Introduction
The degree to which computing has become a part of normal life and everyday commerce has prompted a change in the way management approaches how they manage the money, the tasks and the assets within an organisation. IT is fast becoming an important factor in business.
As computing becomes more widespread within a company and takes a more prominent critical within the vital functions of that business, it is necessary to make sure that an appropriate level of attention is given to this technology. Technological assets that may have previously been ignored are now key in the decision making process.
IT departments have come a long way during the past few years and are now seen as essential parts of any company. As such, they receive larger budgets but must also be able to handle a greater amount of work. There is an eternal race between corporate needs and IT capabilities.
But once you have spent a large amount of your budget on developing an IT system and seen the needs of your organisation change, how do you ensure that the IT you are using can keep up with demand? Moreover, how can you achieve this without spending a prohibitive amount of money?
This is the function by IT management software and systems.
Every business and every environment will have different requirements and will present different issues. To meet these needs there are a number of different solutions and approaches that can be used to help manage the IT network of your business.One of these approaches is discussed below.
Software Asset Management
SAM ( Software Asset Management) is designed to do exactly what it says on the tin - monitoring and maintaining the deployment and usage of software programs within your organisation. It is a business process rather than a distinct discipline and is becoming a more essential part of the modern business environment, particularly for corporations operating in the field of Information Technology.
SAM is not simply a tool for technicians rolling out software across a large corporate network, but can be a critical tool to help improve performance at all levels of a organisation. The aims of SAM include controlling of the IT infrastructure within a business, negating legal risks associated with incorrect software license usage and maintaining high levels of productivity by making sure software is up to date and fit for its purpose. As IT usage in a company grows, so do the potential benefits of SAM.
The practice of software asset management is often thought of as an unnecessary evil due to the intangible nature of what it is designed to deal with, and the business case for going with a SAM solution is not always obvious until a complete of the software infrastructure of a company has been carried out. Once existing problems have been identified however, the use of software asset management becomes self evident.
Financial benefits remain the most motivating business factor when choosing to operate software asset management technology within a business. Every business needs to make profit after all and profitability is a very measurable metric. The financial benefits of software asset management do certainly exist however.
An increasingly large proportion of a business’ IT bank roll is spent on software licensing so there is a real need to invest to correctly manage this spending. As organisations grow and diversify, their software needs can change radically and hardware and programs can quickly become outdated. There is no requirement to spend money to maintain the licenses on this outdated software, which is where SAM really delivers an edge.
software asset management is not limited to simply the technology of your organisation either. As a management operation it will often involve many of the branches within a company, including Finance Human Resources, to make sure that it runs as cost-effectively as possible.
Anybody who was going to challenge Centennial resellers what product stands out would get the simple answer software asset managment.
Why follow a SAM Strategy?
Having heard the multiple benefits of employing a SAM solution, how do you know that it would be right for your company? Every company is different and has its own unique set of problems and advantages, so any plan you will undertake needs to be tailored to these specific characteristics.
There are more than just cost benefits that can be made through the control of licensing and maintenance agreements across a businesses IT system. Productivity can be greatly by ensuring that users have the newest editions of software permitted under current licenses held, and communication inside the business is aided when support staff know exactly what is in use on every workstation under their control. The benefits of software asset management are not confined to the technological hardware of your organisation.
Cost Savings
As discussed previously, perhaps the most persuading reason to implement software asset management within your company is the potential cost savings that can be made. The profitability of your business is always going to be the bottom line so any strategy that can help to improve this profitability by lowering costs is one that should be considered.
The most immediate way that SAM can help to reduce costs is by identifying any applications running on your corporate IT system that is no longer necessary. The software might not be being used any longer, it may be very outdated to be of use or it may be duplicated on your system.
By removing these items of software that are no longer a benefit to the running of your company you are streamlining a large chunk of your IT network. Paying for unnecessary software licenses and maintenance contracts means that more money can be spent on the essential parts of your IT infrastructure.
Mitigate Risk Factors
A surprising proportion of software that is currently used in the corporate environment is either licensed incorrectly or not licensed at all. Running any amount of unmonitored software on your IT network is ill advised, because when left unchecked it can become very unpredictable. This is becoming an increasingly frustrating factor for IT managers.
Unlicensed software programs can be introduced into an uncontrolled IT system in a number of ways. Software may have been included when your IT hardware was first purchased although the original software licenses may have expired. Without the correct security policies in place, users may also be able to load their own software onto the network. Running a corporate IT system in this unmanaged way will almost certainly lead to trouble.
The danger of running unlicensed software on your network is clear. When something goes wrong with the hardware or software platform supporting your vital processes, how do you manage the situation? Running a complex software system without the appropriate support can create a metaphorical minefield when it comes to disaster recovery and can seriously inhibit your responsiveness to unpredictable events.
