By Andrew Armstrong 
Asset Intelligence’s catalog sync stopped receiving updates from Microsoft years ago, and the synchronization point role is now flagged for removal in current Configuration Manager builds. If you were relying on it (or on the old Volume License import and reconciliation views) to tell you what software was actually being used, that data source is gone. This post covers what to use instead: Software Metering rules in ConfigMgr, and what Intune can and can’t tell you about app usage in a cloud-managed or co-managed estate.
Neither tool gives you a single “compliance dashboard” out of the box. Both give you real, queryable usage data if you set them up properly, which is more than Asset Intelligence’s catalog sync ever did for licensing decisions.
Quick Facts
- Asset Intelligence’s catalog sync and Volume License reconciliation have been deprecated since November 2021; the sync point role is scheduled for removal from the console.
- Software Metering in ConfigMgr only tracks
.exelaunches, it does not see UWP/modern apps. - Metering data collection runs on a 7-day client schedule by default; rules apply on the next policy poll (default 60 minutes).
- Intune’s Discovered Apps report shows what’s installed, not what’s actually being run. It is inventory, not usage metering.
- Automatic rule generation can create up to 100 metering rules based on real usage inventory, with a default 10% device threshold.
Why Asset Intelligence isn’t a usage tool any more
Asset Intelligence’s catalog sync gave you Microsoft-curated product names, vendors, categories and hardware requirements for software found by hardware inventory. It was never a usage meter, it just labelled what was installed. Microsoft deprecated the catalog sync, the synchronization point role, and Volume License import/reconciliation back in November 2021, with support ending a year later. In current builds the sync point can’t even be added, and existing ones are being pulled from consoles.
What’s still supported: locally inventoried software titles (via normal hardware inventory WMI classes), the Product Lifecycle Dashboard, and general license statement import. So the “what’s installed” half of Asset Intelligence lives on through ordinary inventory. The “is this expensive app actually being opened” half was never covered by Asset Intelligence in the first place, that’s what Software Metering is for.
Software Metering in Configuration Manager
Software Metering tracks how often, and by whom, specific executables get run. It’s the right tool for “we’ve got 40 licences for this CAD package, how many people actually touch it a month.”
Enable it and create a rule
- In client settings (Administration > Client Settings), enable “Enable software metering on clients” and deploy the policy.
- Go to Assets and Compliance > Software Metering and create a rule against the executable you care about, e.g.
autocad.exe, matched by original file name and version. - A reporting services point is required to actually view the usage reports afterwards.
- Microsoft 365 Apps usage reports in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, for Office app activity specifically.
- Endpoint Analytics for device-level startup and reliability data that can flag apps causing boot delays, which is a useful side signal for “is this still needed on the image.”
- For co-managed devices, keep Software Metering running through ConfigMgr even after switching client apps workload to Intune, the ConfigMgr agent still collects it.
The same thing scripted, which is worth doing if you’re rolling out rules for a whole licence estate rather than one app at a time:
New-CMSoftwareMeteringRule -SiteCode "P01" `
-ProductName "Autodesk AutoCAD" `
-FileName "acad.exe" `
-OriginalFileName "ACAD.EXE" `
-FileVersion "24.*"
# Review what's already enabled
Get-CMSoftwareMeteringRule -SiteCode "P01" | Select ProductName, FileName, EnabledVersion wildcards (*) are supported in the rule itself, but not in the file name fields. Set data retention and automatic rule generation under the Software Metering node’s properties: by default ConfigMgr can auto-generate disabled rules from recent usage inventory once an app crosses a usage threshold on 10% of devices, up to 100 rules.
Reading the results
Built-in reports under the Software Metering category cover install base per metered program, computers with the program installed but unused since a given date, and per-user run history. That last one is the one licence audits actually want: names against usage, not just install counts.
| Setting | Default |
| Metering data collection schedule | Every 7 days |
| Rule policy poll interval | 60 minutes |
| Metering data retention | 90 days |
| Auto-generated rule limit | 100 rules |
| Auto-rule usage threshold | 10% of devices |
Metering only sees Win32 .exe launches, so Store apps and most modern packaged apps won’t show up here at all, and the data never leaves your database, it isn’t sent to Microsoft.
What Intune actually gives you
Intune doesn’t have a direct equivalent of Software Metering. The closest thing is Discovered Apps (Apps > Monitor > Discovered Apps in the admin center), which lists every app Intune has seen on enrolled devices, with publisher, version and device counts. You can export it as an aggregate summary or a raw per-device/per-user dataset.
The catch: Discovered Apps is inventory, not metering. It tells you an app is installed on a device, not that anyone has opened it this quarter. For genuine usage signal in a Microsoft 365/Intune estate, look instead at:
In practice, most teams running co-management keep metering rules in ConfigMgr for licence-sensitive Win32 apps, and use Discovered Apps in Intune purely to confirm rollout coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a direct replacement for Asset Intelligence’s licence reconciliation?
Not a like-for-like one. General License Statement import still works for tracking entitlements against inventory, but the automated Volume License reconciliation is gone. Most sites now pair Software Metering usage data with a separate SAM tool or a spreadsheet against their licence agreements.
Can Software Metering track usage of apps deployed through Intune?
Yes, if the device still has the ConfigMgr client installed and software metering enabled in client settings, deployment method doesn’t matter, metering watches the executable regardless of how it got there.
Does Discovered Apps in Intune show how often an app is used?
No. It only confirms an app is present on a device. There’s no built-in launch-frequency data in Intune’s own reporting for Win32 or line-of-business apps.
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