USU has been recognized among the most significant providers of Software Asset Management (SAM) solutions by the analyst firm Forrester Research, headquartered in the United States. In the report, "The Forrester Wave™: Software Asset Management Solutions, Q1 2025," USU was classified as a "Leader." The report evaluates the strengths and strategies of nine top providers. The full Forrester report is available compliments of USU upon request.
Forrester’s Recommendations for Selecting an SAM Solution
According to the Forrester report, “SAM customers should look for providers that offer:
• AI/ML in contract and license management.
• SaaS management with extended FinOps capabilities.
• Support for the entire software lifecycle management process.”
The provider profile for USU states: "USU… has evolved from a pure-play SAM tool into an IT Asset Management (ITAM) solution that offers visibility into and optimization across Hardware Asset Management (HAM), Software Asset Management (SAM), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). With Thoma Bravo as a major stakeholder, USU emphasizes innovation in ITAM/SAM."
USU’s Strategic Direction
The Forrester report notes the following regarding USU’s strategy:
"USU’s superior vision is to enable hybrid enterprise IT management with a strong ITAM/SAM that enhances the broader structure of ITSM and ESM. USU is expanding into full SaaS management and has comprehensive FinOps coverage. AI is integral to its innovation, improving both user-facing functions like SAM chatbots and knowledge tools and back-end operations like EULA and SaaS license recognition."
Current Offering and Capabilities of the USU Solution
The global analyst firm’s evaluation describes USU’s current SAM offering as follows:
"USU supports agent-based and agentless discovery, retrieving usage data directly from sources like Microsoft 365. Its customizable normalization process tracks assets on-premises and in the cloud; product use rights streamline license entitlement tracking. Financial features such as cash flow management, amortization, and cost allocation provide a full view of software spending. USU identifies licensing optimization opportunities during procurement and operations."
USU CEO: Confirmation of Strategic Direction
"To us, this recognition confirms our strategy of integrating Software Asset Management into a comprehensive IT Asset Management approach," says Dr. Benjamin Strehl, CEO of USU. "With innovative AI and FinOps technologies, we help companies efficiently manage their software costs."