If your business undertakes an IT system overhaul, a qualified Centennial distributor must be one of your first ports of call.
Implementing Software Asset Management in your Organisation
As previously mentioned, there are many potential benefits to using a good software asset management strategy within your company, both financial and otherwise. It is therefore important to consider which elements of SAM you should deploy first since some benefits will be realised more quickly than others.
This discovery process can be viewed as three basic areas that have to be undertaken to truly build an informative picture of the deployment of IT assets within your business.
Inventory
Inventory is the most basic function of the discovery cycle. It is vital that an accurate audit of software assets within your business is created to aid your IT managers to maintain baselines regarding your IT network. This inventory process must be performed before carrying on with discovery.
Fortunately, this process can now be automated and even the largest of infrastructures can be investigated and analysed in a reasonably short period of time. Inventory should be able to identify your software assets regardless of their geographical location or technological characteristics.
Capture
The second step in the discovery cycle is the capture of the software license entitlements that cover the software programs discovered in the inventory. The capture process should gather entitlements regarding all of the software that exists on your network, even if the software is not currently in use. Without this step the inventory may be almost useless.
The risk of human error can be mitigated by using automatic tools that are specifically created to build a library of license entitlements. Packages that are currently available are incredibly efficient at capturing accurate information. These tools will also maintain databases containing up to date information from IT vendors.
Identification & Validation
The next step is to match up your software inventory to the repository of licensing information that were created in the last two stages. Errors may have been made anywhere from the original paperwork for software to the most recent audits performed on your IT system.
One crucial factor in the validation stage is the ability to link the license entitlements on your network to your company’s proof of entitlement. This will be essential if any disputes with software vendors arise as a consequence of the discovery process.
After these steps have been performed you will have built an incredibly rich image of how your IT system is delivering software programs to its users. It will be a lot simpler to identify any trouble areas on your network, or areas of software use that are no longer of any particular benefit to your operations. This detailed picture can be used for future reference as well.
You can now start a period of reconciliation on your network. You can compare the software packages that are actually employed on your network against the licensing and support contracts that you are paying for and bridge any divides between the two. This is when the financial benefits of SAM start to take effect.
The software spread in your system may include many hundreds or perhaps thousands of individual installations, and there are any number of rules that may be associated with the licensing contracts you have in place. It is therefore essential to automate the reconciliation process, utilising one or more tools to apply intelligent rules to the process.
More about implementing SAM within your organisation is accessible via Centennial vendors which can be located across the country.
Compliancy and Flexibility with Software Asset Management
Many of the basic principles of a successful SAM strategy are based upon the concepts laid out in the Information Technology Infrastructure Library, or ITIL. This library details a number of principles and best practices that should be followed for successful control of IT functions. The ITIL can be found online.
This library is a changing entity and is often updated with new concepts and policies that cater to the constantly changing IT environment of modern business. A good software asset management strategy should be flexible enough to comply with the guidelines set out in the ITIL whilst matching the changing needs of the company within which it is actively utilised.
The International Standard Organisation (ISO) has published a standard that applies specifically to SAM practices. This standard, ISO 19770-1, is an incredibly comprehensive set of guidelines that are built to ensure that SAM is used in such a way as to “satisfy corporate governance requirements”.
The ISO standard should certainly be adhered to when designing a SAM strategy for your own business, although the level of detail included within can easily become a daunting challenge. It is important to remember that no matter what recommendations you follow when planning a software asset management strategy, whatever you decide to employ needs to help your business rather than stifle it.
Creating a full and comprehensive SAM strategy for your own organisation may actually never come to fruition. Your plan must be flexible to adapt and grow as your organisation does, and it should allow for modifications to your daily activities, no matter how small or fundamental they might be. This really is the key to a worthwhile SAM plan.
Conclusion
It is clear to see that as the extent and importance of IT systems within your organisation grow, so does the requirement for good and effective management of these systems. Gone are the times when an IT department was a bonus that would sometimes forward the business. IT systems are now vital to the modern company. Critical systems need to be maintained to an appropriate standard.
As with other parts of any company, a number of separate plans should be evaluated and utilised in order to ensure the efficient running of daily activities. SAM should not be the only tactic used to manage computing assets within your company, but rather one of a number of complimentary techniques used to manage the system as a unit.
So if you feel that your business is currently suffering from a lack of planned monitoring and control over its IT infrastructure, or that the potential advantages outlined in this article could manufacture a critical market advantage over your competitors, then it would be worth researching how software asset management could be used within your organisation. There might be no time to lose.
