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2 hours ago
About This Document
SAM Office Hours is a monthly live Q&A session where ServiceNow customers can ask questions about Software Asset Management directly to product experts.
- Session date: January 20, 2026
- Questions: 77 total (36 written, 20 extracted from recording, 21 unanswered)
- Answers marked as "Extracted from Recording" were processed using AI transcription and extraction
- While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, extracted answers may contain inaccuracies or miss nuances from the original spoken response
Questions & Answers:
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# |
Question |
Answer |
Source |
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1 |
I am trying to validate if we are seeing Citrix UDI installs - I just noticed there is some discovery models with Citrix as the discovery source, but the installed list seem to be computers and the UDI servers - so not sure if this is the right data I want (the # of users/devices of a software served by Citrix) - we see the dedicated UDI desktops because there is an SCCM agent |
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Unanswered |
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2 |
Overview of the Overlapping usage, where does the data come from. When I create a cusotm product will it be included in the overlapping reports |
Overlapping usage comes from SaaS data and Spend Detection data. If the custom product is a SaaS product retrieved via a custom integration OR the Spend Detection is associated to a custom product - then it would show in that dashboard. |
Written |
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3 |
what is the difference between cmdb_ci_spkg vs. cmdb_sam_discovery_model? what is a good use case to use cmdb_ci_spkg? |
The software packages table (cmdb_ci_spkg) is where software installs reside in ITSM SAM, before SAM Pro. Once you activate SAM Pro, we use the software install table (cmdb_sam_sw_install) instead. The discovery model is where normalization takes place in SAM Pro - it's where similar software installs are grouped together. A good use case for the software packages table might be keeping an eye on legacy software from before SAM Pro was enabled, but once you're on SAM Pro, you'll primarily be working with the software install table. |
Extracted from Recording |
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4 |
What is ServiceNow's recommendation on how to manage Visual Studio Enterprise with GitHub Enterprise licensing? Could not locate any strong documentation in ServiceNow Community or Documentation. |
For Visual Studio Enterprise and GitHub Enterprise licensing, the key recommendation is to do your allocations properly. These are suites with hundreds of products, so it's important to know which users have been assigned which rights. When reconciliation runs, it detects software installed on machines and relates it back to users who are entitled to use it. Also, be careful with inference - if you have standalone products that are also part of the Visual Studio/GitHub Enterprise suite, the reconciliation might infer the standalone product as part of the suite. Set your inference percentage at an appropriate level on the software model to prevent this. From a governance standpoint, these should be handled differently from production software since they're used for development. |
Extracted from Recording |
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5 |
new ecm (old sccm) any new gotchas identified lately? |
Philip - not sure what you mean by gotchas - but for the most part this is a very standard integration and has good support - so nothing that I know of. If you run into issues please create a HI ticket to assist. |
Written |
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6 |
ci_spkg is mostly for non sam pro. sam pro uses cmdb_sam_sw_install |
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Unanswered |
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7 |
I have received conflicting information on DMAPs. Is it best practice to use custom DMAPs if one isn't available from the content library rather than just using publisher, product version from software model to filter the discovery models |
Yes, it's best practice to use a custom DMAP if one isn't available from the content library, rather than just using publisher/product/version filtering. The advantage of DMAPs is they contain additional metadata like suite definitions, upgrade paths, and other information that you won't have if you just rely on the software model. Also, if you've opted into the content library and create a custom DMAP, it triggers a reverse flow back to the content team who can review it for inclusion in the curated content library. This benefits the wider community. |
Extracted from Recording |
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8 |
best use case - you arte not using sampro |
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Unanswered |
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9 |
when a Custom Map is created for a software model, does this link to the content library? if it doesn't when the content library is updated, will we be notified that a discovery map has been created for that software model? |
