PPN in SAM

[Ariman]

Hello,

What is an PPN?

Who maintains this lookup table?

if Software is not found in PPN while creating entitlement, how can we add entitlement of that software?

How this ppn library gets updated and who updates it?

Thanks in advance!!

[Mike Condon]

I haven't run into that issue yet, but it doesn't shock me that it exists.  Trying to maintain a catalog of part numbers even across one publisher is a tough challenge for anyone.

[mikewhalley1]

Mike - as much as I hate to say this, Flexera address this challenge really, really well. It's one area where we need to step up our game from a SAM perspective.

[Evan Orgel]

The PPN is part of the content library that comes with SAM Pro. If you create an entitlement with a PPN that exists in the library, then the Software Model would automatically get created (if one didn't already exist). Some of the part numbers also have the License Metric set as well.

If there are part numbers missing, you can open up a ticket and have the Servicenow Content team do the research and update the library.

Or, otherwise as stated, you can create a Custom Part Number.

If you Opt-In to the included service, then the Custom Part Numbers would automatically get sent to the Servicenow Content team do the research and update the library.

If you don't want to track Part Numbers, you can still create the entitlement without it.

[Mike Condon]

Hi Evan,

  You're right.  We just tend to skip over adding part numbers, otherwise I'd spend all day creating custom part numbers, and I'm not sure the return of possibly having them added in the content library in a few months in the future is worth it.

[Rose L · Accepted solution]

PPN (Publisher Part Number) also called SKU or Manufacturer Part number in some other cases, is the unique identifier of a software model, usually attached to every purchase order line to clearly identify which software or package is purchased by a customer. 

If the software is purchased through a distributor/vendor, the vendor may have a different code but the customer should be able to ask the vendor to provide the PPN as well. 

There is a content team from ServiceNow who is maintaining the lookup table (Software Asset Management Content Service (servicenow.com)). There is a scheduled job to update that table on a weekly basis once you opted into the content service. Steps can be found here - Enable the Software Asset Management content service | ServiceNow Docs

Like Mike Condon mentioned, you have two options to create the entitlement. Else, in case you don't have all the details (like DMAP, license metrics etc.), another thing you may want try is to raise this part number to HI support who can then work with the content team and see if they can find the details. But this approach will usually take a few weeks for ServiceNow's team to verify the part number and add it to the content library.