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Free Resources for
Technology Leaders

Executive briefs, scorecards, checklists, and templates — practical tools your team can use before, during, and after renewal season.

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See the working material.

These selected samples show actual pages from the paid renewal and AI guides. No account is required for the samples. Existing free starter tools remain free.

Renewal working kit sample AI operating guide sample

Prepare a renewal · Establish AI controls · Improve hardware recovery

Featured Resource

Executive Brief Series

Research-backed briefings designed for CIOs, IT directors, finance leaders, and sourcing teams.

Executive Brief · Series 001 FREE DOWNLOAD

10 Hidden ITAM & SaaS Waste Signals Every CIO Should Review Before Renewal Season

Prepared by William G. Van Nort — this 20-page brief covers SaaS sprawl, premium tier creep, cloud resource waste, AI licensing governance, the Renewal Readiness Scorecard, an interactive SaaS Waste Calculator model, and a full 90-day Renewal Optimization Plan.

10 waste signal deep-dives
Renewal Readiness Scorecard
SaaS Waste Calculator model
ITAM Maturity Model (5 levels)
AI Governance Checklist
90-Day Optimization Plan
Download Free — PDF, 20 pages
LinkedIn · Company Page
Operational ITAM on LinkedIn
Follow the practice for episode releases, article drops, and ITAM market commentary — audits, renewals, SaaS governance, and the AI estate.
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Newsletter · Article Series
The Operational ITAM Newsletter
The companion article series to the podcast — practitioner frameworks in written form, including the article behind the Cancellation Governance Timeline guide above. Subscribe on LinkedIn to get each issue.
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From starter tools to operating practice

Free resources and paid toolkits work together.

The downloads below remain free. They introduce focused decisions and provide starter templates. Paid toolkits add coordinated procedures, ownership, evidence requirements, control tests and implementation resources; they do not include consulting hours or vendor software. Complete includes core ITAM and AI materials. The four companion packs are available separately and included in Consulting Delivery.

Explore the resource store →

Free resource permission: use and adapt these downloads for your own learning and your organization’s internal operations. Preserve source attribution; do not resell or redistribute the reusable source files. Paid library and client-delivery rights require the relevant purchase. See terms.

Free Downloads

Tools You Can Use This Week

Starter templates, scorecards, checklists, and educational briefs for local adaptation. Seven are free with no email required; the two Executive Briefs and the Cancellation Governance Timeline ask for a work address.

Workbook · Excel · 4 sheets · New
The Readiness Test Workbook
Five questions to answer in writing before you sign a purchase order for an ITAM platform — Owner, Precedence, Entitlements, Process, Purpose. Verdicts calculate as you answer, the four buy signals are counted against the two-signal threshold, and a one-page Decision Brief assembles itself for whoever approves the spend. Companion to Newsletter Edition 11 and Podcast Episode 010.
Download free
Workbook · Excel · 5 sheets
Consumption Governance Workbook
Register every consumption-priced agreement — AI APIs, SaaS AI add-ons, cloud commitments — log the meters monthly, and get an executive dashboard: run rate, commitment burn-down with projected overage, invoice-versus-contract variance, and a governance score per meter. Ships with a worked sample estate. Companion to Podcast Episode 012.
Download free
Guide · PDF · 15 pages
The Cancellation Governance Timeline
A practitioner's guide to exiting software contracts and SaaS renewals without penalties, data loss, or a surprise auto-renewal — nine gates from T-180 to T+30, the contract fact sheet, a RACI, the risk register, a notice-of-non-renewal letter template, and the T+30 verification checklist.
Download — gated
Brief · PDF · 16 pages
Executive Brief Series 002
The CIO's Guide to Microsoft 365 Copilot Governance — data exposure, permissions hygiene, adoption measurement, and the renewal criteria that decide whether year two is justified.
Download — gated
Checklist · PDF · 7 pages
90-Day Pre-Renewal Readiness Checklist
57 checks across four phases — intake, waste signal analysis, business owner validation, and negotiation. Printable, with owners and evidence named for every item.
Download free
Template · Excel · 4 sheets
SaaS Application Inventory Template
200 rows with ownership, cost, usage, and renewal fields pre-mapped. Calculates utilisation, reclaim candidates, and notice deadlines automatically, with a portfolio dashboard.
Download free
Register · Excel · 4 sheets
AI Tool Inventory & Governance Register
Track approved and discovered AI tools with data classifications, training opt-out status, DPA coverage, approved use cases, and review dates — plus a governance summary that surfaces the gaps. This starter register is tool-centered; the paid AI domain adds model, deployment, agent, data, authority and meter relationships.
Download free
Scorecard · PowerPoint · 10 slides
Monthly ITAM Executive Scorecard Template
Ten slides for monthly CIO and CFO reporting — spend, utilisation, waste pipeline, renewal risk, compliance position, and AI governance, with editable native charts.
Download free
Policy Template · Word · 11 pages
AI Acceptable Use Policy Template
Thirteen sections covering approved tools, prohibited data, prompt hygiene, human review, IP, monitoring, and incident escalation — with drafting notes flagging every decision you need to make.
Download free

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Go Deeper

The same thinking, in longer form. Every episode is published with a full written transcript — listen or read, whichever is faster for you.

The Operational ITAM Newsletter

Read It Before Your Next Renewal

IT asset management, licensing, and audit defense for people who have to be right on Monday morning.

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The Brief Is the Starting Point.

An Executive Briefing applies these frameworks directly to your environment, your renewal calendar, and your specific technology portfolio.

AI governance, FinOps and ITAM in practice

Explore original examples for AI inventory, cost per accepted outcome, agent authority, renewals, refresh and platform evidence.

Explore the practical guides