Software Asset Management (SAM)Audit and Consulting Services.
Why managing you Software Assets properly is inportant?
Software is one of the largest items in any IT budget, and without proper control it quickly becomes a source of inefficiency. Typical challenges include:
- paying for unused licenses and subscriptions;
- extending support for products no longer in use;
- licensing based on incorrect metrics (cores, processors, users, VMs), leading to overspending;
- vendor audits by Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, or IBM uncovering compliance gaps and triggering significant financial claims;
- IT budgets that are difficult to forecast and justify to management.
All these issues directly impact financial results and create legal and reputational risks.
What is a SAM audit?
A SAM audit is a structured assessment of a company’s software portfolio and licensing compliance. It includes a full inventory of installed and used software, comparison against entitlements and contracts, and validation against vendor licensing requirements.
The most common challenges arise with Microsoft (Windows, SQL, Office) and Oracle (Database, Java, Middleware), where licensing rules are complex, and the risk of unexpected costs is high.
The primary objective of a SAM audit is to identify compliance gaps and overspending, evaluate financial exposure in case of an external audit, and provide actionable recommendations for cost optimization.
Why to involve SAM experts?
Even large IT departments rarely have deep knowledge of vendor licensing policies. Teams are overloaded with operational tasks, while the complexity of licensing models from Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and IBM demands specialized expertise. As a result, companies overspend on licenses, maintain unnecessary support agreements, and remain vulnerable to vendor claims.
Engaging SAM consultants helps to:
- leverage expertise in vendor licensing models and avoid common mistakes;
- prepare for external audits and reduce the likelihood of penalties or unplanned costs;
- establish a transparent licensing framework that makes budgets more predictable and sustainable.
What does a SAM audit include?
- Software inventory.
- Collecting data on installed and actively used software across servers and desktops. In many cases, data already persists in systems like Microsoft SCCM or other infrastructure management systems, such as a CMDB (i.e. Device42) or a specialized ITAM tool (i.e. Flexera One, Snow Software).
- Data collection if missing.
- Where no reliable data source is available, we gather information independently, using open-source tools or our inventory solutions from our portfolio.
- License and contract review.
- Analyzing active agreements (Enterprise Agreements, SaaS subscriptions, etc.) and comparing them with actual usage.
- Compliance analysis.
- Verifying the correct application of licensing rules across key metrics (cores, processors, VMs, users) and alignment with vendor requirements.
- Risk assessment.
- Highlighting areas of non-compliance and estimating potential financial exposure and penalties in case of an external audit.
- Optimization recommendations.
- Proposals for reallocating licenses, retiring unused products, or switching to more cost-efficient licensing models.
- Reporting and next steps.
- Delivering a detailed report that can be used to update existing systems or define requirements for a new solution. Where appropriate, we recommend and implement advanced platforms such as Snow or Flexera to strengthen ongoing license management.
- Vendor audit support.
- Providing advisory services throughout vendor-led audits, from building evidence to supporting negotiations and resolution.
Synta brings deep expertise in ITAM and SAM, gained through years of working with companies across different industries and markets as well as major software vendors. We understand where licensing mistakes typically occur, how to minimize financial and legal risks, and how to turn audit results into a foundation for long-term cost optimization.
