SAM administrator

SAM administrator

Location : Wayzata, MN

Role Summary

We are seeking an experienced SAM Administrator to manage the software license estate for a long-term client engagement. The role owns license entitlement tracking, compliance, audit readiness, and cost optimization across major publishers, partnering with procurement, vendor management, security, infrastructure, and finance teams.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Maintain the software entitlement repository, including contracts, purchase records, license metrics, and rights (upgrade, downgrade, virtualization, BYOL).
• Reconcile software discovery/installation data against entitlements to produce an accurate Effective License Position (ELP) for key publishers (Microsoft, Adobe, Oracle, VMware, IBM, SAP, Salesforce, etc.).
• Monitor license compliance, identify over/under-licensing risks, and drive remediation with application owners and procurement.
• Prepare for and support vendor audits and self-audits, including data collection, response coordination, and negotiation support.
• Identify cost-savings opportunities such as shelfware, unused or underused licenses, reclamation, and right-sizing at renewal.
• Track contract renewals, true-ups, and expirations; provide renewal forecasts and recommendations to procurement and finance.
• Manage software request, approval, and reclamation workflows; validate software normalization and publisher/product catalogue accuracy in the SAM tool (SAM Pro and/or Flexera).
• Produce dashboards, KPIs, and compliance reports; define and improve SAM processes, policies, and documentation.

Skill Matrix

Mandatory Skills

(Top 5 Keywords or skills)

Skill Proficiency

Years of Experience

Basic Knowledge

Medium

Expert

Software Asset Management & License Compliance

5x

SAM Tools: Flexera and/or SAM Pro

3x

Publisher Licensing (Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, Oracle)

3x

Software Audit Defense & ELP

3x

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.