How do you manage software licenses with Assets and JSM?

Question

Hi everyone,

I want to track software licenses and their expiry dates in Assets (JSM Cloud Premium) and get automatic reminders before they expire.

My idea is a Software License object type with an expiry date, plus a daily automation rule that creates a renewal ticket when a license is close to expiring.

I am curious about how other people decide to use it for the same matter:

* Is it better keep licenses in the same schema as hardware or in a separate one?
* How to handle expiry reminders?

I would like to hear other experiences with this tool.

Patricia Francezi_iDev_ · Accepted Answer

Hello @Maria Ciobanu

This is the direction I would go as well.

about the questions

Is it better keep licenses in the same schema as hardware or in a separate one?

It depends on how and who (team) manages the object. I think mainly on access and permissions while thinking about different schemas.

How to handle expiry reminders?

I personally wouldnt do a daily check, instead a montlhy check with 90 day prior renewal - thinking about automation steps, and license managment itself you wouldnt benefit from a daily check

Gabriela - LeanZero · Accepted Answer

Hi Maria, I'd build it almost the way you describe, with one change to how the reminder avoids firing twice.

On the schema, I usually decide by who owns the data. Assets permissions sit at schema level, so if a procurement or software-asset team maintains licenses while IT looks after hardware, a separate schema keeps their roles cleaner, which is the same access point Patricia made. You can still link a license to a laptop or a user in another schema, as long as that schema has "Allow others to select objects from this schema" switched on.

For the reminder, give the object type a Boolean attribute such as Reminder sent, and use a Scheduled trigger followed by Branch on AQL with something like objectType = "Software License" AND "Expiry Date" > now() AND "Expiry Date" <= now(90d) AND "Reminder sent" != true. Inside the branch, create the renewal work item and then use Edit object to set Reminder sent to true, so the same license doesn't open a new ticket on every run, which is the part I'd most want to get right. Write the offset as now(90d) without a plus sign; now(+90d) threw a syntax error when I tested it. Edit object only works inside that branch and not after Lookup objects, and a branch handles up to 50 objects per run, but since flagged licenses drop out of the query, anything over 50 just gets picked up on the next run. When a license is renewed, set the new expiry date and clear the flag again.

How many licenses are you expecting to track?

Marcelo Montaño Sánchez · Accepted Answer

Hi Maria.

Generally speaking, I would keep software licenses within the same asset framework as the rest of your IT assets, provided you already have a centralized system in place for them. This makes it easier to link licenses to the software itself, vendors, owners, and other assets.

To manage expiration dates, I would use an attribute such as "Renewal Status." For example:

* Not required
* Renewal required
* Renewal in progress
* Renewed

You could also set different notification thresholds (e.g., 90, 60, or 30 days) based on how your organization handles renewals.

In my opinion, the key isn't just the reminder itself, but maintaining the relationship between the license, its owner or vendor, and the renewal request. This provides a much more comprehensive view of the license lifecycle within Assets.

Regards.