Unlicensed applications set as licensable

[annmarsh]

Hi, we are finding that there are many discovery models set as licensable that do not have software models associated with them, that are not actually licensable.  Microsoft has the most of these - for example Microsoft Start Experience App.  This ends up cluttering the software license compliance position and the ELP grouping report with all kinds of data that is meaningless.  We can't mark them as a license not under management because there is no software model.  I don't know how to get the discovery model changed to be correct.  How have others handled this?

[KPNow]

Hi @annmarsh !
This issue can happen because ServiceNow's SAM Content Service content library can sometimes incorrectly flag certain built-in apps, drivers, or subcomponents as "Licensable". Because there is no corresponding Publisher Part Number (PPN) or Software Model, ServiceNow treats them as unmanaged, licensable software, which heavily inflates your Effective License Position (ELP) reports and licensing workbench.
To tackle this, standard practice involves a two-step approach: addressing immediate operational noise and fixing the upstream library data.

First, submit a Content Feedback request to ServiceNow via the HI Service Portal or directly through your SAM Pro instance to report the misclassified product. ServiceNow's SAM Content Curation team will update the central Content Library so it normalizes as "Not Licensable," "Driver," or "Child/Subcomponent" in a future content pull. In the interim, you can open the specific Software Discovery Model record, change the Product Type field from Licensable to Not Licensable(or Child/Subcomponent), and mark the record's normalization status as Manually Normalized. Locking it down this way prevents automatic updates from reverting your change, immediately removes the records from reconciliation compliance runs, and keeps your ELP grouping reports clean. 
Hope this helps.

[dreinhardt]

Hi @annmarsh,

as mentioned by @KPNow please raise a ServiceNow content request and also add any proof you can find to help the content team to fix the incorrect classification asap (e.g., web site links, publisher documents, etc.).

Please also create a new software model with the product details (edition if needed) and set this model to "License under Management = FALSE", this will exclude the installs from being reconciled and reported in the Workspace. 

@KPNow comment on your recommendation

In the interim, you can open the specific Software Discovery Model record, change the Product Type field from Licensable to Not Licensable(or Child/Subcomponent), and mark the record's normalization status as Manually Normalized. 

This doesn't work, as the product type is inherited from the software product and can't be edited on a discovery model level.

Best, Dennis