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Perplexity AITL;DR: Stop firefighting, start building systems
The problem: Manual SAM tasks consume all your time, leaving none for strategy.
Key insights:
- Automation handles data collection and routine decisions
- AI flags optimization opportunities you’d miss manually
- Delegated ownership scales your impact across the organization
Next step: List your three most time-consuming manual SAM tasks — these are automation candidates.
Your SAM team is drowning.
Not in software. In manual work. Data gathering, usage validation, renewal tracking — it never ends. Meanwhile, strategic opportunities slip by because you’re too busy firefighting.
There’s a better way.
The automation advantage
Future SAM workflows look nothing like today’s chaos:
Data flows automatically
No more chasing spreadsheets. Systems pull user, application, and spend data continuously.
AI spots opportunities
Unused licenses, downgrade candidates, replacement options — flagged before you’d ever notice them manually.
Decisions get delegated
Clear visuals plus automated insights let business units optimize their own software spend.
Real transformation happening now
Klarna didn’t just optimize their software stack. They rebuilt it. Internal AI tools replaced both Salesforce and Workday — two industry leaders.
Most organizations won’t go that far. But the principle matters: custom solutions can beat expensive vendor lock-in.
Stop explaining. Start showing.
Don’t say you manage licensing. Say you drive cost savings.
The difference matters. One sounds like IT overhead. The other sounds like business value.
Build systems, not band-aids
Your current process likely looks like this: manual data → your analysis → decision → action.
The future flips it: automated data → AI insights → delegated decisions → automatic actions.
Start somewhere
Pick one manual task that eats your time. Automate it. Build on that success.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s progress. Less firefighting, more foresight.
Because while you’re manually tracking licenses, your competitors are building systems that scale.
Which side of that equation do you want to be on?
This blog post has been adapted from a conference talk Alex Geuken gave in Las Vegas. In the talk, Alex challenged the SAM status quo at IAITAM ACE 2025: stop waiting for renewals to save money. Start today. Simple, automated, effective.