<s>
Software	B-Application
asset	I-Application
management	I-Application
(	O
SAM	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
business	O
practice	O
that	O
involves	O
managing	O
and	O
optimizing	O
the	O
purchase	O
,	O
deployment	O
,	O
maintenance	O
,	O
utilization	O
,	O
and	O
disposal	O
of	O
software	O
applications	O
within	O
an	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fundamentally	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
part	O
of	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
business	O
strategy	O
,	O
the	O
goals	O
of	O
SAM	O
are	O
to	O
reduce	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
costs	O
and	O
limit	O
business	O
and	O
legal	O
risk	O
related	O
to	O
the	O
ownership	O
and	O
use	O
of	O
software	O
,	O
while	O
maximizing	O
IT	O
responsiveness	O
and	O
end-user	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAM	O
is	O
one	O
facet	O
of	O
a	O
broader	O
business	O
discipline	O
known	O
as	O
IT	O
asset	O
management	O
,	O
which	O
includes	O
overseeing	O
both	O
software	O
and	O
hardware	O
that	O
comprise	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
computers	O
and	O
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
many	O
organizations	O
,	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
implementing	O
a	O
SAM	O
program	O
is	O
very	O
tactical	O
,	O
explicitly	O
focused	O
on	O
balancing	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
software	B-License
licenses	I-License
purchased	O
with	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
actual	O
licenses	O
consumed	O
or	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SAM	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
this	O
interpretation	O
,	O
involves	O
conducting	O
detailed	O
software	O
inventories	O
on	O
an	O
ongoing	O
basis	O
to	O
determine	O
the	O
exact	O
number	O
of	O
software	B-License
licenses	I-License
consumed	O
,	O
comparing	O
this	O
information	O
with	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
licenses	O
purchased	O
,	O
and	O
reviewing	O
how	O
the	O
software	O
is	O
being	O
used	O
in	O
respect	O
to	O
the	O
terms	O
and	O
conditions	O
and	O
establishing	O
controls	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
proper	O
licensing	O
practices	O
are	O
maintained	O
on	O
an	O
ongoing	O
basis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Counting	O
installations	O
are	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
means	O
of	O
measuring	O
license	O
consumption	O
but	O
some	O
software	O
is	O
licensed	O
by	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
users	O
,	O
capital	O
,	O
processors	O
,	O
or	O
CPU	B-General_Concept
Cores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
inventory	O
tools	O
intelligently	O
“	O
discover	O
”	O
software	O
installed	O
across	O
the	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
,	O
and	O
collect	O
software	O
file	O
information	O
such	O
as	O
title	O
,	O
product	O
ID	O
,	O
size	O
,	O
date	O
,	O
path	O
,	O
and	O
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
License	B-Application
manager	I-Application
solutions	O
provide	O
an	O
intelligent	O
repository	O
for	O
license	O
entitlements	O
which	O
can	O
then	O
be	O
reconciled	O
against	O
data	O
provided	O
by	O
Software	O
inventory	O
tools	O
to	O
provide	O
the	O
organization	O
with	O
an	O
'	O
Effective	O
License	O
Position	O
 '	O
or	O
view	O
of	O
where	O
the	O
organization	O
is	O
under-licensed	O
(	O
at	O
risk	O
of	O
a	O
compliance	O
audit	O
)	O
or	O
over-licensed	O
(	O
wasting	O
money	O
on	O
unnecessary	O
software	O
purchases	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
metering	I-Application
tools	O
monitor	O
the	O
utilization	O
of	O
software	O
applications	O
across	O
a	O
network	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
deployment	I-Application
tools	O
automate	O
and	O
regulate	O
the	O
deployment	O
of	O
new	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
example	O
of	O
issues	O
faced	O
when	O
scaling	O
up	O
discovery	O
tools	O
is	O
with	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
System	B-Protocol
Centre	I-Protocol
Configuration	I-Protocol
Manager	I-Protocol
(	O
SCCM	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
