Software Asset Management (SAM) Specialist.

Software Asset Management (SAM) Specialist is responsible for supporting the organization’s software licensing, entitlement management, compliance, and optimization activities. Acting as a central point of coordination, the role manages software license requests, entitlement validation, allocation, renewals, contract governance, and compliance reporting. 

The role ensures software assets are managed in accordance with contractual obligations, organizational policies, and compliance requirements while supporting cost optimization initiatives and informed decision-making across the software asset lifecycle. Working closely with IT, Procurement, Finance, Legal, Contract Management, Vendor Management, and IT Security teams, the SAM Specialist contributes to effective software governance, risk mitigation, and operational excellence. 

What You Will Do 

License Request & Fulfillment 

• Manage and fulfill software license requests from business and technology stakeholders. 

• Validate business requirements, entitlement availability, and approval requirements. 

• Allocate and reclaim software licenses in accordance with established governance processes. 

• Monitor software license consumption, availability, and utilization across the organization. 

• Ensure software provisioning activities align with licensing terms and organizational policies. 

Software Asset & Entitlement Management 

• Maintain accurate records of software licenses, SaaS subscriptions, entitlements, contracts, and related documentation. 

• Manage software lifecycle data, including purchases, renewals, maintenance agreements, and license assignments. 

• Reconcile software deployments, installations, and usage against purchased entitlements. 

• Maintain audit-ready records supporting software compliance and governance requirements. 

• Ensure software assets, contracts, and entitlement repositories remain accurate and up to date. 

Compliance & Audit Management 

• Support internal and external software audits, assessments, and compliance reviews. 

• Conduct regular compliance assessments and software reconciliations to identify, manage, and remediate licensing risks. 

• Prepare Effective License Position (ELP) analyses, compliance reports, and supporting evidence. 

• Identify licensing risks, compliance exposures, and remediation opportunities. 

• Collaborate with stakeholders to resolve compliance issues and implement corrective actions. 

• Ensure software usage aligns with contractual, organizational, regulatory, and licensing obligations. 

Renewals, Vendor & Contract Support 

• Support software renewal planning through entitlement, deployment, and utilization analysis. 

• Provide licensing expertise and data to procurement, sourcing, and vendor management teams. 

• Assist with software contract reviews, licensing inquiries, quotations, and true-up activities. 

• Validate renewal requirements and identify opportunities for optimization and cost avoidance. 

• Support stakeholder and vendor engagement activities relating to software licensing and entitlement management. 

License Optimization & Cost Management 

• Analyze software consumption data to identify unused, underutilized, duplicate, or redundant software assets. 

• Support license re-harvesting, re-allocation, standardization, and rationalization initiatives. 

• Identify opportunities to optimize software investment and reduce licensing costs. 

• Contribute to software portfolio governance and continuous optimization activities. 

• Support data-driven recommendations for licensing strategies, cost optimization, and software investment decisions. 

Reporting, Governance & Continuous Improvement 

• Produce regular reporting on software compliance, entitlement position, license utilization, renewals, and optimization outcomes. 

• Develop and maintain software asset management procedures, knowledge articles, and operational documentation. 

• Support continuous improvement of software asset management processes, controls, and workflows. 

• Contribute to governance forums, risk reviews, and stakeholder reporting activities. 

• Promote best practices in software asset management, license governance, and asset lifecycle management. 

• Track and report key software asset management metrics, including compliance status, license utilization, optimization outcomes, and renewal forecasts. 

What You Will Need 

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Business, Finance, Procurement, Supply Chain, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience. 

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in Software Asset Management (SAM), IT Asset Management (ITAM), software licensing, IT Service Management (ITSM), Procurement, Vendor Management, or related fields. 

• Proven experience managing software licensing, entitlement administration, software compliance, audit support, and software lifecycle management within enterprise environments. 

• Strong understanding of software licensing models, including user-based, device-based, subscription, SaaS, cloud, consumption-based, processor-based, and enterprise licensing agreements. 

• Good knowledge of Software Asset Management (SAM), Hardware Asset Management (HAM), IT Asset Management (ITAM), and software lifecycle management best practices. 

• Ability to interpret software contracts, licensing rights, entitlement documentation, and commercial agreements. 

• Experience working with enterprise platforms supporting IT Service Management (ITSM), IT Asset Management (ITAM/SAM/HAM), software discovery and inventory management, software deployment and endpoint management, contract and procurement management, and reporting/business intelligence. 

• Solid understanding of software discovery, inventory reconciliation, usage metering, and software compliance methodologies. 

• Strong analytical, reporting, and data interpretation skills. 

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional stakeholders, including IT, Procurement, Finance, Legal, Contract Management, Vendor Management, and IT Security teams. 

• Professional certifications such as ITIL Foundation, Software Asset Management (SAM), IT Asset Management (ITAM), publisher-specific licensing certifications, or asset management platform certifications are an advantage.