The path towards Software Asset Management (SAM) often starts with the panicked reaction to a software vendor audit.

Having gone through the painful process of scrabbling to gather information and put in place policies governing the procurement, allocation, use and reclamation of software, however, it pays dividends to commit to some form of continual improvement of the SAM program.

Why?  Well, for a number of reasons.  First we know from all walks of life that any kind of endeavor is more likely to succeed when we do it because we want to, not because we have to.

Even if we stay with the audit scenario, this still rings true.  Active license optimization through better software management is much more effective than simply being prepared to provide audit data when the inevitable request arrives.  Just consider how many software publishers are currently using audits (or ‘license reviews’ if you prefer the politically-correct term) to drive the adoption of new licensing models or cloud-based delivery models – which are not always in the customers’ best interests.

SOURCE: snowsoftware.com