Want to know how to distinguish IaaS from a data connector, or a software license audit from a software license management tool? Then you are in the right place!

Software Asset Management is the business strategy for reclaiming budget and maximizing savings by actively controlling and automating procurement, usage, and deployment of software licenses. It’s a complex world made up of elaborate acronyms and confusing jargon, so we are here to help you navigate it.

Alphabetized for your quick reference needs, here are the top 25 Software Asset Management terms you should know. You can thank us later.

1. Data adapter and Data connector – A data adapter is used to retrieve data from a data source and to populate a data set. If changes are made to the data in the data set, the data adapter can also be used to resolve those changes in the data source. While a data connector is used to convert one data format to another, making the data usable by different programs and processes.

2. Discovery tool – An IT asset management tool or application which connects to a device to identify which software is running on that device. It automates discovery and can be run both externally or locally on the device.

3. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) – A cloud computing model where an organization outsources equipment and provides access to computing resources through a cloud-based environment. It essentially consists of renting offsite servers that are monitored through applications as if they were on-premises.

4. Joiners, Movers and Leavers (JML) – Human Resource-related tracking of IT asset status and ownership at the key points of an employee lifecycle. This employment data, stored either in an HR database or in the CMDB, can be used to determine when to allocate or re-harvest licenses.

5. License metric – A measurement or set of measurements used by software publishers to identify how many licenses you are required to purchase for a product. These metrics vary by vendor, as each vendor uses their own metric in accordance with geography, user attributes etc.

6. License optimization – The automatic and accurate deployment of license entitlements, such as product use rights, to ensure compliance and get the best possible for immediate cost savings and compliance.

7. License re-harvesting – The process of defining and identifying unused or underused software and removing those software installations or reassigning user-based licenses.

8. Over-purchasing / Over-licensed – When an organization purchases more licenses than necessary. Although it is something that will and can happen accidentally, it contributes to overspending and demonstrates the cost-saving value of Software Asset Management.

9. PaaS (Platform as a Service) – Provides an environment where you can develop, run, and manage custom applications without having to directly maintain the underlying infrastructure.

10. Private Cloud – Cloud services offered over the internet or over a private internal network to select users. These services are not available to the general public.