SAM Pro

[pittic]

In SAM Pro what is the difference between Software Usage vs. Software Installs? When would you use one over the other?

[Ehab Pilloor]

Hi @pittic,

Following are the differences:

Aspect                                      Software Installs                                                   Software Usage

Definition	Tracks where software is installed	Tracks if/when software is used
Data Source	Discovery tools, SCCM, Tanium, etc.	Usage data from telemetry agents (e.g. SCCM, BigFix)
Key Table	cmdb_sam_sw_install	cmdb_sam_sw_usage
Purpose	Measures license consumption/compliance	Measures actual utilization
Used For	Audit readiness, license allocation	Optimization, reclamation of unused licenses
Licensing Impact	Drives full license demand	Helps reduce demand by identifying unused installs

Use Software Usage over Software Installs when your goal is to optimize license costs by identifying software that's installed but not being used. While installs give you a complete picture of deployment and compliance, usage data lets you make informed decisions about reclaiming unused software, avoiding unnecessary renewals, and reducing overall software spend.

Docs:

Components in SAM Professional : https://www.servicenow.com/docs/bundle/yokohama-it-asset-management/page/product/software-asset-mana...

Regards,

Ehab Pilloor

[christian-z]

Hi @pittic ,

in addition to the previous answer, the table "Software Installation" is the base table for the SAM-related processes. It is the raw data table collecting the inventory data from your discovery sources but also pre-processed data from ServiceNow discovery, e.g. ServiceNow creates "dummy" installation records from application discovery like SQL Server or Oracle database and file normalization.

The "Software Usage" table is the base for the reclamation processes in ServiceNow SAM. Of course, it may also provide an overview of when or how often a software product (usage data is summarized on the software product level (sic!)). The usage data supports you in optimizing your software / license environment.

If you connect to SaaS integration, usage data may be imported automatically.

Regards,

Christian