Software Asset Management - Software License/Serial Number Inventory

Question

Has anyone developed a way to use Salesforce to manage software assets? We are a higher ed institution and we currently track thousands of software serial numbers and purchases in a decrepit Filemaker database that we'd like to move into Salesforce. We'd like to track vendor (Account), purchase history, application name, version, quantity, assignments (to both people and computers), and other info.

It seems like the Asset object would be appropriate, but serial numbers are not like assets: I can only assign a monitor to one person, but some volume serial numbers can be assigned to multiple people (or computers). There are multiple types of software licenses (volume, floating, node-locked, user account, etc).

I'm looking for a way to translate this kind of relationship into something that works in Salesforce. I don't see a way to associate many-to-many records to each other, the way Products/Assets/Contacts work together. Other than having many lookup fields on my Software License object...

Vinod Birla · Accepted Answer

You can treat Software Volume licenses as Asset. Create a custom Junction object to Link Asset with Contact. It should allow you to handle all business use cases.

Maksim Paslauski · Answer

For anyone landing here with the same problem: the many-to-many case (one volume licence assigned to several people or machines) needs a junction object, as Vinod says. ITAM App is a native package that models software licences alongside hardware: subscriptions, usage, assignments, and alerts before renewals or expiry. Data imports by CSV, which suits a move off an old database. Disclosure: I work on it.  https://anyityapp.com/ITAM_App

Software Asset Management - Software License/Serial Number Inventory

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