for businesses seeking a streamlined, cost-effective way to manage their software assets.

Certero Logo
IBM Logo

Flexera One is a comprehensive software asset management tool designed to streamline the process of controlling IT spending and reducing the risk of audit exposure. It uses specialized algorithms, product use rights, and an expansive entitlement library to effectively understand licensing details. Flexera One is designed to focus on sophisticated systems such as Microsoft, IBM, SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce.

Prioritizing efficiency, this tool automates the effective license positions (ELP) utilizing an extensive library of over 450,000 applications offering use rights, metrics, and license types. It also manages consumption for software licenses, allowing users to understand their vendor relationships and ensure that software contracts reflect their own business needs and outcomes. Flexera One even integrates with procurement, ITSM, and ITFM, tools, thereby providing insights across your technology stack.

One of Flexera key strengths is in optimizing software contracts and reducing waste. It employs an extensive product use rights library to optimize a user’s software portfolio, applying rights such as upgrade, downgrade, active/passive cluster, virtual and hybrid use rights. It also allows organizations to carry out regulatory and vendor audits daily, thereby reducing risk through maintaining continual compliance.

Overall, Flexera One is an effective tool that aids in maximizing hardware investments, optimizing software spending, and reducing audit risks. Its capabilities include automatic software identification, understanding entitlement and consumption data, and obtaining a clear SaaS picture for better financial control. Together, these features make Flexera One an important tool for any organization seeking to streamline their tech spend and improve their software management abilities.

IBM Logo
Freshworks Logo

Freshworks Freshservice is a comprehensive software asset management solution geared towards optimizing software usage and automating procedures across a variety of on-premise software and SaaS applications. This unified software solution offers an organized and centralized view of your software portfolio, allowing admins to understand what is being used, how it is being used, and what is needed from a renewal contract.

Freshservice’s key features include the consolidation of software licensing and renewals, thereby effectively limiting risks associated with shadow IT and assisting with future business planning. The platform also includes integrations with leading identity providers and SaaS applications, providing insights and detailed reports on software usage. This information can drive informed decision making on software spendings and renewals.

The Orchestration Center automates recurring software life cycle tasks, decreasing the necessity for manual work and expanding the scale of your business operations. It is especially useful in complex procedures such as employee onboarding and software provisioning.

Overall, Freshworks Freshservice offers businesses an effective solution to optimize software spend, remain audit-ready, diminish compliance risks, and importantly, to automate processes that can result in improved operational efficiency. Freshservice not only aids in streamlining software allocation, but also improves employee experiences, making it a valuable addition to any business setup.

Freshworks Logo
ManageEngine logo

ManageEngine AssetExplorer is a comprehensive, web-based IT Asset Management (ITAM) software. It aids in the comprehensive monitoring and management of all hardware and software assets in a network, from the planning phase to disposal. Out of the box, AssetExplorer delivers an easy way to ensure all assets within your network are discovered, managed, and monitored.

This software’s key functionality includes asset management (for both software and hardware), license compliance assessment, tracking of purchase orders and contracts, and managing the complete IT asset lifecycle. Another crucial aspect of AssetExplorer is its ability to handle Software Asset Management (SAM). This includes software discovery, license compliance, software forecasting, and optimal license usage, giving you complete visibility of all software installed in your network.

Additional strengths include detection of illegal and unlicensed software, grouping software into specific categories and types to prevent unauthorized use, and support for a variety of software licenses. It also assists with preparation for software vendor audits, tracking of unused software and optimization of software deployment. In addition, this tool provides detailed flash charts to display under licensed, over licensed, and compliant software statuses, making it easy to quickly check compliance.

Overall, ManageEngine AssetExplorer is a robust ITAM tool that streamlines asset management across IT lifecycle. It ensures software license compliance, asset tracking and provides a robust base for making informed purchasing decisions. By detecting unauthorized software and conducting regular audits, ManageEngine plays a crucial role in maintaining security and meeting compliance needs.

ManageEngine logo
ServiceNow Logo

ServiceNow’s Software Asset Management (SAM) is an automated solution that is designed to help enterprises track and manage their software licenses across the organization. It is built on the Now Platform, offering a unified and integrated system to control risk, minimize expenditure, and automate the software lifecycle from a single centralized platform.

SAM provides a range of key applications and capabilities. The Software Management Playbooks offer detailed guidance for managing software tasks, while the Software Asset Workspace provides a single interface showcasing activities, alerts, and actionable insights. SAM’s Content Library, alongside its ML capabilities, ensure improved normalization rates, and Publisher Packs that assist in analyzing license compliance and optimizing complicated publisher positions.

