Software Asset Management (SAM) is a business practice that involves managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, utilization, and disposal of software applications within an organization. The primary goals of SAM are to control IT costs, manage business and legal risks, and ensure compliance with software license agreements. By tracking software assets throughout their lifecycle, organizations can reduce waste, improve security, and make more informed decisions about their technology investments.
Software Asset Management emerged in the 1980s, driven by the widespread adoption of mass software in organizations. As businesses began using more applications, a structured approach to manage these digital assets became essential. This was the genesis of tracking software to control costs and ensure compliance.
The practice was later formalized by frameworks like ITIL, which standardized its principles across the industry. The introduction of ISO standards further solidified SAM's role within IT governance. Modern SAM continues to evolve with automation and cloud-based tools.
Software Asset Management provides critical functions that impact an organization's financial health, security posture, and operational agility. It offers a strategic approach to managing the entire software lifecycle, from procurement to retirement, delivering tangible benefits across the business.
While SAM is a management strategy, SaaS is a software delivery model, and they address different organizational needs.
While SAM offers significant benefits, its implementation is not without hurdles. Organizations often face operational complexities and resource constraints that can hinder its effectiveness. These challenges require careful planning and continuous effort to overcome.
The future of SAM is moving towards greater intelligence and integration. As organizations increasingly adopt cloud services and complex software stacks, SAM platforms are evolving to provide more proactive and automated management.
Is SAM still relevant in a cloud-first world?
Absolutely. While SaaS simplifies deployment, it complicates cost and usage tracking. SAM provides the necessary oversight to manage SaaS sprawl, optimize subscriptions, and ensure you're only paying for what you actually use, preventing uncontrolled spending in cloud environments.
How can we justify the investment in a SAM program?
The ROI from a SAM program comes from direct cost savings on unused licenses, avoiding hefty non-compliance fines, and improving security. It shifts IT from a cost center to a strategic asset by providing clear data for better financial and operational decisions.
How does SAM integrate with other IT functions like security?
SAM is a cornerstone of IT security. By maintaining an accurate inventory of all software, it helps identify unauthorized applications, ensures timely patching of vulnerabilities, and supports security audits. This integration provides a comprehensive view of your organization's risk exposure.
A persona is a semi-fictional profile of your ideal customer, based on market research and real data about your existing customers.
Hot leads are prospective customers who have shown significant interest and are ready to buy, making them a top priority for sales teams.
Learn about bulk API, including how it works, the advantages of using it, common use cases, and tips for optimizing it.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated phone system that uses voice and keypad inputs to interact with callers and route their calls.
Net 30 is a common payment term where a client has 30 calendar days from the invoice date to pay for goods or services in full.
Data security protects digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle.
The C-suite, or C-level, refers to a company's most senior executives. Their titles usually start with 'Chief,' such as CEO, CFO, or CTO.
Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.
NoSQL ("Not only SQL") databases offer a flexible alternative to relational models, excelling at managing large and unstructured data sets.
A Call for Proposal (CFP) is a document that solicits proposals, often through a bidding process, for a specific project or service.
Learn about BANT framework, including implementing BANT in sales strategy, advantages of the BANT methodology, & BANT vs. other qualification models.
Trade shows are events where companies in a specific industry showcase their latest products and services to find new customers and partners.
A freemium model offers a product's basic features for free, enticing users to upgrade to a paid version for more advanced capabilities.
End of Day (EOD) refers to the close of business hours. It's a common deadline for tasks and reports to be completed before the workday ends.
Call analytics is the practice of analyzing phone call data to extract insights, track key metrics, and improve overall business performance.
Event marketing is a strategy where brands engage directly with target audiences through live events like trade shows, conferences, or webinars.
A sales demo is a presentation where a sales rep shows a prospect how a product or service works and solves their specific problems.
Customer Retention Rate (CRR) is the metric that measures the percentage of customers a company has kept over a specific period of time.