Yes, when you create a custom map for a software model, if you've opted into the content library, it triggers a reverse flow back to the content team. They review it and can incorporate it into the curated content, which then gets distributed in the weekly (or bi-weekly) content downloads. You'll also be notified of content library updates in the Activity Center. |
Extracted from Recording |
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10 |
How long should it take ServiceNow to update the publisher’s name after they’ve been acquired? There is a publisher that was acquired in 2023 but the Content Library still shows the previous publisher. |
Tracy - it depends. Sometimes the publisher that has been aquired is not actually re-branded to the new company. However, if this is something that you feel should be updated; please create a content request for the Content team to review. Any documentation helps with this effort as well. Even though your contract may reflect to the new publisher, sometimes it doesn’t actually rebrand the software. |
Written |
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11 |
Is there a SAM integration profile for Workday publisher to sync the Workday usage data ? |
Hi there - Yes there is, you can find some information in this link for SaaS License Management and SAM: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-it-asset-management/page/product/software-asset-manage... Hope this helps! |
Written |
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12 |
What is best practice when managing software lifecycle by versions? We currently do this though our Software Models, which increases our SW Model records (model per version) |
We have Software Lifecycle Reports table that you can use to track lifecycle at version level. |
Written |
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13 |
Within SAM Workspace > Health check, under the Health check issues per category, we see a the following: "Resolving user data is essential for aligning users in the SaaS Portal with those in ServiceNow, ensuring accurate license compliance. While ServiceNow automates this process, some users may remain unresolved due to various reasons, such as:1. Missing user data in ServiceNow: Verify that the user exists in the sys_user table and is synced from sources like Active Directory.2. Custom lookup requirement: Some users may require a different look up mechanism than the one provided by default in ServiceNow. In such cases, you can configure user resolution rules to meet your specific criteria." Ok, so we undertand this is a result of missing users are users in the 'samp_sw_subscription' table specific field called 'User' is missing in the sys_user table. So, we took action to add the ones we could identify based on the discovered user. However, we have many discovered users that are not actually a human being |
[Unable to locate answer in recording] |
Written |
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14 |
How do organizations typically leverage metering data in ServiceNow, is it mostly out of the box, or customized? |
Metering data helps identify software that is installed but not being used, which is valuable for license optimization and cost savings. You can use metering to identify candidates for reclamation - if software hasn't been used in, say, 90 days, it might be a good candidate for removal or license reassignment. Metering is also useful for understanding actual usage patterns versus just installation counts, which helps with future procurement decisions. |
Extracted from Recording |
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15 |
how is everyone bringing in the visual studio / Github allocation data - are you using the Github Cloud direct integration? |
Hi Karin - while there is no direct integration at the moment, there are a couple options: Data Import or Transform Map. I would also take a look at one of our videos: https://youtu.be/mK3vxJgUciQ. Hope this helps |
Written |
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16 |
If there are no OOTB integration available for Saas software, how hard or complex is the process to create a custom integration. Any idea of effort required? |
We do have several SaaS direct integrations that come OOTB; however if there is not an integration OOTB - it is easy to create a custom integration. https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-it-asset-management/page/product/software-asset-manage... |
Written |
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17 |
If SAM Integration is not supported for Workday usage sync what is the recommended process to manage the Workday compliance in SAM? |
Hi Dilipkumar - I provided a link on the last question for you (https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-it-asset-management/page/product/software-asset-manage...) I hope this answers your previous question and this one 🙂 |
Written |
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18 |
If I only want my SUs to go toward SaaS instead of any other types of resources, is there a way to ensure I'm only managing that in SAMP? I don't plan to manage the on prem software in ServiceNow at this time. (Thinking about how HAM has the Resource Categories to only opt in to specific types of hardware, I want to do the same with SW as part of my ramp up.) |
The only way to do this OOB is setting an exclude flag on your CIs that create software installations that you do not want to manage: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-it-asset-management/page/product/software-asset-manage... Additionally, have a conversation with your account team to see if there is another way from a sales perspective. |
