# Best Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools - Page 3 *By [Tian Lin](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/tian-lin)* Software asset management (SAM) tools are used to document and manage the software licenses used by a business. Traditionally used to track local, on-premises software licenses, many SAM tools have broadened their scope to include tracking SaaS assets as well. Companies use SAM software for various reasons, including cost tracking, contract management and compliance, and license management solutions, making them prime tools for internal asset and user access managers. SAM tools share similarities with a few solutions that also manage and track technology assets, including [IT asset management software](https://www.g2.com/categories/it-asset-management), which also covers physical assets and [SaaS operations management software](https://www.g2.com/categories/saas-operations-management), which focuses particularly on as-a-service software management. To qualify for inclusion in the Software Asset Management category, a product must: - Provide tools to build a software inventory - Track local, on-premises software solutions; many track as-a-service software solutions, as well - Document software licenses and deployments to determine license compliance position - Provide compliance management capabilities for software programs ## How Many Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools Products Does G2 Track? **Total Products under this Category:** 60 ### Category Stats (May 2026) - **Average Rating**: 4.53/5 - **New Reviews This Quarter**: 13 - **Buyer Segments**: Mid-Market 64% │ Small-Business 21% │ Enterprise 14% - **Top Trending Product**: USU (+0.02) *Last updated: May 18, 2026* ## How Does G2 Rank Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools Products? **Why You Can Trust G2's Software Rankings:** - 30 Analysts and Data Experts - 2,400+ Authentic Reviews - 60+ Products - Unbiased Rankings G2's software rankings are built on verified user reviews, rigorous moderation, and a consistent research methodology maintained by a team of analysts and data experts. Each product is measured using the same transparent criteria, with no paid placement or vendor influence. While reviews reflect real user experiences, which can be subjective, they offer valuable insight into how software performs in the hands of professionals. Together, these inputs power the G2 Score, a standardized way to compare tools within every category. ## Which Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools Is Best for Your Use Case? - **Leader:** [Snow Atlas](https://www.g2.com/products/snow-atlas/reviews) - **Highest Performer:** [CloudEagle](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudeagle/reviews) - **Easiest to Use:** [Alloy Navigator](https://www.g2.com/products/alloy-navigator/reviews) - **Top Trending:** [AssetSonar](https://www.g2.com/products/ezo-assetsonar/reviews) - **Best Free Software:** [Zluri](https://www.g2.com/products/zluri/reviews) --- **Sponsored** ### AssetSonar AssetSonar is a comprehensive IT asset and service management platform that provides organizations with real-time visibility into their entire digital infrastructure. This solution enables users to effectively track and optimize their hardware, software, licenses, tickets, and service management processes. By doing so, AssetSonar helps businesses reduce risks, control IT expenditures, improve service delivery, and enhance compliance with regulatory requirements. Targeted primarily at mid-market to enterprise-level IT teams and IT asset managers, AssetSonar addresses common challenges organizations face, such as SaaS sprawl, shadow IT, redundant software licenses, fragmented service workflows, and disconnected asset data. The platform's robust features, including software discovery, license tracking, software normalization, ITSM, and IT Graph context, empower businesses to gain a clearer understanding of their IT landscape. This clarity enables informed decision-making on software use, asset ownership, service impact, and licensing, ultimately leading to cost savings and improved operational efficiency. One of the standout features of AssetSonar is its risk-based patching capabilities. This functionality enables IT teams to identify vulnerabilities in their systems, prioritize them by severity, and take swift action to remediate them. By focusing on the most critical vulnerabilities, organizations can significantly reduce their exposure to security threats and ensure that their systems remain secure and compliant with industry standards. AssetSonar also offers native ITSM capabilities that connect incidents, service requests, approvals, SLAs, knowledge articles, self-service, and automation with live asset and software context. Its integrations with leading MDM, directory, security, and endpoint management tools such as Jamf, Intune, SCCM, and other IT systems help teams centralize operational data and maintain continuous visibility across the IT ecosystem. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also frees up valuable time for IT professionals to concentrate on strategic initiatives that drive business growth. By optimizing the IT asset and service lifecycle, AssetSonar equips organizations with the tools they need to boost team efficiency, resolve requests faster, manage onboarding and offboarding, and make smarter purchasing decisions. Its capabilities in IT asset management, IT service management, software governance, patch management, and automation help businesses maintain complete control over their digital assets as they navigate the complexities of modern IT environments. AssetSonar provides unlimited asset context with the ability to manage unlimited tickets with unlimited agents. [Visit website](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=ppc&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=1198&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_id%5D=1198&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bplacement_reason%5D=page_category&secure%5Bplacement_resource_ids%5D%5B%5D=1198&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=87855&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=1198&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Fsoftware-asset-management-tools&secure%5Btoken%5D=8b3dc6f72cc84b836ef1f25e9fe5b9838007e1a599f1d6da8ff7316cf3057b16&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.ezo.io%2Fassetsonar%2Fit-asset-management-software_of%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpaid_advertising%26utm_medium%3Dg2%26utm_campaign%3Dg2-clicks&secure%5Burl_type%5D=custom_url) --- ## What Are the Top-Rated Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools Products in 2026? ### 1. [Aptean EAM](https://www.g2.com/products/aptean-eam/reviews) Aptean EAM is a powerful Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) and Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) designed for asset-intensive industries. Created by maintenance professionals, this solution helps you optimize asset performance, reduce downtime, and lower maintenance costs with tools for maintenance planning, inventory management, and work scheduling. Our solution is mobile and easy to use for quicker adoption and is easily configurable, eliminating the need for customization. Whether you choose cloud or on-premises deployment, Aptean EAM is easy to implement and scales with your business as it grows. Features like automated work order requests, real-time tracking, and mobile access make it simple to manage maintenance activities, track equipment history, and handle work orders anytime, anywhere – keeping your operations running smoothly. Key features at a glance: -Comprehensive Asset Management: Keep all asset data—costs, usage, and maintenance history—centralized for better control and decision-making. -Work Order and Request Management: Streamline maintenance tasks with self-service work order requests and mobile-friendly tools that enhance efficiency for field operations. -Inventory and Procurement Efficiency: Manage critical parts effectively to avoid shortages, reduce emergency purchases, and keep your operations moving. -Predictive and Preventive Maintenance: Maximize asset uptime by scheduling routine inspections and anticipating equipment failures before they happen. -Flexible Deployment Options: Choose between cloud-based or on-premises deployment to match your operational and regulatory needs. -Real-Time Notifications and Alerts: Receive instant alerts about critical maintenance needs to reduce response times and prevent equipment failures. Why Choose Aptean EAM? Aptean EAM is purpose-built for industries that rely on high-value, asset-intensive operations. By providing the tools to improve maintenance efficiency and asset visibility, this solution ensures you can focus on minimizing downtime and maximizing operational performance. Who Is This For? Aptean EAM is ideal for medium to large enterprises in industries like manufacturing, energy, chemicals, and food and beverage. If your business depends on efficient asset management to stay productive, this solution is built for you. No matter the size or complexity of your operations, Aptean EAM adapts to your needs with scalable features that grow alongside your business. With Aptean EAM, you’ll have the tools to optimize asset performance, streamline maintenance processes, and reduce costs—helping you stay competitive in asset-heavy industries. Want to see the Aptean EAM in action? Schedule your free no-obligation demo today. **Average Rating:** 4.0/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 3 **How Do G2 Users Rate Aptean EAM?** - **Ease of Use:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind Aptean EAM?** - **Seller:** [Aptean](https://www.g2.com/sellers/aptean) - **Year Founded:** 2012 - **HQ Location:** Alpharetta, Georgia - **Twitter:** @Aptean (1,626 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2681769/ (3,053 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Phone:** +1-770-351-9600 **Who Uses This Product?** - **Company Size:** 100% Small-Business #### What Are Aptean EAM's Pros and Cons? **Pros:** - Work Order Management (2 reviews) - Work Orders (2 reviews) - Asset Management (1 reviews) - Communication (1 reviews) - Downtime Reduction (1 reviews) **Cons:** - Poor Reporting (2 reviews) - Feature Limitations (1 reviews) - Poor Maintenance Management (1 reviews) ### 2. [Dynamic License Control](https://www.g2.com/products/dynamic-license-control/reviews) The 3rd generation of Dynamic License Control (DLC) provides transparency and helps optimise and measure your licenses directly in the webbrowser. Why DLC-Software Asset Management? - License compliance: Know more than SAP - Prevent expensive overlicensing - Transparent comparison of licensing usage vs. authorization - High level of automation and sensible utilization of valuable resources Advantages Dynamic License Control: - Seamless connection: Integration with any data source - Time saving: Rule-based summarization and dynamic evaluations - Customized, C-level ready dashboards: Connectivity to Power BI, QlikView and Tableau - Continuous monitoring and notifications - Avoidance of unnecessary costs **Who Is the Company Behind Dynamic License Control?