Content updates for Software Asset Management

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Content updates for Software Asset Management

    The Software Asset Management (SAM) Content Service delivers weekly content updates to your ServiceNow instance to help normalize and maintain accurate software asset data. These updates include various types of software-related information that streamline asset management and ensure your data reflects current industry standards.

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    Key Features

    • Content updates cover categories such as discovery maps, normalization suggestions, product classifications, license exception rules, product names and types, publishers, suite definitions, software model life cycles, and software model suggestions.
    • Updates also include Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) normalization rules and custom software product suggestions.
    • Software models are not updated when only a publisher’s name changes; however, if a product shifts to a different publisher, the software model is updated accordingly.
    • Product types can be refined at the edition level using Custom Product License Exception Rules, enabling automatic updates for non-licensable editions based on defined exception rules.
    • For cases where a licensable edition needs to be recognized or adjusted, customers must submit a case with supporting documentation to the Content Service team for review.
    • Scheduled jobs like SAM - Apply latest content changes and SAM - Create suites for a software model automate the processing and propagation of content updates across your software models, including suite components and life cycle changes.
    • Customers can opt out of automated content updates on individual software models by clearing the “Allow automated content updates” flag on the Software Model form (enabled by default).
    • Life-cycle data added via content updates cannot be deleted but can be deactivated; this data is tagged as originating from ServiceNow.
    • Reports such as Software Models with deactivated discovery maps and the SAM Content Audit table help track and review changes made to your software library.
    • Content updates do not affect any custom products or custom discovery maps.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    These weekly content updates empower ServiceNow customers to maintain an up-to-date and normalized software asset inventory with minimal manual effort. By leveraging automated scheduled jobs and exception rule configurations, customers can ensure accuracy in license management, product classification, and software lifecycle tracking. The ability to opt out of updates on specific software models or raise cases for licensing exceptions provides flexibility to accommodate unique organizational requirements.

    Additionally, visibility tools such as audit tables and reports enable ongoing monitoring and validation of content changes, supporting informed decision-making and compliance efforts in software asset management.

    The Software Asset Management Content Service provides content updates to your instance weekly that you can use to normalize your data.

    The following types of content can be updated as part of a content update:
    • Categories
    • Discovery maps
    • Normalization suggestions
    • Product classifications
    • Product license exception rules
    • Product names
    • Product types
    • Publishers
    • Suite definitions
    • Software model life cycles
    • Software model suggestions
    • Custom software product suggestions
    • Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) normalization rule
    Note:
    Software models aren’t updated when a publisher's name is updated as part of the content updates. The software model isn't updated because its display name is removed from the core company's reference. However, if a product moves to a different publisher, then the software model gets updated during content updates when the product goes from one core company to the other core company. The publisher name is updated for new software models but not for existing software models.

    Product types can be updated on a product’s edition level using the Custom Product License Exception Rules [samp_cust_prod_lic_excep_rules] table. For cases where certain editions are non-licensable, the product type gets updated automatically if the exception rule is defined in the Product License Exception Rules [samp_prod_lic_excep_rules] table or the Custom Product License Exception Rules [samp_cust_prod_lic_excep_rules] table. However, if a product is non-licensable, an exception rule can’t be created for ​a licensable edition. For this case, you must raise a case with the Content Service team​ with supporting documentation and the team reviews ​whether the edition must be tagged as licensable.

    The SAM - Apply latest content changes scheduled job runs and processes the content updates. After the content download is complete, the updated content is pulled from the staging columns to the corresponding target columns. Related downstream records are also updated.

    A query runs and identifies what transactional data in your instance must be updated with the new content. After the changes are identified, the changes are then propagated to your instance.

    Another scheduled job, SAM - Create suites for a software model, runs and propagates suite component and life cycle changes to your software models. If you don't want content changes applied to a software model, then you can clear the Allow automated content updates flag on the Software Model form. By default, the flag is selected to enable automated content updates to all software models.

    Note:
    If a content update adds life-cycle data, it can't be deleted from the software model, but you can deactivate it. Any life-cycle data that is added as part of a content update has the source set to Servicenow.

    Use the Software Models with deactivated discovery maps report to show software models that are pointing to any deactivated discovery maps.

    To see the changes that have been made to the software library, review the SAM Content Audit [sam_content_audit] table.

    Note:
    Content updates don't have an impact on any custom products or custom discovery maps.

    For more information on how to send your content to ServiceNow and include it in the content updates, see Enable sharing information with Software Asset Management content service.