Written |
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19 |
Hi Im new in SAM module, What do you recommend to check when you created a Reclamation Rule, and there isnt a result in the Removal Canditates after a reconcilation? |
Hi Juan - there is a fantastic article that Sean authored which goes through some optimization of Reclamation Rules RE Usage and Allocation, here: https://www.servicenow.com/community/sam-blog/understanding-reclamation-rules-optimizing-software-us... Also, there IS a list of Removal Candidates that are generated as a result of the Rule application/run. You can take this a step further with CSD as well that will auto uninstall/reclaim as well. Almost fully automated if that’s what you are looking for. I would read the embedded links in this article for more information as well. Hope this helps! |
Written |
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20 |
Does every Discovered model have an associated software model automatically populated? Or this is a manual process If it is manual, then do we have to come up with a Discovery map or does the system automatically populates a discovery map? |
There’s a SAM’s system property that you can turn on to automatically create software models from normalized software discovery models. See details here: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-it-asset-management/page/product/software-asset-manage... |
Written |
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21 |
In terms of SaaS connectoins of Microsoft products to the O365 Tennants, is there a way to create SaaS Integration from ServiceNow to the O365 Tennant for selected products. For example: If I have 8 products, can I choose to only integrate 5 of the 8 products in ServiceNow to the 0365 Tennant. |
For Microsoft SaaS connections to O365, you can be selective about which products to integrate. You don't have to bring in all products - you can choose which ones to include in your ServiceNow integration. When setting up the integration, you can configure which product types or subscriptions to sync. This is helpful if you only want to manage certain high-value products in SAM Pro while leaving others out. |
Extracted from Recording |
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22 |
How often are the UNSPSC Product Classifications updated? |
Are you asking how often new UNSPSC codes are being added, or how often classifications associated with the product is being updated? If it’s the former, UNSPSC doesn’t typically introduce new codes very frequently, but we do have a process to download the full UNSPSC feed so that whenever new record is introduced, we should catch it [retty quickly. If it’s the latter, we usually assign UNSPSC classification when the product is being added into COntent Library. |
Written |
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23 |
How is the data quality maintained in the Content Library? Is there a regular reviewing of the data to ensure accuracy? We noticed quite a few data inconsistencies in the Content Library product definitions. |
The Content is reviewed before getting published - please report any inconsistenicies so the Content team can research. |
Written |
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24 |
Wouldn't you need the ACC-M deployed or some other metering data to consume? |
Not sure I understand the context - but yes you need some data source for Usage data. Not sure ACC-M has this capability, I think it is ACC-V but I am not a specific ITOM resource…but in either case SCCM, ACC-V are two that come to mind |
Written |
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25 |
When reconciling our Adobe subscriptions, we are running into an issue with Acrobat that may be a wrong PPN # or a DMAP problem. We are seeing Pro, Any Version/Edition and DC Pro. Should our Acrobat Pro software model be set up with a version condition and edition condition of "is anything"? |
For Adobe Acrobat subscription reconciliation issues with wrong PPN or DMAP problems, first check your entitlement setup. Make sure the PPN (Publisher Part Number) on your entitlements matches what's in the content library. If you're seeing Pro when you should be seeing Standard (or vice versa), it's likely a DMAP mapping issue. Check the software model linked to your entitlement and verify the DMAP is correct. You may need to create a custom DMAP if the content library doesn't have the right mapping for your specific Adobe products. |
Extracted from Recording |
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26 |
2 type of meteringfor scccm- last used (1x reasd /day ) and all usage (time start, time end for each measured exeecutable - the 2nd type grabs LOTS of data - good for specif sw records for a product - not just all and run loose |
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Unanswered |
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27 |
we don't have SGC, would ACC-V sufficient to capture the software installltions for SAM Pro to function please? |
Yes. ACC-V is sufficient to capture software installations if you don’t have other sources to provide this data (SCCM, Intune, Tanium, etc) |
Written |
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28 |
For the Microsoft Power BI and Dynamics integration, is there plans to remove the requirement for Global Admin on the Microsoft admin portal? This is a hard no for my company. |