** - **Seller:** [HONICO by Stonebranch](https://www.g2.com/sellers/honico-by-stonebranch) - **Year Founded:** 1999 - **HQ Location:** Hamburg, Hamburg - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2645376/ (9 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 3. [Ivanti Neurons for Spend Intelligence](https://www.g2.com/products/ivanti-neurons-for-spend-intelligence/reviews) Ivanti Neurons for Spend Intelligence provides instant insights into your software landscape and application spend for on-premise, cloud and edge environments. It helps you improve operational speed, asset visibility and utilization and cut costs. Obtain detailed analysis within minutes, presented in engaging dashboards of your licenses, purchases and instances so you can track your purchase history, upcoming license renewals, contract expirations and ongoing spend more effectively. **Average Rating:** 4.0/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 1 **How Do G2 Users Rate Ivanti Neurons for Spend Intelligence?** - **Ease of Use:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind Ivanti Neurons for Spend Intelligence?** - **Seller:** [Ivanti](https://www.g2.com/sellers/ivanti) - **Year Founded:** 1985 - **HQ Location:** South Jordan, UT - **Twitter:** @GoIvanti (6,774 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/15224185/ (2,968 employees on LinkedIn®) **Who Uses This Product?** - **Company Size:** 100% Mid-Market ### 4. [LicenseWatch SAM](https://www.g2.com/products/licensewatch-sam/reviews) The LicenseWatch SAM solution is the world leading software solution that helps organizations to save on their software license costs and to minimize compliance risks. It is extremely easy to use and quick to implement, providing fast Return on Investment (ROI) while the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is attractive for all sizes of organizations. **Who Is the Company Behind LicenseWatch SAM?** - **Seller:** [LicenseWatch A/S](https://www.g2.com/sellers/licensewatch-a-s) - **Year Founded:** 2002 - **HQ Location:** Søborg, DK - **LinkedIn® Page:** http://www.linkedin.com/company/licensewatch (5 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 5. [Origina](https://www.g2.com/products/origina/reviews) Founded in 2014, Origina is the only third-party provider of software support services for more than 800 IBM® Passport Advantage applications. Origina has helped over 100 organizations in 17 countries achieve significant savings in IBM software maintenance costs while extending the software’s lifecycle and improving its performance, stability, and security. Origina’s international team of independent Global IBM® Experts delivers responsive support and in-depth technical knowledge where companies need it most. **Who Is the Company Behind Origina?** - **Seller:** [Origina](https://www.g2.com/sellers/origina) - **Year Founded:** 2012 - **HQ Location:** Sandyford, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/origina/ (223 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 6. [Productiv](https://www.g2.com/products/productiv/reviews) Productiv is used by IT and security leaders who are expected to say “yes” to AI innovation while keeping company data safe, compliant, and in budget. AI is already inside your SaaS stack (you just can’t see it clearly). Productiv gives you a single system of record for all SaaS and AI usage so you can identify AI tools, understand how they use your data, and put real guardrails in place without slowing the business down. The platform pulls together SSO, expense, contracts, security signals, and usage analytics into one view of every application, feature, user, and team. That visibility powers workflows for renewals, license management, application requests, and AI risk reviews, so you can reduce shadow IT, manage AI responsibly, and control spend at the same time. **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 73 **How Do G2 Users Rate Productiv?** - **Ease of Use:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind Productiv?** - **Seller:** [Productiv, Inc.](https://www.g2.com/sellers/productiv-inc) - **Company Website:** https://www.productiv.com - **HQ Location:** Palo Alto, California - **Twitter:** @productiv_inc (277 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/productiv/about (135 employees on LinkedIn®) **Who Uses This Product?** - **Top Industries:** Computer Software, Information Technology and Services - **Company Size:** 60% Enterprise, 37% Mid-Market #### What Are Productiv's Pros and Cons? **Pros:** - Ease of Use (18 reviews) - SaaS Management (17 reviews) - Features (16 reviews) - Application Integration (14 reviews) - Data Analytics (13 reviews) **Cons:** - Missing Features (8 reviews) - Poor Reporting (6 reviews) - Limited Customization (5 reviews) - App Functionality Issues (4 reviews) - Limited Integration (4 reviews) ### 7. [software through the legal secondary market](https://www.g2.com/products/software-through-the-legal-secondary-market/reviews) We reveal licensing options that vendors often hide. Most organizations are sitting on 30% of their software budget that can be reduced without any loss of features. **Who Is the Company Behind software through the legal secondary market?