A payment gateway is a service that authorizes and processes payments for businesses, acting as a secure link between the customer and the merchant.
Voice broadcasting is an automated system that delivers a pre-recorded voice message to a large list of phone numbers simultaneously.
A touchpoint is any time a potential or existing customer comes in contact with your brand, from seeing an ad to receiving an email.
Learn about big data, including understanding big data characteristics, benefits of leveraging big data, & challenges in managing big data.
Sales prospecting is the process of identifying potential customers, or prospects, and initiating contact to convert them into paying customers.
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract defining the level of service between a provider and a client, including metrics and penalties.
No Cold Calls is a sales strategy that replaces unsolicited calls with warm outreach to prospects who have already demonstrated interest.
Video hosting is a service that allows users to upload, store, and share video content online, making it accessible for playback anywhere.
Inbound lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers to your business with valuable content and tailored experiences.
Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) is a query language used to search your organization's Salesforce data for specific information.
A stakeholder is any individual, group, or party that has an interest in an organization and the outcomes of its actions.
Sales compensation is the total pay a salesperson receives, including salary, commissions, and bonuses, structured to motivate performance.
Accessibility testing is a software testing method that verifies an application is usable by people with disabilities, like vision or hearing loss.
A conversion path is the journey a visitor takes to complete a desired goal, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or subscribing.
Real-time data is information processed and made available almost instantaneously, enabling immediate analysis and decision-making.
SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language for managing and querying data within relational databases.
A Proof of Concept (PoC) is a small exercise to test whether a business idea or project is technically feasible and has real-world potential.
Overcoming objections is the process of addressing and resolving a prospect's concerns or hesitations to move a sale forward.
Funnel analysis is a method for understanding the steps users take to complete a goal, revealing where they drop off in the conversion process.
Learn about buyer behavior, including understanding the buyer's journey, influencing factors in buyer behavior, & buyer behavior and marketing strategy.
Subscription models are a business strategy where customers pay a recurring fee at regular intervals for access to a product or service.
An HTTP request is a message sent by a client, like a web browser, to a server to ask for a resource, such as a web page or an image.
Renewal rate is the percentage of customers who renew their subscriptions or contracts at the end of their service period.
Customer data analysis is the process of examining customer information to uncover insights that drive business decisions and improve experiences.
Learn about B2B data solutions, including unlocking the power of B2B data, & key components of effective B2B data solutions.
Data appending is the process of adding new data fields to your existing database records to enrich and complete your information.
Sales development is the process of identifying and qualifying potential customers to create a pipeline of sales-ready leads for closers.
Sales prospecting techniques are methods used by sales teams to identify, contact, and qualify potential customers, also known as prospects.
A Sales Director leads a sales team, develops strategies, and is responsible for meeting a company's revenue targets.
Sales prospecting software automates the process of finding, contacting, and tracking potential customers to help sales teams build their pipeline.
Lead nurturing is the process of developing and reinforcing relationships with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel.
The self-service SaaS model allows customers to independently sign up, use, and manage a product without any direct help from the company.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a system of integrated software that businesses use to manage and automate their core day-to-day processes.
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) is a sales strategy where a brand sells its products directly to end customers, bypassing any third-party retailers.
A sales sequence is a series of automated touchpoints sent to prospects over time to guide them through the sales funnel.
“Always Be Closing” (ABC) is a sales mantra meaning every action a salesperson takes should be with the ultimate goal of closing the sale.
Guided selling simplifies complex sales by giving reps step-by-step instructions and data-driven recommendations to close deals faster.
AI marketing uses artificial intelligence to analyze data, automate decisions, and deliver personalized customer experiences at scale.
The consideration buying stage is where potential customers have defined their problem and are now actively researching and evaluating solutions.
A firewall is a digital barrier that protects a network by monitoring and controlling traffic, blocking unauthorized access and malicious content.
Learn about business process management, including benefits of implementing BPM, steps to effective BPM, common BPM mistakes to avoid, & BPM tools and software.