For Microsoft Power BI and Dynamics integration, we continue to enhance these integrations based on customer feedback. The integrations are designed to bring in subscription and usage data. If you have specific requirements or gaps you're seeing, I'd recommend submitting an idea in the Ideas portal or working with your account team to ensure product management is aware of your needs. |
Extracted from Recording |
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29 |
go to the sam_sw_subscription table, group by user or product |
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Unanswered |
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30 |
To follow up on Kieron's response to the metering data question: is there OOB reporting for usage beyond reclamation candidates? Or is this a use case for Platform Analytics? For example, it would be useful to see a report of highest cost models with lowest total usage time. |
ALl usage data goes into the samp_sw_usage table. Please see the folowing link for more detail: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/csh?topicname=view-sw-usage-workspace.html&version=latest |
Written |
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31 |
also, you must have a domain email address that matchesto the valid subscription |
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Unanswered |
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32 |
Discovery is detecting a product that is not shown in the publisher portal. We’ve confirmed the product is not installed. How do we correctly remove or correct this without impacting future discovery or compliance reporting? |
Hi Elizabeth - I hope that this URL may provide you with some information that you may investigate RE some Product Exception Rules: https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB2020463. |
Written |
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33 |
with regard to removal candidates can you talk through process when system moves the status to closed complete and any validation that is done to update to that status |
Jodi: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-it-asset-management/page/product/software-asset-manage... When the status is set to Awaiting Revocation you can update this manually, however, it will automatically move to closed complete we the software is actually removed and the install on the candidate is empty. |
Written |
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34 |
when i have multiple data sources to provide software installation data (e.g. Tanium / Discovery) - suppose it generates 3 records of the same installation (2 from Tanium and 1 from discovery), do i expect the deduplication job to mark only 1 record with active install = "T"? if i have 2 of the 3 records with active install = T, is it a concern that i need to investigate and fix? or reconciliation process has the bus logic to determine only 1 license being consumed |
When you have multiple data sources providing software installation data, ServiceNow uses a priority system to determine which source takes precedence. Discovery sources have assigned priorities, and when there's conflicting information, the higher priority source wins. You can review and adjust these priorities in your configuration. Generally, we recommend having ServiceNow Discovery or your primary enterprise discovery tool set as the highest priority source. |
Extracted from Recording |
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35 |
The issue is the 'User' field in the 'samp_sw_subscription' table MUST be in sys_user for the generic account. No exclude that I'm aware of so if you can get back to me that would be great. |
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Unanswered |
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36 |
SN most likely shows user as admin or system foir svc accounts on subscrip[tions |
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Unanswered |
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37 |
I have a question regarding User Subscriptions and SAM Pro. Is there a specific job that runs that syncs User Subscriptions against your Entitlements in terms of allocations? We are noticing that Users are populating under the entitlement but they do not count against it so when you go to source using the procurement module you have more available then you really do. Thank you. |
For User Subscriptions and SAM Pro, user subscriptions are tracked through the SaaS integrations. When you connect to providers like Microsoft 365, Adobe, or Salesforce, the integration pulls in subscription assignments at the user level. These appear in SAM Pro and can be reconciled against your entitlements. The key is ensuring your entitlements are set up correctly with the right metrics (user-based) and that user matching is working properly between the SaaS provider and your ServiceNow user records. |
Extracted from Recording |
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38 |
Is anyone trying to do discovery / compliance on these 2 Microsoft products and pulling usage data into SamPro – if so, how are you discovering this data and pulling it into SamPro – anything OOTB or custom integration or? • Win Remote Desktop Services CALs (Device & user Cals) • Window Server External Connector |
[Unable to locate answer in recording] |
Written |
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39 |
