Exploring Basic Software Asset Management

concept australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read exploring-sam-foundation.md

The Basic Software Asset Management (com.snc.sams) supports tracking, evaluating, and managing software licenses and compliance. You can access this functionality through the Software Asset Workspace or the Software Asset Management Core UI.

The Basic Software Asset Management (com.snc.sams) application's core functionality remains the same in both the user interfaces.

Using the Software Asset Workspace

To use the Software Asset Workspace, activate the Basic Software Asset Management (com.snc.sams) and then activate the Software Asset Workspace (sn_sam_workspace) store app.

Note: After you activate the Software Asset Workspace store app, you can't revert to the classic Basic Software Asset Management application.

For information on configuring and using the Software Asset Workspace, see Configuring Basic Software Asset Management workspace and Using Basic Software Asset Management workspace.

Using the Software Asset Management Core UI

To use the Software Asset Management Core UI, activate the Basic Software Asset Management (com.snc.sams). You don't need to activate any additional plugins.

If you later decide to use the Software Asset Workspace, activate the Software Asset Workspace (sn_sam_workspace) store application.

For information on configuring and using the classic application, see Configuring the classic Basic Software Asset Management and Using Software Asset Management classic.

Basic Software Asset Management roles
Basic Software Asset Management adds the following roles.
Basic Software Asset Management software discovery and normalization
ServiceNow Discovery is used to automatically populate the Software Installations table so the software can be manually normalized and reconciled.
Basic Software Asset Management discovery models and software installations
Software discovery models are automatically created during discovery so you can manually normalize the software installed in your environment.
Basic Software Asset Management software reconciliation for compliance
Automated license reconciliation keeps license positions accurate and up to date without manual calculations. Reconciliation runs weekly or on demand.

Parent Topic:Basic Software Asset Management

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---
title: Exploring Basic Software Asset Management
description: The Basic Software Asset Management \(com.snc.sams\) supports tracking, evaluating, and managing software licenses and compliance. You can access this functionality through the Software Asset Workspace or the Software Asset Management Core UI.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/exploring-sam-foundation.html
release: australia
product: Software Asset Management Foundation plugin
classification: software-asset-management-foundation-plugin
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Basic Software Asset Management, ITSM Software Asset Management, Asset Management common applications, IT Service Management]
---

# Exploring Basic Software Asset Management

The Basic Software Asset Management \(com.snc.sams\) supports tracking, evaluating, and managing software licenses and compliance. You can access this functionality through the Software Asset Workspace or the Software Asset Management Core UI.

The Basic Software Asset Management \(com.snc.sams\) application's core functionality remains the same in both the user interfaces.

## Using the Software Asset Workspace

To use the Software Asset Workspace, activate the Basic Software Asset Management \(com.snc.sams\) and then activate the Software Asset Workspace \(sn\_sam\_workspace\) store app.

**Note:** After you activate the Software Asset Workspace store app, you can't revert to the classic Basic Software Asset Management application.

For information on configuring and using the Software Asset Workspace, see [Configuring Basic Software Asset Management workspace](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/configuring-samf-plugin-workspace.md) and [Using Basic Software Asset Management workspace](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/using-samf-workspace.md).

## Using the Software Asset Management Core UI

To use the Software Asset Management Core UI, activate the Basic Software Asset Management \(com.snc.sams\). You don't need to activate any additional plugins.

If you later decide to use the Software Asset Workspace, activate the Software Asset Workspace \(sn\_sam\_workspace\) store application.

For information on configuring and using the classic application, see [Configuring the classic Basic Software Asset Management](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/samf-plugin-configuration.md) and [Using Software Asset Management classic](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/it-asset-management/using-sam-classic.md).

-   **[Basic Software Asset Management roles](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/r_SAMRolesSAMF.md)**  
Basic Software Asset Management adds the following roles.
-   **[Basic Software Asset Management software discovery and normalization](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/c_SAMDiscoverySAMF.md)**  
ServiceNow Discovery is used to automatically populate the Software Installations table so the software can be manually normalized and reconciled.
-   **[Basic Software Asset Management discovery models and software installations](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/c_DiscoveryModelsSAMF.md)**  
Software discovery models are automatically created during discovery so you can manually normalize the software installed in your environment.
-   **[Basic Software Asset Management software reconciliation for compliance](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/c_SAMReconciliationSAMF.md)**  
Automated license reconciliation keeps license positions accurate and up to date without manual calculations. Reconciliation runs weekly or on demand.

**Parent Topic:**[Basic Software Asset Management](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-service-management/software-asset-management-foundation-plugin/c_SoftwareAssetMgmtSAMF.md)