Marketing performance is the process of measuring a campaign's effectiveness against set goals using key metrics like ROI and conversion rates.
Dark social is the sharing of content through private channels like messaging apps or email. This traffic is hard to track as it lacks referral data.
Data-driven marketing uses customer data to inform marketing decisions, optimize campaigns, and deliver personalized experiences to consumers.
Email deliverability is the ability for your emails to successfully land in your recipients' inboxes instead of their spam folders.
An enterprise is a large-scale organization, often a corporation, defined by its complex structure and substantial number of employees.
Objection handling in sales is the process of responding to a prospect's concerns about a product or service to move the deal forward.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal document that outlines a project's needs and invites qualified vendors to submit bids to complete it.
Load balancing is the practice of distributing incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers, ensuring no single server is overworked.
Inside sales is a remote sales process where reps sell products or services via phone, email, and other digital tools instead of in person.
Your email deliverability rate is the percentage of sent emails that successfully land in a recipient's inbox, rather than bouncing or going to spam.
A Champion/Challenger test pits a new 'challenger' against the current best-performing 'champion' to see which one performs better.
Triggers are predefined conditions that, when met, automatically launch a workflow or action, ensuring timely and relevant outreach.
Website visitor tracking collects and analyzes data on user behavior to understand their journey and improve the overall user experience.
Learn about B2B demand generation strategy, including key elements of demand generation, & crafting your demand generation plan.
A drip campaign is a series of automated messages sent to prospects or customers over time to nurture leads and drive engagement.
A cloud-based CRM is a customer relationship management tool hosted online, letting teams access and manage customer data from anywhere.
A use case is a detailed description of how a user interacts with a system to achieve a specific goal, outlining the steps from start to finish.
Ad-hoc reporting is the creation of one-off reports to answer specific business questions as they arise, providing instant, targeted insights.
Contract management is the process of creating, executing, and analyzing contracts to maximize performance and minimize financial risk.
Lead enrichment software adds crucial data to your leads, like contact info and firmographics, to help you better understand and engage them.
Average Customer Life is the average time someone remains a customer. It's a key metric for predicting revenue and measuring customer loyalty.
Buying criteria are the specific requirements and standards a customer uses to evaluate products or services before making a decision.
Demographic segmentation divides a market into groups based on traits like age, gender, and income, allowing for more targeted marketing efforts.
A sales intelligence platform is software that provides sales teams with data and insights about prospects to help them sell more effectively.
A Target Account List (TAL) is a focused list of high-value companies that a business specifically aims to convert into customers.
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is the predictable income a company expects to receive from its customers over a one-year period.
An Application Programming Interface (API) is a set of rules that lets different software applications talk to each other and share information.
Data visualization is the practice of translating information into a visual context, like a map or graph, to make data easier to understand.
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation.
Generic keywords are broad search terms that lack specific details like brand or location. They attract a wide audience with less specific intent.
Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) is the ideal order quantity a company should purchase to minimize its total inventory-related costs.
Siloed describes the isolation of data, teams, or systems within a company, which blocks collaboration and creates operational bottlenecks.
Data privacy is an individual's right to control their personal information, including how it's collected, processed, stored, and shared.
A needs assessment is the process of identifying the gap between a company's current state and its desired future state.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) benchmarks are key metrics used to measure the performance and success of your targeted account strategies.
Trigger marketing uses customer actions or events to automatically send highly relevant, personalized messages at the perfect moment.
An objection is an explicit expression by a prospect that presents a barrier to moving forward in the sales process.
Loyalty programs are marketing strategies designed to reward repeat customers. They offer incentives like discounts or exclusive access to encourage retention.
Deal flow refers to the stream of business proposals and investment opportunities that a company or investor receives.
Lead Velocity Rate (LVR) is the growth rate of your qualified leads, measured month-over-month. It's a key indicator of future revenue.
Marketing metrics are quantifiable values that marketing teams use to measure and track the performance of their campaigns and efforts.