Using the Microsoft SQL Server License Management Guided Set up, runing the health checks there are errors, of not having a proper mapping (Virtual / Physical Relationship) but these are cloud we wont have that, and also there are Databases that missing edition but mayority are decomissioned, would these false positives impact reconciliation and accuracy of the product? AND is there a way to exclude SQL Server consumption from AWS that are identified licensed under pay as you go without needed the additional ServiceNow Discovery add on? |
For Microsoft SQL Server License Management using the Guided Setup, the setup walks you through configuring your SQL Server entitlements, setting up the proper metrics (cores vs CALs), and establishing your licensing rules. Make sure you have your SQL Server discovery data coming in correctly first, then use the guided setup to configure your entitlements. Pay attention to edition types (Enterprise, Standard, Express) and your licensing model (per-core vs Server+CAL). |
Extracted from Recording |
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40 |
BNen's right. Its based on the entitlments you have FIRST - like E3 or E5 |
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Unanswered |
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41 |
Any plans to allow for modifying the Microsoft M365 reclamation rules and the Adobe Cloud reclamation rules? Currently the OOTB rules are unusable as they do not match our contract. |
Colleen - can you elaborate on what you would like to update and what is the contract terms that need to be updated? If this is something you want to send to me specifcally, you can email me at: akash.mehta@servicenow.com |
Written |
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42 |
I'd like to follow up on the VSE with GitHub Enterprise question as I don't know that I was clear; the question is specific to best tracking of VSE and GitHub Enterprise when they are licensed through VisualStudio Enterprise with GitHub Enterprise. We have two different PPN's, one at a much higher cost than the other. Example: MX3-00117 (Visual Studio Ent MSDN ALng SA) is charged at several hundred dollars, while QEJ-00005 (Visual Studio Ent with GitHub ALng SASU Visual Studio Ent MSDN) is billed at a few cents. Should an entitlement be created for Visual Studio Enterprise, (which would address all the 100's of products available under that subscription, and the inference percent could be managed for those applications, and would reflect the higher cost) and a separate entitlement be created for GitHub Enterprise (having the lower cost)? If John Doe has a VSE with GitHub Enterprise, in SAMPro, would he have an allocation under the two different entitlements? |
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Unanswered |
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43 |
Followup: on the SaaS Intergration. Would there be a way to make the changes based on the permissions? Where would I find the permission? On the ServiceNow side or the 0365 Tennant? |
For the SaaS integration permissions question - the permissions needed are on the O365 tenant side, not ServiceNow. The ServiceNow integration needs appropriate API permissions granted in Azure AD to read subscription and user data. Work with your Microsoft/Azure administrator to ensure the service principal or app registration has the necessary Graph API permissions for reading user and subscription information. |
Extracted from Recording |
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44 |
MMC shhows the number of VS subscrioptions foir each month download from the MMC. nIt is up to the admin for MS to manage who those are alocated to , esp. at true-up time |
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Unanswered |
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45 |
Does older record in the content library gets updated? e.g., not licensable entries that are now licensable which can result in duplicate entries/records. |
In general, “Product Type” (e.g., Licensable or Not Licensable) is captured at Product level. If there are certain versions of a product that are both Licensable and Not Licensable, at Product level it is Licensable. There might be scenarios where we created a brand new product to distinguish between the two (an example is Java). |
Written |
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46 |
Hey guys, I have the problem that software installations that were not created via discovery are not taken into account in the reconciliation run. This concerns Windows Server installations that were imported into the system by LANSweeper via a REST import interface. We have entitlements, we have discovery models for the installations, which are normalized. We also have Windows Server CIs. Everything is actually there, but it is simply not being taken into account. Have I overlooked something? Thank you! |
Arndt - without being able to see this it maybe difficult to answer. The only other thing I can think of; is there any chance it is being a duplicate software installation OR the software is a User based software and if licensed by another installation. Best way to move forward is to create a HI ticket so it can be looked at. |
Written |
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47 |
BE VERY careful when setting up the Adobe Profile for SN collection againstthe portal. JWT is not supported any more and you must match on name or email addrerss |
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Unanswered |
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48 |
