# Best Enterprise Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools *By [Tian Lin](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/tian-lin)* Products classified in the overall Software Asset Management Tools category are similar in many regards and help companies of all sizes solve their business problems. However, enterprise business features, pricing, setup, and installation differ from businesses of other sizes, which is why we match buyers to the right Enterprise Business Software Asset Management Tools to fit their needs. Compare product ratings based on reviews from enterprise users or connect with one of G2's buying advisors to find the right solutions within the Enterprise Business Software Asset Management Tools category. In addition to qualifying for inclusion in the Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools category, to qualify for inclusion in the Enterprise Business Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools category, a product must have at least 10 reviews left by a reviewer from an enterprise business. ## How Many Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools Products Does G2 Track? **Total Products under this Category:** 60 ## 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? - **Best for Small Businesses:** [Alloy Navigator](https://www.g2.com/products/alloy-navigator/reviews) - **Best for Mid-Market:** [AssetSonar](https://www.g2.com/products/ezo-assetsonar/reviews) - **Best for Enterprise:** [FlexNet Manager](https://www.g2.com/products/flexnet-manager/reviews) - **Highest User Satisfaction:** [CloudEagle](https://www.g2.com/products/cloudeagle/reviews) - **Best Free Software:** [Zluri](https://www.g2.com/products/zluri/reviews) --- **Sponsored** ### Asato Asato is an IT asset optimization platform designed to assist Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and IT leaders in managing and enhancing their IT asset portfolios. This solution focuses on optimizing the entire IT asset estate through continuous discovery and AI-driven execution, aiming to eliminate waste, capture value, and maximize the return on investment (ROI) of IT expenditures across various domains, including Software as a Service (SaaS), hardware, and cloud infrastructure. The platform serves a diverse audience, particularly organizations looking to streamline their IT operations and improve asset management. Asato is particularly beneficial for enterprises that operate in complex environments with multiple IT systems and assets. By unifying data from disparate sources into a connected knowledge layer, Asato provides actionable insights that facilitate risk and compliance analysis, cost optimization, and proactive decision-making support for IT operations. This holistic approach enables organizations to align their technology strategies with overarching business objectives. One of the standout features of Asato is its ability to deliver unified visibility and management of IT assets across various platforms, including SaaS, hardware, and cloud services. This comprehensive visibility allows organizations to monitor and manage their assets effectively, ensuring that resources are utilized efficiently and that potential issues are identified before they escalate. Additionally, the platform leverages AI to provide powerful insights that drive cost optimization and enhance operational efficiency, making it easier for IT leaders to make informed decisions. Asato also emphasizes risk and compliance monitoring, which is crucial in today's digital landscape. By continuously assessing digital assets for compliance with regulatory requirements and organizational policies, the platform helps mitigate risks associated with IT asset management. Furthermore, real-time analytics and decision support capabilities empower IT leaders to adapt their strategies dynamically, ensuring that they remain responsive to changing business needs and technological advancements. Overall, Asato stands out in the IT asset optimization category by combining advanced AI technologies with a comprehensive approach to asset management. Its focus on delivering actionable insights, risk mitigation, and operational efficiency positions it as a valuable tool for organizations aiming to enhance their IT asset management practices and drive better business outcomes. [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=1717718&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%3Fpage%3D3&secure%5Btoken%5D=9625aef3d2b2cefb7610394a829d44b0bc27695e4cd514669c5064106b3ca826&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asato.ai&secure%5Burl_type%5D=book_demo) --- ## What Are the Top-Rated Software Asset Management (SAM) Tools Products in 2026? ### 1. [FlexNet Manager](https://www.g2.com/products/flexnet-manager/reviews) Software is one of the major items on any IT expense budget. Industry analysts estimate software license and maintenance fees represent 20 to 35% of total enterprise IT spend. The approach for managing a software asset portfolio is typically inefficient, relying on a local approach instead of a global one, and frequently involves spreadsheets or other ad hoc methods. The lack of efficient software asset management processes exposes enterprises to software audit liabilities and overspending on licenses and maintenance. Flexera FlexNet Manager software and IT asset management solutions manage and optimize enterprise software regardless of location, from the desktop to the data center to the cloud. We'll give your organization a growth path and roadmap for success. Manage and reduce spend on applications from Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, VMware, Symantec and SAP. Flexnet Manager Suite for Clients: Optimize your software licenses across desktops, laptops, and other client devices. FlexNet Manager for Clients automatically applies product use rights acquired through software license agreements from desktop vendors such as Adobe, Microsoft and Symantec. Product use rights can dramatically affect the number of licenses consumed by an organization, and must therefore be considered to minimize costs and ensure