** - **Seller:** [Forscope](https://www.g2.com/sellers/forscope) - **HQ Location:** Brno, CZ - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/forscope/ (44 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 8. [Upland ComSci](https://www.g2.com/products/upland-comsci/reviews) Upland ComSci helps enterprise organizations see the total cost of IT and related projects to refocus budgets and get more done. The solution equips customers around the world with the right data, visibility, and analytical capabilities to make smarter decisions. Customers love Upland ComSci for its informed IT financial planning, augmenting your team, orchestrating the full technology portfolio. Learn more at www.uplandsoftware.com/comsci/ **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 24 **How Do G2 Users Rate Upland ComSci?** - **Ease of Use:** 9.0/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind Upland ComSci?** - **Seller:** [Upland Software](https://www.g2.com/sellers/upland-software) - **Year Founded:** 2010 - **HQ Location:** Austin, TX - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/3139095/ (823 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Ownership:** NASDAQ:UPLD - **Total Revenue (USD mm):** $291 **Who Uses This Product?** - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software - **Company Size:** 75% Mid-Market, 17% Enterprise #### What Are Upland ComSci's Pros and Cons? **Pros:** - Ease of Use (4 reviews) - Time-saving (3 reviews) - Useful (2 reviews) - Asset Management (1 reviews) - Automation (1 reviews) **Cons:** - Connection Issues (2 reviews) - Access Management (1 reviews) - Poor Integration (1 reviews) - Poor Reporting (1 reviews) - Slow Performance (1 reviews) ### 9. [USU Software Asset Management](https://www.g2.com/products/usu-usu-software-asset-management/reviews) delivers 100% license visibility across hybrid environments, covering on-prem vendors and BYOL in the cloud. Enterprises reduce costs by up to 30% through removal or downgrading of unused licenses and stay audit-ready with accurate usage and entitlement insights. Our scalable, enterprise-ready platform offers automation, optimization and decision support, interactive dashboards and full digital sovereignty — hosted in the USU cloud, customer cloud or on-prem. **Who Is the Company Behind USU Software Asset Management?** - **Seller:** [USU](https://www.g2.com/sellers/usu) - **Year Founded:** 2000 - **HQ Location:** Boston, MA - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/usu-solutions-en/00137992 (201 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Ownership:** ETR: OSP2 ### 10. [Zionit Software Asset Management](https://www.g2.com/products/zionit-software-asset-management/reviews) Software Asset Management (SAM) is a structured approach to discovering, managing, and optimizing software assets throughout their lifecycle—from procurement and deployment to renewal and retirement. It provides organizations with complete visibility into their software environment, including installed applications, SaaS tools, and license usage. By tracking entitlements and actual usage, SAM helps ensure compliance with vendor agreements, reduces risks of audits and penalties, and prevents unnecessary spending. Modern SAM solutions leverage automation and AI-driven insights to identify unused or underutilized licenses, optimize software allocation, and support better decision-making. This enables organizations to control costs, improve efficiency, and maximize the return on software investments while maintaining continuous compliance. **Who Is the Company Behind Zionit Software Asset Management?** - **Seller:** [Zionit Software](https://www.g2.com/sellers/zionit-software) - **Year Founded:** 2016 - **HQ Location:** Pune, IN - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/zionit-software/ (13 employees on LinkedIn®) ## What Is Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools? [IT Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/it-management) ## What Software Categories Are Similar to Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools? - [SaaS Management Platforms (SMP)](https://www.g2.com/categories/saas-management-platforms-(smp)) - [SaaS Spend Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/saas-spend-management) - [IT Asset Management Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/it-asset-management) --- ## How Do You Choose the Right Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools? ### What You Should Know About Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools ### What are Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools? Software asset management (SAM) tools allow businesses to manage the software licenses used across their company. These tools have traditionally supported on-premises software license management, but many tools also support SaaS assets, as well. Software asset management software helps companies monitor and manage software deployment, software licenses, license compliance, and ultimately license spend for all end users involved in the application. The primary use case of SAM is to keep the business compliant as software vendors don’t want the business using more of their software than they purchased or licensed. Vendors often conduct software compliance audits to ensure companies use the specific application correctly. If they are not compliant, a fee or penalty may incur. An excellent SAM practice prevents vendor audits and penalties.  