ACC‑V is enabled, and agents are installed on multiple laptops; however, the Last Used field is populated for only a subset of software installations (out of 250 we only have 12 installations populated). How can we identify where the data population issue exists across all installations on a given laptop? |
If ACC-V is enabled and agents are installed on laptops but you're not seeing the expected data, check a few things: First, verify the agents are actually running and communicating back to ServiceNow - check the ACC-V dashboard for agent status. Second, ensure the agents have the correct configuration for what data to collect. Third, check if there are any firewall or network issues preventing the agents from reporting back. Usage data collection may also need to be explicitly enabled in the agent configuration. |
Extracted from Recording |
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49 |
Hi We have enabled "Insert and Stay" globally using the system property. It enabled the UI action on software entitlements, but we have (Display name and Asset Tag) fields read-only on the entitlements. So, what is the recommended approach to have the "Insert and Stay" capability with different Asset Tag and Display Name upon clicking on UI action? |
with Insert and Stay the display name will be updated with asset tag or software model is updated. For Asset Tag - make sure there is some sort of counter on that field that will be updated when insert and stay is used… |
Written |
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50 |
is there any OOB feature that allow us to create alerts when "licenses available" are below a defined threshold? |
Using the OOB Notificationto create a condition or based on an event being fired when the value on an entitlement is below customer defined threshold. There is nothing OOB that is configured to do this; you would need to create this notification/event/process to kick off the notification. |
Written |
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51 |
Hi all, question about the VMware license key tables (VMware Discovered License Key Consumption + VMware Discovered License Key). Assuming these tables get populated after enabling the correct discovery probes. Will the data from these tables get used during reconciliation? Or, is this data used for some other purpose e.g. removal candidates? Thanks in advance |
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Unanswered |
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52 |
c compiler shows alot even when not instal;led |
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Unanswered |
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53 |
cmdb 360 along w/reconciliation rules should resolve multiple data sources |
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Unanswered |
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54 |
Do you have a roadmap of future publishers you'll have API's with? |
Regarding roadmap for future publisher API integrations, we continue to expand our SaaS integrations based on customer demand. Current focus areas include major SaaS providers and enterprise software vendors. For specific publishers you're interested in, I'd recommend submitting an idea in the Ideas portal with your use case. The product team reviews these regularly and uses customer input to prioritize the roadmap. |
Extracted from Recording |
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55 |
Is there a way to setup a Microsoft EA agreement so that the true-up calculations use the current year's contracted rate for net new licenses vs. historical costs for that PPN? |
For setting up a Microsoft EA (Enterprise Agreement) to show true-up calculations, you'll need to configure your entitlements with the correct EA terms including the agreement period, true-up dates, and baseline quantities. SAM Pro can track consumption against your EA entitlements and show where you're over or under your committed quantities. The True-Up report helps you see your position before the annual true-up with Microsoft. |
Extracted from Recording |
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56 |
Large organization getting started with SAMPro. Due to volume, we want to pull PPN's from the existing system of contract record to create entitlements (both now and post-operationalization). However, many of the PPN's don't align to Content Service PPN's and the publisher/product values can't be easily pulled withough significant human intervention. What opportunities exist for automating the creation of entitlements? If manual population of the import template is required, is there a rule of thumb to adequately resource this activity? |
For large organizations getting started with SAM Pro dealing with high volume, we recommend a phased approach. Start with your highest-value or highest-risk publishers first - typically Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, SAP. Get those configured and reconciling properly before expanding to other publishers. Use the prioritization features in SAM to focus on what matters most. Also consider using software model grouping to organize your software estate into manageable categories. |
Extracted from Recording |
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57 |
goota go to nho - c you all later |
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Unanswered |
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58 |
What about after it's been published? Is there any review of the published content library data to identify data inconsistencies/discrepancies? |
