Each year, Microsoft approaches thousands of corporate customers it suspects may not be licensed properly, based on the data mining of its volume-purchasing history records, according to Juan Fernando Rivera, Microsoft's director of worldwide asset management.

Although Microsoft claims licence compliance isn't the driving factor, the software giant has allocated significant resources in recent years persuading customers to participate in the SAM program.

Under SAM, Microsoft pays for its consulting partners to educate customers on the merits of asset management, help take inventory of installed software, compare it with licence documentation and make recommendations on policies and procedures.

In the end, customers get a chance to pay for unlicensed software or "fess up" without penalty.

Rivera says Microsoft wasn't looking for a specific ROI when it started the SAM program.