license compliance. Flexnet Manager Suite for Data Centers: It's difficult to know what’s happening across your data centers–until now. No matter what your challenges, FlexNet Manager for Data Centers can help you get control. You get visibility and insight for all your assets with our powerful, easy-to-use, role-based Data Analytics Dashboards. Flexnet Manager Suite for SAP Applications: Managing SAP® licenses can require significant time and effort. It's difficult to get an accurate handle on license requirements and position. And not knowing what applications are indirectly accessing SAP data can cost you big time. We’ll help you navigate SAP for business success. Flexnet Manager Suite for Engineering Apps: Concurrent licenses can be challenging to manage. But managing them effectively is essential for engineering and design applications. License denials can lead to project delays, lost revenue and decreased customer satisfaction. Lack of visibility can cause still more problems. FlexNet Manager for Engineering Applications delivers a comprehensive solution. **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 62 **How Do G2 Users Rate FlexNet Manager?** - **Automated end user license provisioning:** 6.9/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customized alerts:** 7.9/10 (Category avg: 8.6/10) - **Approved app catalogue:** 7.5/10 (Category avg: 8.4/10) - **Ease of Use:** 7.9/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind FlexNet Manager?** - **Seller:** [Flexera](https://www.g2.com/sellers/flexera) - **Year Founded:** 2008 - **HQ Location:** Itasca, IL - **Twitter:** @flexera (4,733 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/574962/ (2,045 employees on LinkedIn®) **Who Uses This Product?** - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Telecommunications - **Company Size:** 84% Enterprise, 9% Mid-Market #### What Are FlexNet Manager's Pros and Cons? **Pros:** - Asset Management (8 reviews) - Integrations (6 reviews) - Customer Support (5 reviews) - Ease of Use (5 reviews) - Features (5 reviews) **Cons:** - Complexity (9 reviews) - Difficult Setup (7 reviews) - Learning Curve (6 reviews) - App Functionality Issues (4 reviews) - Complex Interface (3 reviews) ### 2. [ServiceNow Software Asset Management](https://www.g2.com/products/servicenow-software-asset-management/reviews) Track and manage software licenses across the enterprise from a unified platform. Reduce costs, stay compliant, and align use to business need. SAM runs on the Now Platform®, a single system of action for the enterprise. **Average Rating:** 4.4/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 46 **How Do G2 Users Rate ServiceNow Software Asset Management?** - **Automated end user license provisioning:** 7.8/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customized alerts:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.6/10) - **Approved app catalogue:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 8.4/10) - **Ease of Use:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind ServiceNow Software Asset Management?** - **Seller:** [ServiceNow](https://www.g2.com/sellers/servicenow) - **Year Founded:** 2004 - **HQ Location:** Santa Clara, CA - **Twitter:** @servicenow (54,866 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/29352/ (32,701 employees on LinkedIn®) - **Ownership:** NYSE:NOW **Who Uses This Product?** - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software - **Company Size:** 75% Enterprise, 25% Mid-Market #### What Are ServiceNow Software Asset Management's Pros and Cons? **Pros:** - Ease of Use (4 reviews) - Interface Usability (2 reviews) - Tracking Performance (2 reviews) - User Interface (2 reviews) - Customer Support (1 reviews) **Cons:** - Access Issues (1 reviews) - Connectivity Issues (1 reviews) - Difficult Navigation (1 reviews) - Integration Issues (1 reviews) - Mobile Compatibility (1 reviews) ### 3. [Zluri](https://www.g2.com/products/zluri/reviews) Zluri is a next-gen Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) platform that enables IT and security teams to discover identities and applications, streamline access management, and automate access reviews, all from a single, intuitive interface. Zluri helps organizations automate critical access controls mandated by SOX, HIPAA, SOC 2, and more, ensuring the right people have the right access to the right applications at the right time, with minimal time and manual effort. **Average Rating:** 4.6/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 174 **How Do G2 Users Rate Zluri?** - **Automated end user license provisioning:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customized alerts:** 9.3/10 (Category avg: 8.6/10) - **Approved app catalogue:** 9.2/10 (Category avg: 8.4/10) - **Ease of Use:** 8.9/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind Zluri?** - **Seller:** [Zluri](https://www.g2.com/sellers/zluri) - **Company Website:** https://www.zluri.com/ - **Year Founded:** 2020 - **HQ Location:** San Franscisco, California - **Twitter:** @zluri_hq (225 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/zluri/ (270 employees on LinkedIn®) **Who Uses This Product?** - **Who Uses This:** IT Manager - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services, Computer Software - **Company Size:** 66% Mid-Market, 23% Enterprise #### What Are Zluri's Pros and Cons? **Pros:** - Automation (12 reviews) - Ease of Use (12 reviews) - Time-saving (11 reviews) - Customer Support (9 reviews) - Features (9 reviews) **Cons:** - Limited Integrations (8 reviews) - Integration Issues (7 reviews) - Limited Features (7 reviews) - Missing Features (5 reviews) - Small Business Challenges (5 reviews) ### 4. [USU](https://www.g2.com/products/usu/reviews) USU is an IT Management software provider headquartered in Boston, MA, specializing in solutions designed to enhance operational efficiency and financial management for mid-market and enterprise organizations across North America and Europe. The company's offerings are tailored to meet the specific needs of various stakeholder groups within IT, Finance, Procurement, Customer