Almost every employee in a company has a computer and uses software provided by their company, whether on premises or in the cloud. SAM is the movement or tool used to help IT oversee and control software assets from a physical, financial and contractual perspective. In addition to managing software distribution and usage, this discipline includes lifecycle processes, policy monitoring, and governance and enforcement. 

The benefits of having a single, centralized SAM include the cost savings created from consolidated enterprise-wide buy-and-use contracts (instead of ad hoc purchase), reduced risk by ensuring license compliance, and reduced spending with underutilized applications. 

SAM technology automates much of the manual and error-prone processes such as spreadsheets, email and siled contract information.