Our Content Team has a QE process along with Content Infrastructure that continuously checks for new updates from select publishers and/or products through their sustenance program. Note that it may not cover the entirety of all datapoints in Content Library, but based on prioritizd list of items that are most used across our customers base. |
Written |
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59 |
You are refering to sources of truth, and what to trust in software installation table. Is it ServiceNow recommendation to have a singular discovery source rather than multiple. Or visa-versa? |
Great question, @taylor! This is a commin question and whenever we talk SSOT (Single Source of Truth) you will undoubtedly want to look at the data that goes into your CMDB. There is nothing wrong with multiple Discovery tools, looking into how they compliment each other and help fill in the missing data one tool may leave behind. E.g. SN Discovery, InTune, JAMF, SCCM. SN Discovery will find ALL IT Assets, InTune manages the cloud and mobile endpoints (and fantastic for cloud-first orgs), SCCM handles on-prem devices. All of these tools will provide data for the CMDB for unified management, asset tracking for HAM and SAM and service mapping. They compliment one another but there are distinct differences. As an Asset Manager, I would focus on protecting that CMDB data. Really scrutinizing what is classified as CI vs. Asset, looking at manual sources as well - purchase invoices, etc. as well. Hope this helps! | *common question |
Written |
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60 |
Adobe Software Issue: My SCCM team claims that Adobe DC 64bit is classified as the Reader. My issue: ServiceNow is showing Adobe DC 64bit as Adobe Systems Acrobat DC Pro. ServiceNow Content Library seems to see no difference in these two products. Now, I am getting a "Install without a Software Entitlement" Any suggesstions? |
Hello! please submit a support case for this, so that the SAM content team may research and see if the content library needs to be updated. Please ensure all applicable evidence / screenshots are included. |
Written |
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61 |
How can we control the amount of times a license key is assigned in an entitlement. Say we have 35 allocations available split between 5 keys that can only be assigned 7 times each. Is that something ServiceNow has? |
To control how many times a license key can be assigned, you can set up license key management with quantity limits. On the entitlement, you specify the total quantity of licenses available. When allocating licenses, the system tracks how many have been assigned and can prevent over-allocation. For physical license keys, you can track individual keys and their assignments in the license key records. |
Extracted from Recording |
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62 |
Are all these Questions and Ansers and links saved somewhere we can review them after the Office Hour call ends? |
Yes! We're compiling all the Office Hours questions and answers into an archive on the ServiceNow Community. This will include both the written Q&A responses and the transcribed verbal answers from the recordings. I'll share the link once it's published - bookmark the main archive article and it will be updated after each session. |
Extracted from Recording |
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63 |
Is normalization of companies "essential" for the software installation records identify the manufacturers accurately with the data from ServiceNow content library? |
theoretically, you can let Content Library (ITAM Normalization) decides which company names to use (from Software Publisher table); however, there might be instances where customers prefer certain names over the ones coming from Content Liberary (e.g., for contract /legal purposes), in this case, Normalization Data Service (NDS) can provide the normalization, and this NDS normalization applies at the platform level. |
Written |
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64 |
Submitted Idea: Enable Non-Human Account Handling in SAM Workspace Health Check Without Populating sys_user Table. https://support.servicenow.com/ideas?id=view_idea&sysparm_idea_id=8b259df193623250d9743f986cba10ab&s... Please upvote it. |
[Unable to locate answer in recording] |
Written |
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65 |
What are the specific backend logic changes and license calculation impacts when the Non-Person Account field is populated (Shared Email Box, Meeting Room, or Service Account)? Specifically, how does this status affect Reclamation Rules? Can I still use reclamation for these non-person accounts? Lastly, because we don't have these non-person accounts in our user table and it is not required if the field is populated, does it matter to even have a user populated? |
The backend logic changes for license calculations in recent releases include improvements to how reconciliation handles complex licensing scenarios. This includes better handling of suite inference, improved core-based licensing calculations, and enhanced support for hybrid licensing models. The specific changes depend on which release you're moving to - check the release notes for your target version for detailed information on calculation changes. |
Extracted from Recording |
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66 |
