According to ITIL, SAM is defined as “…all of the infrastructure and processes necessary for the effective management, control, and protection of the software assets…throughout all stages of their lifecycle.”[1] Fundamentally intended to be part of an organization's information technology business strategy, the goals of SAM are to reduce information technology (IT) costs and limit business and legal risk related to the ownership and use of software, while maximizing IT responsiveness and end-user productivity.
[2] SAM is particularly important for large corporations regarding redistribution of licenses and managing legal risks associated with software ownership and expiration.
SAM is one facet of a broader business discipline known as IT asset management, which includes overseeing both software and hardware that comprise an organization's computers and network.
"[8] Part 1 of the standard details SAM processes including control environment, planning and implementation, inventory, verification and compliance, operations management and life cycle.
Turning on Metering Rules for every packaged application and every executable in a large estate quickly makes the volume of data generated unmanageable and expensive to maintain.