Software is a resource that companies must manage just like employees. With hundreds of apps and complex contracts to match, it’s no simple task. Over the years, the discipline of Software Asset Management emerged. And with it came SAM tools, designed to automate the core processes of SAM. In this article, we’re talking about SAM tools: how they’ve been mis-marketed, what they’re good for, and whether they’re suitable tools for reducing software costs. Let’s dive in!
What is a SAM Tool?
Back in the day, software asset managers had to inventory, track, and measure software using manual methods, like reconciling purchase orders in Excel spreadsheets. Over time, tools were developed to make inventory and reconciliation automatic and seamless.
A SAM tool is a software solution used to manage, control, and protect an organization's software assets throughout their lifecycle. It helps with tasks like tracking software usage, managing licenses, ensuring compliance, and providing data on software-related costs.
These tools use various methods to detect software usage (whether in web browsers or on-premises) to track both active usage and total run time, inventory the software name and publisher, and allow companies to manually upload contract information and regional pricing. The result? A comprehensive picture of their software estate.
The Truth About SAM Tools That Vendors Aren’t Telling You
SAM tools are often marketed as a way to improve compliance or save money. But based on the hundreds of companies we’ve worked with worldwide (and the decades of combined licensing expertise between our specialists) that simply isn’t the case.
If it were, then:
The truth is: SAM tools are data-gathering programs (albeit highly advanced and accurate ones). They're designed to deliver clarity, not savings.
That said, outcomes like cost savings or compliance improvements can happen, but only when you understand what SAM tools can do, and what they can’t.
Their core functionality is to provide data. What you do with that data (how, when, and whether it leads to meaningful and lasting change) comes down to how people use the tool.
That being said, we’re absolutely pro–SAM tool and pro–data. So, let’s take a look at what SAM tools do well.
What Can SAM Tools Do Well?
SAM tools are incredibly advanced, and market leaders are now leveraging AI to make them even more powerful. Here are a few high-value functions SAM tools excel at.
Software Visibility
SAM tools help companies detect what software is being used—whether they knew about it or not. Some studies estimate that up to 40% of IT spend goes to shadow IT. Visibility is the critical foundation upon which any rationalization or consolidation efforts must be built.
Usage Insight
SAM tools also help detect users and estimate their actual usage of applications. Surveys suggest companies don’t use up to 53% of the SaaS licenses they purchase. Detecting this is a huge opportunity to cut costs.
Not all SAM tools are equal here. Legacy tools may only track total usage (including idle tabs), while modern tools reveal active usage—the actual time users engage with an app.
This insight powers Persona Modelling: identifying light or inactive users, and adjusting their licenses accordingly (e.g., downgrading an M365 E3 to F3 for a user who rarely uses premium features).
Risk Mapping
SAM tools can be strong allies in compliance risk mapping. A good tool helps you compare software usage against license entitlements, identifying areas of over- or under-licensing. This enables smarter, more focused optimization efforts.
Reporting
As data-gathering tools, SAM platforms excel at reporting the current state of your software environment. These insights are critical for understanding your “where we are now,” so you can build a realistic “where we want to be” strategy.
Bottom line: SAM tools deliver clarity. What you do with that clarity is what drives real-world results.
The Gaps SAM Tools Leave
Clarity is a fantastic first step. But many companies with SAM tools still don’t achieve the savings or compliance outcomes they expect.
Why? Because SAM tools are often mis-marketed as solutions that deliver value, when in reality, they enable value only if you know how to act on what they reveal. Here are the key gaps SAM tools don’t fill.
Vendor-Specific Licensing Knowledge
SAM tools are like encyclopaedias of your software environment. They’ll tell you what’s installed, what version, and who’s using what.
But when it comes to understanding your Microsoft EA renewal, interpreting Oracle’s latest audit tactics, or navigating licensing changes from SAP, SAM tools leave you in the dark.
This is where vendor-specific expertise turns raw data into strategic action.
Commercial Negotiation Strategies
Renewals are more than a data exercise. They’re an art form, requiring negotiation expertise.
While accurate usage data helps, effective negotiation - securing concessions, discounts, or value-adds - requires human strategy, not just software output.
Audit Defence
A SAM tool can help prepare for an audit by highlighting risks. But surviving an audit? That requires an experienced audit-defence strategy, shaped by deep knowledge of vendor-specific tactics and likely outcomes.
Change Management
Forrester found 70% of software projects fail due to lack of user acceptance. This applies to SAM tool rollouts, too. At 2Data, we focus heavily on the change management aspect of optimization efforts. This includes workshops, continuous knowledge sharing and enablement to ensure that tools aren’t just utilized properly, but that the strategy and purpose behind data analysis methods is clear.
Internal Enablement
SAM tools offer rich data, but if no one knows how to interpret or act on it, the tool becomes a passive system. Ask any SAM manager who’s been thrown into a new tool to “drive ROI”.
Enablement (training, knowledge sharing, support) is key to unlocking real results. Without it, software spend can continue climbing despite having “all the data.” This is incredibly frustrating for internal teams under a lot of pressure, and enablement either internally or through a partner is a means to build lasting resources within your team to leverage all the tools at hand effectively to drive results. It should also go beyond just SAM tool knowledge to include licensing and vendor-specific knowledge, negotiation strategies, benchmarking data, audit and renewal enablement, and so much more.
How to Get the Most from Your Software Tooling
When it comes down to it, having a SAM tool is better than not. But to get real value, it’s crucial to understand what it can and cannot do.
Too many teams are frustrated (and too much money is lost) because of mismatched expectations. Companies can spend YEARS spinning their wheels with new tool after new tool, wondering why the ROI just isn't there.
At 2Data, we help companies, whether they have a SAM tool or not, bring data to life through our proven methodology. Our experts are trained across multiple platforms, but more importantly, we bridge the gaps with:
If you want to get more from all the data sitting in your SAM tool, we’d love to show you what’s possible. Companies using our methodology reduce contract costs by 32% on average (if not more) and see a 25X ROI for every dollar invested in our team.
You can explore some real-world case studies here >>
Closing Thoughts
SAM tools are amazing. But they could be doing so much more for your bottom line.
When paired with expert guidance and value-driving strategies, they become the foundation for measurable cost savings, better compliance, and smarter software investments.
That’s why we exist—to help companies turn an overwhelming pool of data into streamlined systems, smarter contracts, and value you can actually measure.
2Data is an independent software licensing advisory specializing in Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Salesforce and IBM optimization. We help companies reduce contract costs, manage risk, and simplify their software licensing.