A significant strength of SAM is its ability to streamline and manage software assets using a single architectural solution. The platform leverages automation and digital workflows to deliver crucial asset data to the organization. It also helps businesses to mitigate license risks by integrating SAM into the IT change process, empowering them to act on unlicensed deployments. It also enables the automation of custom workflows throughout the lifecycle, involving several departments such as HR, procurement, security, and app teams.

Overall, ServiceNow’s SAM is a robust asset management solution that efficiently automates and optimizes software lifecycle and usage. Its focus on driving cost reduction, risk mitigation, and automation across an organization makes it a highly valuable tool. The platform stands on the Now Platform where data security is prioritized, ensuring data safety and regulatory compliance for your business.

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Flexera Logo

Flexera Snow is an asset management solution that is designed to maximize the value of your technology investments. The platform is designed to provide you with detailed usage insights and reduce costs associated with software contracts, avoiding price increments, and audit penalties.

The tool’s key features include automated software usage metering across on-premises, free, and commercial SaaS applications. This detail allows you to identify potential areas for savings, cost avoidance, and risk mitigation. Flexera Snow also enables users to access software installation and usage details efficiently, assisting preparations for renewals or audits.

Flexera’s features also help to prevent application sprawl by giving users a comprehensive view into applications used throughout the organization. It also facilitates automatic SAM inventory and normalization.

Overall, Flexera Snow presents itself as a robust tool that is capable of efficient technology asset management. It is designed to minimize software licensing waste, remain audit ready, and prevent application sprawl, all while strengthening the organization’s strategic activities.

Flexera Logo
SymphonyAI Logo

SymphonyAI IT Asset Management (ITAM) is a software solution that provides management and visibility of both IT and non-IT assets. It can track assets based on multiple features including region, location, ownership history, and asset status. It offers a unified asset management approach to streamline tasks and improve operational efficiency.

Key features of SymphonyAI ITAM include both agent-based and agentless IT asset discovery as well as software asset management for tracking all software details. It allows for asset lifecycle management, monitoring assets from initial acquisition, maintenance, to eventual disposal. To ensure compliance, SymphonyAI allows organizations to automate manual allocation of assets based on specific conditions.

Additional strengths of SymphonyAI ITAM include its enhanced security features, the use of persona dashboards to track various metrics, and unified asset management. It also delivers robust compliance features to mitigate technology risks like license compliance and renewals.

Overall, SymphonyAI ITAM is a comprehensive system that gives control and visibility over all assets, enabling better decision-making and planning. It allows the streamlining and automation of asset lifecycle processes. This ultimately helps reduce an organization’s operational expenses (OpEx) and capital expenses (CapEx), thereby helping to maximize return on investment.

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Tanium Logo

Tanium Asset is a powerful solution for helping teams manage their IT assets efficiently. It provides real-time data on all IT assets, enabling organizations to make informed decisions based on up-to-date information. This data covers your entire environment, including hardware and software inventory, regardless of the location of the assets.

The solution effectively integrates with existing tools and systems, allowing it to rapidly identify software. From here, it maintains a log of your IT assets, empowering you to take action on current data for software and hardware across your entire environment. This also allows for better third-party reporting, improving the management of underutilized resources, and existing data stores.

Tanium Asset offers runtime SBOM reporting, as well as configurable reporting for inventory audits, helping prepare for software licensing changes or hardware decommissioning based on asset location. Data enrichment from third-party sources, such as ServiceNow, aids in maintaining an accurate Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and ensuring its most current state.

Using Tanium Asset, organizations can enhance their IT hygiene, increase productivity, and improve operational efficiency, while reducing both risk and costs. The solution provides real-time analytical insights about devices and resources, enabling organizations to make better informed decisions.

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USU Logo

USU Software Asset Management is a comprehensive tool that simplifies Software Asset Management (SAM) processes for enhanced compliance, better data visibility, and risk reduction. The platform efficiently manages software costs using established SAM technologies and professional services. It offers IT clarity, license optimization, and audit preparation.

USU offers flexible data collection, effective software data management, as well as cloud and virtual discovery capabilities. It delivers robust compliance, budget optimization, and data center visualization, ensuring that organizations can efficiently manage their IT costs.

The software also comes with features such as SaaS discovery to manage unplanned or unapproved SaaS consumption, as well as license and SaaS re-harvesting for cost optimization. Its open system architecture enables compatibility with all system and application data sources.

Overall, USU Software Asset Management is a trusted solution for effectively controlling software costs and mitigating risks. Trusted by top brands, the tool fosters strategic decision-making capability through data visibility and evaluation. With a focus on customer success, the tool delivers measurable value and offers a powerful way to navigate the complexities of software asset management.

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The Top 9 Software Asset Management Solutions