Software Asset Management - Product Owner

Position Overview
The Software Asset Management (SAM) Product Owner is responsible for defining, prioritizing, and driving the roadmap for the organization's SAM capabilities. This role ensures that software assets across the enterprise are managed efficiently, cost-effectively, and in compliance with licensing and regulatory requirements. Acting as the bridge between business stakeholders, IT operations, procurement, cybersecurity, and vendors, the SAM Product Owner ensures that the SAM platform, processes, and data deliver maximum value. The SAM Product Owner will manage a team of SAM Analysts.

Key Responsibilities

Product Ownership & Strategy

• Develop and maintain the SAM product vision, strategy, and roadmap aligned with IT, procurement, security, and financial objectives.
• Translate business needs into clear epics, features, and user stories for development and operational teams.
• Prioritize the backlog to ensure delivery of high-value features that support compliance, optimization, and lifecycle management.

SAM Process & Capability Leadership

• Own and continuously improve SAM processes across the full software lifecycle: request acquisition deployment usage retirement.
• Establish and monitor KPIs related to software compliance, cost avoidance, contract optimization, and asset lifecycle accuracy.
• Partner with procurement and finance to support budgeting, forecasting, and contract renewals.

Stakeholder Management

• Act as the primary point of contact for internal stakeholders regarding SAM capabilities, tooling, reporting, and data needs.
• Collaborate with IT operations, cybersecurity, legal, and procurement to ensure SAM supports cross-functional objectives.
• Communicate product progress, risks, and opportunities to leadership and key stakeholders.

Tooling & Data Management

• Serve as the business owner for the SAM platform (Flexera/Snow)
• Ensure data accuracy and integrity by defining requirements for discovery sources, integrations, and CMDB alignment.
• Work with platform engineers to ensure system stability, implementation of new features, and lifecycle updates.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Support and oversee software license compliance efforts, including audit readiness and defensive audit management.
• Identify and mitigate risks associated with unauthorized, non-compliant, or under-licensed software usage.
• Partner with security teams to ensure software usage aligns with cybersecurity standards and policies.

Value Optimization

• Analyze usage data to drive software optimization initiatives (e.g., reducing dormant licenses, rationalizing applications, leveraging enterprise agreements).
• Support vendor management activities through data insights, usage trends, and cost models.
• Enable decision-making through clear dashboards and reporting for leadership and operational teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT, Business, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 12+ years of proven experience in Software Asset Management, IT Asset management, or a related IT governance role.
• Experience with directly managing a small team
• Hands-on experience with SAM tools, preferably Flexera or Snow.
• Solid understanding of software licensing models (Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, SAP, IBM, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience in product ownership, Agile methodologies, or backlog management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or similar certification.
• ITIL Foundation or IT Asset Management (e.g., CAMP, CSAM) certification.
• Experience working in complex global environments with hybrid cloud, SaaS, and on prem technologies.
• Strong analytical skills with experience building dashboards and reports (Power BI, Tableau, ServiceNow Performance Analytics).

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking with strong problem solving abilities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Fluent in English language (verbal and written).
• Ability to balance compliance, cost optimization, and business enablement.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to lead cross-functional initiatives.
• High attention to detail and a data-driven mindset