Software Asset Management

[devanshsing]

I want to know what the best and recommend practices for Software asset data cleanup?

[Maniteja_2003]

Hi @devanshsing,

I hope this answer helps you.

To help me understand your requirement, could you please clarify which type of software asset data you are referring to?

• Software Installations: Are you looking to clean up installation data, such as duplicate or stale records, or discrepancies in the discovered software data?

• Software Entitlements: Are you looking to clean up retired or inactive entitlements?

• Other Software Asset Data: Are you referring to any other data related to Software Asset Management (SAM)?

Thanks,

Maniteja.

[devanshsing]

Hi @Maniteja_2003  yes I am looking towards the cleanup of installation data I need to recommend the best practices that someone needs to follow while doing cleanup.

[Maniteja_2003]

Hi  @devanshsing,

I hope this answer helps you.

Thanks for the clarification. Here are some recommended approaches for cleaning up different types of software installation data.

1. Cleaning Up Software Installations on Stale CIs

If you want to remove software installation records associated with stale Configuration Items (CIs), where a CI has not been updated for a specified period (for example, 60 days, based on the OOTB stale CI rule configuration), you can create a Data Manager Policy to retire those CIs.

Ensure that the Install Status field on the CI is set to Retired. An asynchronous Business Rule [Remove Installs For Retired/Stolen CI] then deletes the software installation records associated with retired CIs.

Note: If you are also following Hardware Asset Management (HAM) processes, please coordinate with your HAM team before implementing this approach, as the Install Status of the CI and its associated asset may be synchronized.

2. Cleaning Up Duplicate Software Installation Records

If multiple Discovery sources are populating the cmdb_sam_sw_install table and creating duplicate installation records, check whether the Active Install field is set to false for the duplicate records.

A scheduled job identifies duplicate installations and sets the Active Install field to false where applicable. If you want to delete these inactive installation records, you can use the Data Management Job to delete these records, with condition set to Active Install is False.

Please note that installation records with Active Install set to false do not affect the Software License Position Report.

3. Deleting Software Installation Records for Uninstalled Software

If software has been uninstalled from a CI and you want to remove the corresponding software installation record, refer to the following ServiceNow documentation for the recommended procedure:

Link: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-asset-management/software-asset-management/delete-dis...

If you get stuck in any other situation, please feel free to reply to this answer.

Thanks,
Maniteja.

[dreinhardt]

one remark for “2. Cleaning Up Duplicate Software Installation Records”

as long you’ve a multi source CMDB the mentioned cleanup won’t help, as the data is imported again by the next schedule. The SAM deduplication takes care about having only one record active when using multi sources.

Best, Dennis