Dell spends $340m on summer of SAM

Dell said it is spending around $340m to buy Asap Software, a software asset-management (SAM) company, as part of an effort to simplify how customers can communicate with it.

Asap is one of the leading SAM companies, with offices in France and the US. SAM is becoming increasingly important as legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley and pressure from organisations such as Microsoft and the Business Software Alliance puts increasing pressure on companies to maintain compliance.

The acquisition will "strengthen Dell's existing software business by integrating Asap's complementary expertise in managing software licensing, purchasing, renewals, and compliance", Dell said. It said it anticipates closing the deal in the third quarter of this financial year.

According to David Marmonti, president of Dell EMEA, the acquisition will mean Dell customers "will have one of the world's leading software-solutions providers as a single point of expertise and accountability for software licensing, compliance, renewal and asset management".

Asap's subsidiary, License Technologies Group, specialises in licensing and ecommerce services for software publishers and their partners.

Colin Barker writes for ZDNet UK