Is it possible to exclude certain discovery sources from health checks? I’m running into an issue where SQL instances without an Edition are still being included in the health check results but these are from an old instance that we are working to clear out form our SQL instances node in our CMDB. Or would muting the findings be the best way forward? |
Yes, you can exclude certain discovery sources from health checks. In the health check configuration, you can specify which sources should be included or excluded from the validation rules. This is useful if you have known data quality issues with a particular source that you're working to resolve, but don't want it to impact your overall health score in the meantime. |
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67 |
Hi team, would like to confirm the understanding around addition of cameras and access card panel to the Asset module. The understanding is that there're two approaches to do the above. One is to use the OOTB facilities table and treat them as enterprose assets or add them to alm_hardware table using customized model categories that way it can be used for ITSM purposes. What do you suggest? |
you will want to create those assets in alm_hardware |
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68 |
For "Normalization" of companies, do we have any OOB approach or a KB that walks through the end-to-end process on how to have a customized company be Normalized |
You can start with doc on Normalization Data Service (NDS). Start from here: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/zurich-platform-administration/page/administer/normalization/... |
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69 |
Is it worthwhile reaching out to software publishers for PPN #'s or should we rely on the PPN #'s in the SAM Workspace? Just wondering how common a request for a PPN # is for various software publishers. |
your actual contract should be the first reference for PPN, indeed. | I would NOT recommend inquiring with a SW Publisher, directly. Often inquiries can be seen as cause for audit or suggests organizational shortfalls for accurate record keeping, etc. I would suggest reach out to your reseller for a raw data file of your Purchase History. I have always had cllients have great success in providing them the columns of data needed or at least the fields you are looking for. PPNs or SKUs or Product Numbers shoould be on invoices, as Resno said, or else part of the raw purchase history data file just called something different. Getting your purchase history from a reseller or vendor requires A LOT of manual efforts and filtering, but you know the source is trusted and the records are very close to completely accurate. Hope this helps! |
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70 |
How/where to sync the concurrent User info for license type concurrent user? We do not have the integration that supported by ServiceNow and would like to sync this data through our scripts? |
So for Engineering licenses that we track around concurrent use is typically using high water mark of concurrent use over a period of time. What kind of user info are you looking to sync? |
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71 |
What is the best practice on entitlements that have a unit cost that is truly $0.00? For example, there is a banner that is displayed on the record when it is opened |
I’m looking in one of my instances and do not see this banner - is this a customization by chance? It absolutely could be there but I am just not seeing. When you say best practice, if there is no cost; what is the use case for having an entitlement and tracking the licenses for something that has no specific cost? |
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72 |
For Content Data Services, are the different download software content files such as "File Name", "File Map", "File Set", "Software Product" always updated or are some only occasionally updated? The reason I ask if because we see the "Download Normalized Company Names" CDS record hasn't updated in our instance since 2023 and I would think Content Data Services would be pushing updates to the normalized company names more frequently than that. We see the "File Name" CDS last updated in July 2025. |
“Normalized Company Names” table is owned/maintained by the Platform Team (who owns NDS). The intention is for that table to ship with “seed data” only, it doesn’t get any updates, and customers are expected to update the data on their own. And yes, that 2023 update date is the date when you first downloaded data in that table. |
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User info like name and email id if needed otherwise max count for concurrent users? whichever is needed to reconcile with SAM |
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Thanks Ben. I will attack the SaaS issue from the prospective of the "license under management". Thanks for the great feedback as usual. (..) |
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75 |
what is the use case for having an entitlement and tracking the licenses for something that has no specific cost? |
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76 |
If we have user subscriptions not linked to a user, what are we unable to perform or do when it comes to reclamation? |
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77 |
Are these Questions and Answers and links saved somewhere we can review them after the Office Hour call ends? |
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