The challenge facing enterprises is how to reduce budgets, control costs, maximise efficiency and achieve the best possible value for money from their suppliers, while remaining competitive and ensuring that employees have access to their sources they need to do their jobs effectively. Nowhere are these aims harder to reconcile than in the enterprise’s IT department. While organisations have become ever-more dependent on a widening range of software applications to work effectively, the cost, number and complexity of these applications have all risen in real terms over the last two decades. With the proliferation and diversification of all these applications many enterprises find it extremely difficult to keep track of, and manage their software assets effectively.