IT Asset Management (ITAM) & Software License Compliance

Optimizing Software Spend and Ensuring License Compliance
Role: ServiceNow ITAM Consultant / Specialist

A large financial services company was facing significant financial penalties due to software non-compliance (e.g., using more Adobe licenses than purchased) and was overspending on unused software. Their hardware asset tracking was manual, leading to missing laptops and ghost assets in their financial records.

WHAT WE DECIDED UPON:

Implement Software Asset Management (SAM Pro) and streamline Hardware Asset Management (HAM) to gain full visibility into software usage, ensure license compliance, and optimize hardware asset lifecycles from procurement to disposal.

ACTION:

1. Discovery Integration: Integrated Discovery and existing SCCM data to populate the CMDB with accurate hardware and software installation records.

2. SAM Pro Implementation: Configured Software Publishers (e.g., Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe) and created License Entitlements to establish a baseline of owned licenses.

3. Reconciliation & Optimization: Ran Software Reconciliation to identify compliance gaps and underutilized software. Developed Optimization Circles to reclaim unused licenses.

4. Hardware Lifecycle Automation: Automated Hardware Asset States (e.g., In Stock, In Use, In Repair, Retired) using Flow Designer to trigger tasks for procurement, deployment, and disposal.

5. Cost Savings Reporting: Built a custom Performance Analytics dashboard to track potential savings from software reclamation and hardware redeployment.

RESULT :

Compliance: Achieved 99% software license compliance, mitigating audit risks and preventing an estimated $1.5M in potential penalties.

Cost Savings: Identified and reclaimed $750,000 in annual software spend by optimizing license allocations.

Efficiency: Reduced hardware "ghost assets" by 20%, improving inventory accuracy and financial reporting.