Software Asset Management in Large Scale Organizations- Exploring the Challenges and Benefits

Abstract: Software Asset Management (SAM) is a relatively new practice, which deals with efficient management of software assets within an organization. This practice is addressed more in the business aspect of organizations, especially in large-scale organizations. However, there is a lack of academic research that has been carried out in this field. The aim of this paper is to explore the challenges that large-scale organizations face when managing software assets and investigate the existing SAM tools, which could help to mitigate the upcoming challenges. A case study at Volvo IT Mainframe department was conducted and nine respondents were interviewed. The results included the identified challenges, the perceived benefits of SAM and a SAM tool comparison. The paper also provides suggestions for future research within this area.