Software features (SAMS)

The SAMS product suite

The SAMS suite is centred around SAMS server (hosted or standalone) which provides subscription and access control functionality through its web services REST API.

Core SAMS features

Access control

Traditionally, systems of access control have been about identifying individuals but SAMS has been developed to support the additional concept that many individual users are accessing with a group identity. These include single institutions such as libraries or companies, and also groupings including library consortia and complex parent institutions, professional groups, intermediaries such as library suppliers or resellers, and multinational companies.

Subscription and account management

SAMS goes beyond simply authorising users to manage information about them, to manage what they are allowed to do and when, and to report on their behaviour and reveal true demand.

SAMS also supports, via its web services API, the ability to link to other systems to enable key information to be shared in real time. For example, it can be used to pass information to and from financial systems, customer relationship and subscription management and fulfilment systems.

Product and service management

SAMS provides a powerful way of setting up new products and services with a variety of business models without having to re-engineer the technology that delivers your online products.

The standard business models that are built into SAMS include: organisations by type or size, concurrency limited usage, per-unit-pricing or pay-per-view and elapsed time-based access.

Statistics and reporting

SAMS' standard reports cover the key areas where reports for publishers and their customers are needed including usage reports that meet key industry standards such as ICOLC and COUNTER, tracking of complex customer groups and institutions and support for sales and marketing activity and new product and service development.

User services and support

SAMS has a whole range of tools and underlying functionality to make sure that the individuals and groups that use SAMS and the product and services that SAMS supports get the best service possible.

It provides automatic checking of key inputs, secure interfaces for your internal and external users, troubleshooting tools to deal with support issues and built-in defences and reporting to spot any misuse.

Interface and information management

SAMS brings all the information relating to an organisation's online publishing activity together by having a common information standard that can be used by any authorised user via the web services API.

SAMS web services API will look after the information and make sure that it is where it needs to be when it needs to be used - whether by you, a customer, or another machine.