Service, and Cloud Operations. By providing system-wide visibility and reducing costs, USU empowers organizations to navigate the complexities of hybrid and multi-cloud environments effectively. Our Product Suite: - IT Asset Management - SaaS Management - Multicloud Monitoring - FinOps - Customer Service Knowledge Management IT Asset Management The product suite includes standalone solutions that address critical operational and financial challenges faced by modern IT departments. For instance, USU IT Asset Management (ITAM) offers comprehensive visibility and control over software licensing and cloud entitlements. With features such as deep vendor optimization intelligence and seamless integration with ServiceNow, organizations can typically reduce software overspend by up to 30%, mitigate audit risks, and enhance negotiation outcomes. This solution is particularly beneficial for IT departments seeking to streamline their asset management processes. SaaS Management USU SaaS Management is a purpose-built solution that gives organizations complete visibility and control over their SaaS ecosystem. It helps IT, Finance, and Procurement teams reduce costs, improve governance, and streamline renewals by identifying underused, redundant, or unauthorized applications. Key Capabilities: \>\> Auto-discover all SaaS apps, including shadow IT \>\> Monitor usage to eliminate underused licenses \>\> Centralize renewals and contract data \>\> Control access and enforce policies Proven Results: \>\> Save 15–25% on SaaS spend \>\> Reduce tool sprawl and shadow IT \>\> Improve SaaS governance and renewal outcomes Multicloud Monitoring | Observability USU Multicloud Monitoring further enhances operational capabilities by offering real-time visibility into applications, services, and infrastructure. With AIOps-driven event correlation and automated root cause analysis, IT Operations and Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) teams can resolve incidents more swiftly and prevent outages, thereby minimizing user impact. FinOps USU FinOps brings financial visibility and accountability to your cloud environment. It helps teams optimize usage, control budgets, and drive cost-aware decision-making across AWS, Azure, GCP, and hybrid clouds. Key Capabilities: \>\> Real-time cloud cost tracking \>\> Budgeting, forecasting, and alerts \>\> Identify and eliminate idle resources \>\> Enable showback and chargeback Proven Results: \>\> Cut cloud waste by 20–50% \>\> Improve budget accuracy \>\> Align finance and engineering teams Customer Service Knowledge Management USU also provides Customer Service Knowledge Management (CSKM), which enhances support efficiency through an AI-assisted knowledge platform. This tool ensures that content remains consistent and easily maintainable, resulting in reduced handling times and improved customer satisfaction (CSAT) across contact centers and service desks. Overall, USU's solutions focus on delivering practical ROI and measurable efficiency gains. By combining advanced software capabilities with expert advisory support, USU enables organizations to reduce costs, improve performance, and operate confidently in complex IT environments. Trusted by Fortune 500 companies and recognized in multiple Gartner Market Guides, USU is committed to fostering partnerships that ensure customers achieve and sustain meaningful results across their entire IT landscape. **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 50 **How Do G2 Users Rate USU?** - **Automated end user license provisioning:** 8.2/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customized alerts:** 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.6/10) - **Approved app catalogue:** 8.8/10 (Category avg: 8.4/10) - **Ease of Use:** 8.3/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind USU?** - **Seller:** [USU](https://www.g2.com/sellers/usu) - **Company Website:** https://www.usu.com - **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 **Who Uses This Product?** - **Top Industries:** Consumer Services, Computer Software - **Company Size:** 55% Enterprise, 29% Small-Business #### What Are USU's Pros and Cons? **Pros:** - Ease of Use (5 reviews) - Product Quality (5 reviews) - Data Management (4 reviews) - Integrations (3 reviews) - Monitoring (3 reviews) **Cons:** - Complex Configuration (2 reviews) - Inadequate Reporting (1 reviews) - Integration Issues (1 reviews) - Limited Automation (1 reviews) - Limited Customization (1 reviews) ### 5. [Snow Commander](https://www.g2.com/products/snow-commander/reviews) Snow Software is changing the way organizations understand and manage their technology consumption. Our technology intelligence platform provides comprehensive visibility and contextual insight across software, SaaS, hardware and cloud. With Snow, IT leaders can effectively optimize resources, enhance performance and enable operational agility in a hybrid world. **Average Rating:** 4.2/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 20 **How Do G2 Users Rate Snow Commander?** - **Automated end user license provisioning:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.5/10) - **Customized alerts:** 10.0/10 (Category avg: 8.6/10) - **Approved app catalogue:** 9.6/10 (Category avg: 8.4/10) - **Ease of Use:** 8.1/10 (Category avg: 9.1/10) **Who Is the Company Behind Snow Commander?** - **Seller:** [Flexera](https://www.g2.com/sellers/flexera) - **Year Founded:** 2008 - **HQ Location:** Itasca, IL - **Twitter:** @flexera (4,733 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/574962/ (2,045 employees on LinkedIn®) **Who Uses This Product?** - **Top Industries:** Information Technology and Services - **Company Size:** 59% Enterprise, 36% Mid-Market #### What Are Snow Commander's Pros and Cons? **Pros:** - Automation (3 reviews) - Compliance Management (3 reviews) - Control (3 reviews) - Ease of Use (3 reviews) - Efficiency (3 reviews) **Cons:** - Complexity (3 reviews) - Learning Curve (3 reviews) - Time-Consumption (3 reviews) - Complex Configuration (2 reviews) - Complex Reporting (2 reviews) ## 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.