Case Study · SKF Bearings & ZionIT
How SKF Bearings Strengthened AI-Driven ITAM & SAM Governance with ZioSet
A global manufacturer unified software and IT asset governance across engineering workstations, factory endpoints, internal applications, and cloud services—moving from periodic audits to continuous, agentic intelligence.
65%
Audit prep reduction
Less time preparing for vendor audits
+38%
Inventory accuracy
Improvement in trusted asset records
$1.2M
License optimization
Annual savings from entitlement alignment
92%
Compliance posture
Applications correctly classified
Introduction
From fragmented tracking to continuous governance
SKF Bearings is a global manufacturer with a highly distributed technology footprint—spanning engineering workstations, factory/operations endpoints, internal applications, and cloud services across multiple regions. As software usage grew and licensing models became more complex, SKF needed a way to unify software and IT asset governance without relying on manual tracking, fragmented spreadsheets, or end-of-year audit scrambles.
To address this, SKF adopted ZioSet—Zionit's agentic AI platform built for modern IT operations. ZioSet helps IT teams move from reactive inventory management to continuous, intelligence-driven governance across IT asset management (ITAM) and software asset management (SAM), with an emphasis on software characterization, compliance automation, and cost optimization.
SKF operates at the intersection of engineering precision and global scale. That combination makes governance harder: software changes frequently on the shop floor and in R&D, while procurement and compliance need a single source of truth. skf.com
Continuous ITAM & SAM across manufacturing estates
Challenge & Solution
Why SKF needed a new governance model
The Challenge
Fragmented inventory
Asset and software data scattered across regions, tools, and teams with no single source of truth.
Audit-driven governance
Compliance validated periodically—not continuously—creating gaps between audit cycles.
Classification gaps
Unknown editions, trials, and open-source packages created licensing and compliance risk.
Manufacturing complexity
Diverse endpoints and operational software outside traditional office IT environments.
The ZioSet Response
Continuous discovery
Autonomous agents keep inventory current without scheduled manual scans or spreadsheet updates.
Software characterization
Commercial, trial, free, and open-source software classified automatically at scale.
Unified compliance view
Real-time posture for IT, procurement, and audit stakeholders in one governed dashboard.
Agentic remediation
Workflows triggered through existing ITSM and governance tools SKF already relies on.
Transformation
Transforming governance in the age of AI
Enterprises like SKF face a common governance challenge: IT asset and software data is scattered across systems, endpoints, and tools. When governance depends on periodic audits, it becomes harder to guarantee accuracy, visibility, and compliance consistency.
ZioSet's agentic approach changes that model. Instead of "checking later," it continuously discovers, reconciles, and governs—turning fragmented software and IT data into actionable intelligence. With autonomous AI agents orchestrating real workflows, SKF can maintain up-to-date inventory and compliance posture across its enterprise estate.
Discover
Endpoint and application inventory baseline across regions and environments.
Classify
Software characterization and entitlement mapping for every installation.
Govern
Continuous compliance monitoring, alerting, and audit-ready evidence.
Optimize
License reclamation, cost reduction, and utilization improvement.
Software Compliance
AI-enabled software compliance: strategic advantage
A key priority for SKF was ensuring that every installed application and license entitlement aligns with what is authorized. Traditional SAM programs often struggle with incomplete classification—especially when software versions, editions, trials, or open-source packages are involved.
ZioSet's software characterization addresses this by automatically classifying software into categories such as commercial, trial, free, and open-source. Because ZioSet is powered by agentic AI, it continuously monitors usage and entitlements and flags compliance issues before they become audit surprises.
- ✓Detect licensing mismatches early
- ✓Reduce "unknown software" risk
- ✓Maintain consistent compliance evidence for internal reviews and vendor audits
- ✓Drive remediation workflows without heavy manual effort
Software classification mix
Illustrative distribution after ZioSet characterization rollout.
Manufacturing ITAM
Manufacturing ITAM that stays accurate at scale
For manufacturing organizations, IT governance must handle real-world complexity: diverse endpoints, frequent software changes, and ongoing operations. SKF needed ITAM capabilities that could keep inventory accurate without scheduled manual scans. SKF's IT teams gained a single, trusted view—so inventory accuracy improved and governance became continuous rather than periodic.
Endpoint visibility
Across engineering, factory, and operations environments.
Centralized inventory
Governed IT asset records with continuous reconciliation.
Lifecycle tracking
Signals that support operational readiness and planning.
Anomaly detection
Catch unauthorized changes or missing records early.
Global Visibility
Global visibility, local precision
With teams and systems spread across regions, SKF needed governance that scales globally while remaining actionable locally. ZioSet enables unified visibility across the enterprise while keeping insights usable for IT, procurement, and compliance workflows.
EMEA
Engineering & manufacturing endpoint compliance
Unified estate view
Americas
Cloud and productivity license alignment
Real-time entitlements
APAC
Operational software and patch readiness
Drift detection
SKF teams could drill down from a high-level estate view to specific software, license entitlements, endpoint usage, and compliance posture—so decision-making became faster and more precise.
Integration
Integration beyond boundaries
ZioSet integrates with enterprise tools and workflows so SKF doesn't need to replace its existing stack. Instead, ZioSet connects with IT systems such as ITSM and workflow tools, license and governance systems, and cloud and productivity environments.
ZioSet's agentic orchestration allows governance to work with real operational data—so software intelligence and compliance actions can trigger through the same systems SKF already relies on.
ITSM & Workflow
Service desk, ticketing, approvals
License & Governance
Entitlement systems, audit tools
Cloud & Productivity
M365, cloud platforms, SaaS
Security & Identity
Endpoint, IAM, compliance feeds
Unified Dashboard
Unified compliance dashboard for enterprise governance
As compliance intelligence becomes more valuable when it's centralized, SKF benefited from consolidated reporting that makes governance easier to run and easier to prove. This helped SKF strengthen governance outcomes with less manual overhead.
- →Real-time compliance monitoring
- →Automated reporting and audit readiness
- →Automated alerts for license and usage risks
- →Governance evidence from continuously updated inventory
Agentic governance workflow
Discover
Autonomous agents scan endpoints and reconcile inventory continuously.
Classify
Software characterized into commercial, trial, free, and open-source.
Reconcile
Entitlements matched against installations and usage patterns.
Remediate
Compliance actions flow through ITSM and governance workflows.
Impact & Outcomes
Summary of outcomes
After adoption, SKF benefits from measurable improvements across governance, compliance, and cost optimization.
Before vs. after ZioSet (indexed)
- ✓Higher inventory accuracy through continuous discovery and reconciliation
- ✓Reduced audit preparation time due to continuously maintained compliance evidence
- ✓Improved license utilization from software characterization and usage analytics
- ✓Lower overspend by identifying under-used or mismatched entitlements early
- ✓Fewer compliance gaps by catching risks proactively with agentic monitoring
Key metrics
Audit prep reduction
65%
Inventory accuracy
+38%
Cost savings
$1.2M
Compliance improvement
92%
Partnership
A partnership that elevates value
SKF's adoption of ZioSet reflects a shift toward AI-driven governance—where ITAM and SAM are no longer "projects," but always-on operational capabilities. With agentic AI powering discovery, reconciliation, and compliance workflows, SKF improved visibility, reduced governance risk, and optimized software investments with confidence.
Pull quote
"Governance stopped being a year-end scramble. With ZioSet, we run ITAM and SAM as continuous operations—not periodic projects."
— IT Governance Lead, SKF Bearings
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