SAM tools discover on-premises software by scanning databases, system logs, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications. This not only shows the software used, but it also prevents unsanctioned software use, known as shadow IT, since it uncovers unreported software. After the discovery, SAM tracks the software compliance with metrics like renewal dates, the maximum number of users and devices, etc. SAM software will go through a normalization process that pulls these metrics out of contracts. Normalization can be partially automated, but due to the complexity of software contracts, manual entry may still be necessary for accuracy. After all key fields are pulled and tracked, SAM tools visualize the metrics and software usage to check for compliance. This visualization informs companies if there are any overuse cases so they can act early to avoid penalties.  Additionally, companies can make the most of their tech stack by ensuring every application is being utilized correctly and not paying for unused licenses. A visualization of usage ensures companies that their money is being spent most efficiently. **What Does SAM Stand For?** SAM stands for software asset management. It is a business practice for software compliance and procurement. SAM software does most of the heavy lifting by discovering software, tracking licenses, and visualizing usage data. Some SAM software also tracks SaaS and cloud applications, but they focus more on usage optimization than compliance. ### What are the Common Features of Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools? The following are some core features within SAM tools that can help users in monitoring software compliance, tracking usage data, and preventing vendor audits: **Software discovery:** A software management tool maintains a centralized software database. It should automatically discover and document software used on company devices. Manual entry at scale is impractical because it is too time-consuming and inaccurate. **Usage visualization:** SAM tools should track software usage from the time of procurement to their disposal. By monitoring usage by users, central IT can make important purchasing and license allocation decisions based on who is overusing or underusing the software in real time. **Alerting:** Once there is an overused case or expiring license, the system should alert the IT manager. Without this functionality, IT managers cannot discontinue or adjust software license agreements on time. Therefore, SAM plays a critical role in the IT service management (ITSM) and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) processes. **Compliance documentation:** A software license agreement can be extremely complex. To document these compliance requirements, SAM tools should document the specific metrics and conditions in its database from the agreements. SAM experts would need to input this information into a centralized SAM database for any SAM tools to work. ### What are the Benefits of Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools? **Cost saving:** SAM gives companies a usage view of their software estate. This allows companies to cut underused licenses in vendor negotiations, saving them an average of 10-20% on software spending.  **Improves vendor relationship:** Vendors are less likely to perform an audit if they are informed of their client’s license entitlements. Suspicious software licensing changes are the top reason why vendors conduct audits. Constant auditing and frequent penalties waste time and deteriorate client relationships. Companies lower software audit risk by informing vendors on license changes, headcount changes, usage data, etc. **Prevents shadow IT:** Shadow IT is when employees secretly procure their desired hardware or software. There are security risks associated with unknown software, but there is also the threat of non-compliance. Unapproved software, which is therefore not covered by an organization’s license terms, could trigger a software vendor audit. SAM tools should tackle red tape, long delays, and missed requests from employees so they are less likely to procure unauthorized software.  ### Who Uses Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools? **IT managers:** The primary users of this software are IT managers. They are responsible for setting up the SAM tool and tracking all the software. SAM tools also enable them to negotiate better terms with vendors by identifying their real software requirements.  **Finance teams:** Finance teams can determine how many software licenses they can cut based on usage. This also provides them with a clear understanding of software costs in budget planning. #### Software Related to Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools [IT asset management software](https://www.g2.com/categories/it-asset-management): IT asset management (ITAM) software helps users document their IT hardware and software inventory. SAM is a part of the ITAM process since it only manages software inventory. [SaaS operations management software](https://www.g2.com/categories/saas-operations-management): SaaS operations management, or SaaSOps, is a process of managing, governing, and securing SaaS products within a business. This is similar to SAM but it mostly covers cloud applications. Some vendors today offer comprehensive tools that manage both SAM and SaaSOps practices.  ### Challenges with Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools **Data normalization:** Data normalization is part of the SAM automation process that identifies and formats key data from application codes. Normalization turns unstructured data into readable metrics to show compliance status and usage information. SAM tools automate this process with the correct configuration. The challenge is that it is time-consuming to set up the correct metrics (what is the limit for per device, per user, etc.) with complex software contracts. To correctly identify all the metrics, the legal, finance, and IT teams should work together for an extended period. Companies with new SAM processes should aim for a few critical software licenses to start. **Data integration:** Not all applications can be integrated with every SAM tool. Some SAM vendors offer specific SAM tools for leading vendors such as Microsoft, while some SAM vendors claim to offer all-in-one solutions for all applications. Companies should review their requirements and ask vendors to demonstrate whether or not their tools can integrate specific applications. ### Which Companies Should Buy Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools? **Enterprise** : Companies with 500 or more employees should consider buying SAM tools. Manual software license tracking is difficult with this many employees, typically enterprise businesses will hire license management solution companies to facilitate this task. Vendors also actively target enterprises for vendor audits, making them more likely to receive penalties.  ### How to Buy Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools #### Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools Whether a company is looking for its first SAM software or trying to replace an existing one, g2.com can help find the best tool. The company’s needs when searching for SAM software often relate to specifically desired data and metrics. For example, the user may be most interested in monitoring their software usage. Buyers should make a ranked list of the SAM features that most directly address the problems they’re trying to solve, then reference G2 reviews to find the right fit. Prioritizing the desired feature set can help narrow down the potential pool of SAM solutions, allowing teams to then apply further considerations for budget, ease of integration with other systems, security requirements, and more. This holistic approach empowers buyers to move forward with a focused checklist, which can be used in conjunction with G2 scoring to select the best SAM product for the business. #### Compare Software Asset Management (SAM) Products **Create a long list** When searching for SAM software, companies need to identify compatibility with existing ERP, HR, and other business management software. Buyers should make a list of important existing software that needs to be integrated, then filter out the SAM tools that can’t be integrated with existing software. **Create a short list** It helps to cross-reference the results of initial vendor evaluations with G2 reviews from other buyers, the combination of which will help to narrow in on a short three to five-product list. From there, buyers can compare pricing and features to determine the best fit. Some vendors don’t charge implementation costs while some do.  **Conduct demos** As a rule of thumb, companies should make sure to demo all of the products that end up on their short list. During demos, buyers should ask specific questions related to the functionalities they care most about; for example, one might ask to be walked through a typical performance issue from alerting to license reconciliation within the SAM tool.  #### Selection of Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools **Choose a selection team** Regardless of a company’s size, it’s important to involve the most relevant personas when beginning the SAM software selection process. Larger companies may include SAM specialists, procurement teams, IT managers, and developers who will be working with the software most closely. Smaller companies with fewer employees might just need IT managers to fill the role. **Negotiation** Many vendors offer full software license platforms that go beyond SAM (on-premises) to include SaaS license management and spending platforms. While some companies will not budge on the configurations of their packages, buyers looking to trim costs should try to negotiate down to the specific functions that matter to them to get the best price. For example, a vendor’s pricing page where SAM functionality is only included with a robust all-in-one monitoring package, whereas a sales conversation may prove otherwise.  **Final decision** After this stage, it is important to perform a trial run if possible with a small selection of IT professionals or developers. This will help to ensure that the SAM software of choice integrates well with an IT administrator’s systems setup or a developer’s day-to-day work. If the SAM tool is well-liked and well-utilized, the buyer can take that as a sign that their selection is the right one. If not, looking back at the other options may be necessary.