7 New Features to Supercharge Your Software Asset Management in 2024

The world of ITAM is continually evolving. Disruptive changes to licensing, the explosive growth of SaaS applications, the dynamic impact of AI, and the ever-increasing need for data security are just some of the looming challenges that organizations must adapt to in 2024 and beyond. With these new challenges arises the pressing need for a Software Asset Management tool that can keep up.  

Considering this, flexibility and customization were the core focus of our product development last year. Our aim was to empower you as a user by adding flexible features to adapt the platform to your unique organizational demands, allowing any user to easily make accurate, informed, and impactful decisions that reduce cost, improve efficiency, and increase security.  

2024 is shaping up to be an even bigger year when it comes to the customisable features we’re adding. With our ears to the ground, we’re always finding new ways to give our customers more inside the Xupervisor platform. These are the latest improvements: 

1 - Customize Access Based on User Needs 

Providing accurate data is necessary, but more than ever companies need to be able to restrict who has access to that data, and how much. There have always been different user levels in Xupervisor (Admin, Editor, and Viewer) that determine what a user can view, add, and edit. Now, you can customize these permissions in detail by deciding exactly what sections each user may have access to. The restrictions can be applied at both a user level and organizational level. For example, if you are dependent on a 3rd party to manage contracts you can now give the contract manager access to the contract section alone.  

We believe that each user should have total control over their own data, with the ability to grant easy access to specific data for specific purposes. Not only does this make our platform more user-friendly to navigate, it also makes task performance more efficient, and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliance more intuitive. 

2 - Get Customized Notifications on Key Events 

One of our mottos at Xensam is that you cannot manage what you cannot see. Comprehensive visibility of your software, hardware, contracts, and licenses is crucial in the digital age, and our new notifications feature makes visibility more seamless than ever. You can now get notifications in Xupervisor on key metrics such as expiring licenses, expiring contracts, or new feature releases. There are also plenty of opportunities for customization, allowing each user to decide for themselves what notifications to receive, and where to receive them. Notification destinations include in-app, via email or directly to Microsoft Teams. More notifications metrics and notification destinations will be added on demand, based on the needs and preferences of our customers. We know that visibility looks different for every organization, and we’re here to make the process as pain-free as possible.  

3 - Customize Prices for More Accurate Cost Savings 

In the 2024 economy, cost savings are top of mind for executives regardless of industry. One of the features that sets the Xupervisor platform apart is its active usage data, which indicates the amount of time a user actually spends on an application (not the amount of time it runs in the background). This opens the door to crystal clear cost-saving data. Understanding the active usage of applications in combination with the precise cost per user makes it possible to make informed budget decisions. However, when you're calculating cost savings, you are dependent on accurate pricing. 

Previously within the Xupervisor platform it was possible to work with various levels of pricing by manually adding your specific license prices and/or using the out-of-the-box prices in the platform. With the new feature update, you have complete flexibility on prices. We have made it possible for you to add, update, and apply prices to any application - instantly - in the Cost Center.

You can apply multiple prices for different countries, and in different currencies, all consolidated into one “main” currency when calculating cost savings (where the exchange rate is updated every night). For example, if you are an enterprise that purchases software in multiple countries for different prices, you can now add all of that to the platform to get an exact understanding of your license costs, and invoice internally based on that data. You can calculate precise cost savings based on your exact license prices. 

4 - Analyse Multiple Dimensions of Application Usage with AI 

In December we released the latest addition to our AI capabilities: the capacity for multidimensional trending when analysing application usage. This feature brings a deeper level of analysis that goes beyond traditional metrics to provide a holistic view of application utilization, focusing on two crucial dimensions: Application Usage Trends and User Usage Trends. This provides granular data on both underutilized applications and potential cost savings per user. You can learn more about the impact of this feature here.

5 - Exclude Specific Software from Compliance 

When using dev licenses or test licences you don’t want them to factor into compliance. Now you can manually exclude specific software based on a computer, user, organization, or application from being considered in compliance calculations on a family or manufacturer level, depending on your choice. This ensures more accurate compliance data. 

6 - License Suite Support for Concurrent Devices 

Software vendors continue to move towards license suites or bundles, and this trend is unlikely to disappear. In addition, manufacturers such as Microsoft, Adobe, IBM, and engineering applications consist of license suites and product suites. This means that multiple separately run applications are covered by the same license. In Microsoft 365 this includes the Windows OS and Office productivity suite. The Xupervisor platform simplifies this complexity by automatically bundling applications into the right product suite and/or license suite so that you can track compliance.

On top of the daily additions of new license suites by our Xource team, you can now access metrics for total/concurrent devices, as well as total/concurrent users (i.e. how many users or devices are using the same application at the same time). This is especially handy when working with engineering applications. All in all, with the Xupervisor platform you get a more accurate and granular compliance view which enables you to optimize your licensing choices. 

7 - Automize Rules for Organizational Mapping 

Building your organization and units in your SAM platform can be complex, and one of the most used sources is the Active Directory. With granular filters and the ability to create custom fields, your unit mapping becomes even more efficient. You can create and combine rules, apply them in bulk, and automatically-assign applications, computers, users etc. based on those criteria. Naturally, this capability becomes especially powerful and automized when integrated with the Active Directory. 

As always, we’re always striving to listen to the needs of our customers and develop features that solve your SAM challenges thoroughly, efficiently, and intuitively. You can expect more game-changing feature updates to hit the Xupervisor platform soon, and rest easy when you face the future of IT asset management with Xensam.  

Get Ahead of the SAM Trends for 2024

Prepare your organization for the changes and challenges of the software asset management landscape in the year ahead and join us on Feburary 22nd for the SAM Forecast Webinar.

We'll cover 5 key trends to watch, as well as the audits to look out for. You don't want to miss it! Register here.

Interested in gaining total control of your IT environment with Xensam? 

Book a product demo today.