Block 64 vs xAssets Software Asset Management

Block 64 discovers SaaS applications, tracks their usage, and connects subscriptions with users, departments, and costs. Its continuously updated inventory can identify overlapping apps, inactive users, and subscriptions that appear unused or wasted. Usage and ownership tracking shows how often applications are used and which teams hold subscriptions, supporting spend and renewal reviews and visibility into shadow IT. Discovery options include a Windows agentless application, a virtual appliance for persistent monitoring, and a remote agent for remote or Zero Trust environments. The maker says it connects to 18 SaaS platforms, including AWS, Azure, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Entra ID, Okta, Slack, Atlassian, Jamf Pro, BambooHR, and Zoom; Salesforce and Dropbox are described as coming soon. Integrations are read-only, and data is encrypted in transit and at rest. The company says it is SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant, and collects metadata rather than sensitive business data or PII. Block 64 also combines software, SaaS, cloud, hardware, and licensing visibility. Starter costs $349 a month, billed annually, for up to 500 devices and one collector. Pro is $749 a month, billed annually, for up to 1,000 devices and five collectors.

xAssets Software Asset Management (xAssets SAM) helps organizations track software licensing and establish a defensible compliance position. Its temporal calculation engine records license, consumption, and grant events, allowing effective license positions to be reported for a selected point in time. Discovery and integrations run daily, license calculations monthly, and automated alerts flag compliance issues and renewal dates. An affinity model ranks possible license-to-consumption matches by factors such as department, location, cost centre, user, processor architecture, and core count. Supported metrics include per-user, per-computer, processor, core, concurrent-user, and subscription licensing. Agentless discovery covers Windows, VMware ESX, Linux, Unix, Apple Mac, IBM AIX, SNMP, and SSH equipment; an optional agent supports remote endpoints. Named integration sources include SCCM, Tanium, ServiceNow, and Intune, with additional integrations available to build during or after implementation. Organizations can use hosted or on-premise deployment. Pricing is on request; there is no free plan, but a free trial is available.