Software asset management - quick start guide

Your CFO just asked whether the organisation is compliant with its Microsoft licensing. The procurement team thinks so, but nobody can produce the numbers. The SAM schema gives you a structured way to answer that question definitively, and to keep answering it as your software estate changes.

This guide walks you through the full Software Asset Management schema: ten object types designed to track everything from vendor relationships through to licence compliance positions and cost allocation. The schema bridges the gap between what you are entitled to use and what you have actually deployed.

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When to use this schema

The Software Asset Management schema is the right choice when your organisation needs structured control over software licences, entitlements, and compliance. It fits best in these scenarios:

• You need to calculate Effective Licence Positions (ELPs) by comparing entitled quantities against deployed installations

• You face or expect software audits from vendors such as Microsoft, Oracle, or Adobe

• You want to identify unused licences for harvesting, track renewal dates, and allocate costs to departments

• You run discovery tools (SCCM, Intune, JAMF) and need to correlate discovered installations against entitlements

• Your organisation spends more than GBP 100,000 annually on software licences or has 500+ devices

tip

Pro tip: Start with your top three vendors by spend. Getting Microsoft, Adobe, and one other strategic vendor into the schema covers the majority of compliance risk for most organisations. Add remaining vendors incrementally.

Not quite right? If you only use SaaS applications managed through identity providers, consider the Vendor Management schema instead. For general IT asset management covering hardware and networks, look at Standard CMDB or Enterprise IT CMDB. For a lightweight inventory without compliance calculations, Core Schema or Basic CMDB will do the job.

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Schema overview

The SAM schema implements a layered data model that separates contractual entitlements from actual installations, enabling accurate compliance calculations and cost optimisation.

Benefit	What It Gives You
Licence compliance	Compare entitled vs. deployed quantities per product
Audit readiness	Documented agreements, entitlements, and compliance evidence
Cost optimisation	Identify unused licences, track renewals, allocate costs
Discovery integration	Correlate SCCM/Intune/JAMF data against entitlements
Vendor management	Centralised publisher records with contact and contract details

Ten object types

Object Type	Purpose
Software Publisher	Vendor relationships and contact details
Software Product	Titles that can be licensed and installed
User	Individuals who consume per-user licences
Device	Computers and servers where software is deployed
License Agreement	Contracts defining usage rights and financial terms
Entitlement	Specific licence grants (product, quantity, metric) under agreements
Installation	Actual software deployments on devices
Compliance Position	Point-in-time compliance status comparing entitled vs. deployed
Renewal	Agreement renewal milestones and negotiation tracking
Cost Allocation	Licence cost distribution to departments and cost centres

Schema architecture

Software Publisher
    │
    ├──► Software Product ◄── (what you can install)
    │         │
    │    ┌────┴────────────────────┐
    │    │                         │
    │    ▼                         ▼
License Agreement            Installation ──► Device ──► User
    │                              │
    ▼                              │
Entitlement ◄─────────────────────┘
    │                    (entitled vs. deployed)
    ▼
Compliance Position
    │
    ├──► Renewal (agreement lifecycle)
    └──► Cost Allocation (departmental chargeback)

Reference types in the schema use colour-coded relationships: blue for vendor relationships (Published By, Licensed From), green for contractual links (Entitled Under, Covers), purple for deployment tracking (Installed On, Instance Of), orange for user accountability (Assigned To), and cyan for compliance and financial tracking (Assessed For, Renewal Of, Allocated From).

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Documentation

This guide is split into three focused sections. Work through them in order for a first-time deployment, or jump to the section you need.

Guide	What It Covers	Reading Time
Object type reference	Attribute tables, status values, naming conventions, and real-world examples for all ten object types	~14 min
Deployment and discovery guide	Step-by-step deployment, first records to add, discovery tool integration (SCCM, Intune, JAMF), and product correlation	~7 min
Compliance, optimisation, and operations	ELP calculations, licence harvesting, vendor audit preparation, AQL queries, troubleshooting, and FAQ	~7 min

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Prerequisites

Before deploying this schema, confirm you have:

• Jira Service Management Premium or Enterprise licence (Assets requires Premium tier minimum)

• Object Schema Manager or Jira Admin permissions

• Familiarity with basic Assets concepts (object types, attributes, references)

• Understanding of software licensing fundamentals (perpetual vs. subscription, per-user vs. per-device)

• Access to software discovery tools or installation data sources

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